On This Day - 4th February
211 The death in York, (formerly know as Eboracum), of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus whilst preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians. He left the empire in the control of his two quarrelling sons.
1868 The birth of Constance Georgine Markievicz, Irish Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil politician, revolutionary nationalist, suffragette and socialist. In December 1919, whilst in Holloway prison, she became the first woman to be elected to the House of Commons. As a Sinn Féin MP who was in prison at the time, she never took her seat in the House of Commons.
1905 The birth, in Farnworth near Bolton, Lancashire of Hylda Baker, British comedienne, actress and music hall star. Her most famous role was in the comedy series 'Nearest and Dearest' with comedian Jimmy Jewel. They bickered on screen as part of the script, but the insults continued off screen. The two disliked each other intensely and their arguments became showbiz legend.
1911 Rolls-Royce commissioned their famous figurehead ‘The Spirit of Ecstasy’ (see 
picture) by Charles Sykes. He
used Lord Montague’s mistress, Eleanor Thornton, as his model. 60 years later to the day, Rolls-Royce was
declared bankrupt due to a disastrous contract to supply aero engines to Lockheed. The British government came to
its rescue.
1915 Norman Wisdom, actor & star of many comedy films, was born. In 1995 he was given the Freedom of the City of London and also Tirana in Albania where the population were devoted to him and referred to him as 'Pitkin'. He received an OBE in the same year and was knighted in 2000. He retired from acting at the age of 90 after his health deteriorated and died in October 2010.
1927 Malcolm Campbell reached 174.88 mph in Bluebird on Pendine Sands (see 
picture), a 7 mile stretch of beach on the shores of Carmarthen Bay on the south coast of Wales
in south Wales, to set a new land speed
record. A year later in 1928 at Daytona Beach, Florida, he reached 206.35 mph. Four years and one day later, in
1931, he reached a record-breaking 245 mph, again at Daytona Beach.
1962 The first colour supplement in Britain was published by The Sunday Times.
1968 The world's largest hovercraft, weighing 165 tonnes, was launched at Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The Hovertravel service from the mainland to the Isle of Wight (see 
picture) is the world’s longest running commercial hovercraft service and is now the only scheduled passenger hovercraft service in Europe.
1974 The 'M62 coach bombing' when a Provisional IRA bomb exploded in a coach carrying off-duty British Armed Forces personnel and their family members. Twelve people (nine soldiers and three civilians, including children aged 5 and 2) were killed. This memorial to them (see 
picture) is at Hartshead Moor Services.
1975 Edward Heath withdrew from the Conservative party leadership after losing the first-round vote to Margaret Thatcher.
2002 Cancer Research UK was founded. It is the world's largest independent cancer research charity.
2008 The London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) scheme began to operate, with hefty fines for the owners of polluting vehicles.
2012 Fifty four year old Nottingham Forest owner Nigel Doughty was found dead at his home in Skillington, Lincolnshire. The life-long Forest fan was estimated to have invested more than £100m of his personal fortune into the football club.
2012 The death, aged 110, of Florence Green, the last surviving veteran of the First World War from any country.
2013 A skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park in August 2012 was confirmed as that of English king Richard
III. He was reintered at Leicester Cathedral on 26th March 2015 (see 
picture of the tomb) after experts from the University of Leicester said that DNA from the bones matched that of descendants of the
monarch's family.
2014 A new international study showed that British workers have the shortest retirements in any major EU country, despite significant improvements in life expectancy.
2015 An online fund, launched by Katie Cutler after the mugging of a Tyneside pensioner, was halted with donations totally £330,000. Her 'Help Alan Barnes' online donation page was launched after the frail and visually disabled 67-year-old had been attacked outside his Gateshead home. Richard Gatiss (25) was later arrested and given a four-year prison sentence for assault.