Hans Lammers, German SS officer and Nazi politician, born in Lublinitz, Silesia, Prussia, German Empire (d. 1962) Sara Heyblom, Dutch actress (Pygmalion, Fietsen naar de Maan), born in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands (d. 1990) It was in keeping with the general tone of Montefiore's ministry that the announcement of his appointment caused a rumpus. Imagin- ing that a bishop so hot on environmental issues would cause trouble at the Austin Rover factory at Longbridge, the Birmingham Evening Mail orchestrated a chorus of disapproval, to which assorted Anglo-Catholic clergy, and the future MP, Anthony Beaumont-Dark, all lent their voices.

On his retirement from Birmingham, Montefiore was asked to act as an honorary assistant bishop in the diocese of Southwark, and he and Elisabeth returned to the house on Wandsworth Common, south London, where he had lived as bishop of Kingston. He devotedly nursed Elisabeth, a most able cook and gardener, until she had to go into residential care. She died in 1999. He is survived by their three daughters. Pete Sears, British session and touring bassist (Jefferson Starship; Rod Stewart), born in Bromley, Kent, England

After six years as a diocesan, Montefiore obtained a seat in the House of Lords, an event somewhat marred by a terrifying domestic mishap; alighting from the underground at Westminster, his wife, Elisabeth, slipped and fell beneath the carriage, the first sign of the onset of her Alzheimer's disease. This letter was only a dress rehearsal for the rash moral courage Montefiore exhibited in 1967, when he was invited to lecture to the Modern Churchman's Union at Somerville College, Oxford. Knowing it was an open lecture, he nevertheless put forward the theory that because Jesus had remained unmarried, an unusual occurrence for a Jew of his age and time, he might have been homosexually inclined. Jill Sterkel, American swimmer (Olympic gold, 1976 & 1984; bronze, 1988), born in Hacienda Heights, California

Len Chandler, American folk music singer-songwriter ("Beans in Ears"), and civil rights activist, born in Summit County, Ohio (d. 2023)

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Two years later, Montefiore's gifts as a New Testament scholar ensured that he was appointed vice principal of the college, a post from which he inexplicably resigned without having another job to go to - a "lunatic thing to do", as he later admitted. Nevertheless, in 1954 he began a distinguished, nine-year stint as fellow and dean of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, during the last four years of which he combined the post with that of university lecturer in New Testament studies. Dustin Farnum, American actor (Squaw Man, Virginian, The Flaming Frontier), born in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire (d. 1929) Norma Jean Almodovar, American author (Cop to Call Girl) and sex worker activist, born in Binghampton, New York An even more traumatic experience came at the last Lambeth Conference in 1998. After the debate on sexuality that had dominated the proceedings, a Nigerian bishop laid hands on Kirker in front of a phalanx of television cameras to “exorcise” the demons of homosexuality. He now shrugs the incident off with customary good cheer, but a mutual friend who was with him tells me: “It was a horrible, horrible experience where the symbols of the Church were being abused for the sake of attention-seeking theatricals. Richard could have been crushed by it, but he rose above it and refused to be made a martyr.”Just as remarkable as his appointment as bishop of Kingston was his preferment in 1978 as bishop of Birmingham. His was the first appointment recommended by the newly constituted Crown Appointments Commission, and it is reasonable to assume that, under the previous system of choosing bishops on the old-boy network, he would never have become a diocesan.

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish jazz double bassist, born in Osted, Zealand, Denmark (d. 2005) Harlan Ellison, American sci-fi author and screenwriter (Star Trek -"The City on the Edge of Forever"), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2018) Jeffrey Bernard, British writer (Spectator Magazine - Low Life), born in Hampstead, london (d. 1997) He was still engaged in environmental issues last year, when he was forced to resign from the board of Friends of the Earth (of which he had been chairman from 1992 to 1998) after promoting the use of nuclear power in the fight against global warming. Richard von Schaukal, Moravian-Austria poet and writer (Eros Thanatos), born in Brno, Czech Republic (d. 1942)

Lucile Watson, Canadian actress (Great Lie, Watch on the Rhine, Let's Dance), born in Québec, Canada (d. 1962)