On this day in 1978 the first radio episode of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams was transmitted on BBC Radio 4.

Born on this day in 1825 librettist and playwright Jules Barbier

Born on this day in 1875 composer Franco Alfano

Born on this day in 1914 tenor Franz Klarwein

Born on this day in 1933 director Luca Ronconi

Happy 76th birthday tenor Horst Laubenthal

Born on this day in 1939 tenor Robert Tear

Happy 73rd birthday mezzo-soprano/contralto Patricia Payne

Happy 54th birthday tenor Mark Padmore