What happened this week in history

1492 - Christopher Columbus left Palos de la Frontera in Andalucia, Spain, on his first voyage of discovery.

1527 - The first known letter from North America was sent by John Rut while at St John’s, Newfoundland.

1778 - Milan’s La Scala theatre was inaugurated. It was originally known as New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala.

1858 - Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile, was discovered by the British explorer John Speke.

1904 - The first westerners entered the Forbidden City of Lhasa, Tibet.

1914 - Germany declared war on France.

1914 - The first ships passed through the Panama Canal.

1916 - Irish nationalist and British diplomat Sir Roger casement was hanged for high treason at Pentonville Prison.

1921 - the first aerial crop spraying took place in Ohio.

1926 - The first British traffic lights were installed at Piccadilly Circus in London.

1940 - Italian forces began the invasion of British Somaliland.

1950 - Communist China was denied entry to the United Nations.

1954 - The first prototype aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing was trialed.

1958 - The nuclear submarine USS Nautilus travelled beneath the Arctic ice cap.

1963 - The Beatles played The Cavern Club in Liverpool for the last time.

1970 - Miriam Hargrave of Yorkshire passed her driving test on her 40th try.

1971 - Pickles, the dog, who discovered the missing World Cup in March 1966, died. He strangled himself on his lead while chasing a rabbit.

1977 - Tandy Corporation unveiled the TRS-80, one of the world’s first mass-produced personal computers.

1978 - The Queen officially opened the 11th Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada.

1984 - Upper Volta was renamed Burkina Faso.

1990 - A record heat wave in Britain raised temperatures to 37.1 degrees.