1788: The father of clowns, Giuseppe Grimaldi, died on this day.
1901: Australian opera singer Helen "Nellie Melba" Porter Mitchell introduced the world to Melba toast on this day. The diva liked her bread sliced so thinly then toasted that everyone who tried her narrow nibbles wanted some.
1918: Master magician Chung Ling Soo was killed on stage at the Empire Theatre, Wood Green, when he failed to catch a twelve-bore rifle bullet between his teeth.
1954: The four-minute mile was run for the first time by Britain's Roger Bannister.
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