On this day - April 8

FROM THE ARGUS ARCHIVE:

On this day a year ago the Argus reported how villagers had turned a disused red phone box into a tourist information point for visitors.

South Wales Argus: HAPPY TO HELP: From top, clockwise, Pete Walters, Rob Nelson, Nick Brooks and John Lewis

Five years ago today we reported how the family of an Abergavenny soldier, Private Richard Hunt, who was killed after serving in Afghanistan, were to be presented with the Elizabeth Cross. 

South Wales Argus:

The stories from history on this day - April 8

217: Roman emperor Caracalla (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) was assassinated.

1838: Brunel's 236ft steamship Great Western left Bristol for New York on her maiden voyage.

1904: Britain and France signed a mutual recognition of each other's colonial interests.

1908: Liberal Herbert Henry Asquith became Prime Minister.

1925: The Australian government and the British Colonial Office offered low-interest loans to enable Britons to emigrate to Australia.

1950: Russian dancer Vaslav Nijinsky died in London.

1967: Bare-foot Sandie Shaw won the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK with Puppet On A String.

1973: Death of Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor who pioneered Cubism, aged 91.

1986: Clint Eastwood was elected Mayor of Carmel in California.

2005: More than four million people attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

South Wales Argus: The beatification of the late pope John Paul II should go ahead, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales said

2013: Former prime minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher died at the age of 87 following a stroke.

South Wales Argus: FORMER PM: Margaret Thatcher

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Tributes to Peaches Geldof began to pour in after news of her death emerged.

South Wales Argus: Peaches Geldof topped the list of Britain's most-searched-for celebrity of the year, according to Bing