1512The birth of James V of Scotland, who allied his country with France against the English. He became king at the age of 17 months.

1606The Charter of the Virginia Company of London was established by James I, with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.

1633Bananas went on display in Thomas Johnson's shop window in London. This was the first time the fruit had been seen in Britain.

1710The Copyright Act, known as The Statute of Anne, came into effect in Britain. It allowed authors to hold exclusive rights to their work for up to 50 years after their death. The restrictions were enforced by the Stationers' Company, a guild of printers given the exclusive power to print and the responsibility to censor literary works.

1820The first British settlers landed at Algoa Bay, South Africa.

1829The birth of William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, which he began in 1865 while performing mission work to the poor in London’s East End. It was named the 'Salvation Army' in 1878, when he took the title ‘General’. In 1909 William Booth embarked on a six-month motor tour of the United Kingdom and preached at St. John's Chapel, Market Weighton, close to the birthplace of William Bradley, the tallest ever Englishman (7ft 9in 2.36m).

1858The 14.5 tonne bell, 'Big Ben', was cast in Stockton-on-Tees by Warner's of Cripplegate. However the bell cracked during testing. It was recast into the 13.76 tonne bell by Whitechapel Bell Foundry and is still in use today. It is the largest of the five bells in the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament).

1912The British built luxury liner Titanic set sail on its maiden and only voyage, from Berth 44, White Star Line dock, Southampton, bound for New York.

1929The birth of Mike Hawthorn, English racing car driver and winner of the 1958 Formula One Championship.

1955Ruth Ellis shot her lover David Blakely outside a pub in Hampstead in North London. Following her murder trial she became the last woman to be hanged in Britain.

1970Paul McCartney announced that he was to leave The Beatles for personal and professional reasons.

1972An agreement, banning the use of biological weapons, was signed by 74 countries.

1973A British Vanguard turboprop, flying from Bristol, crashed during a snowstorm at Basel, Switzerland, killing 108 with 37 survivors.

1981Imprisoned IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands was elected to Westminster as the MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone.

1989Nick Faldo became the first Englishman to win the US Masters in a dramatic sudden death play-off.

1997The National Trust's ruling council voted unanimously to ban stag-hunting on its land after a study concluded that the chase caused extreme suffering and exhaustion to the deer.

1998The Northern Ireland peace talks ended with a historic agreement called the Good Friday Agreement.

2013The death of Prof. Sir Robert Edwards, aged 87. His pioneering work on IVF led to the birth of the world's first 'test tube baby', Louise Brown, at Oldham Hospital in 1978.

2021 Rachael Blackmore made sporting history by becoming the first female jockey to win the Grand National, with victory on Minella Times at Aintree. Blackmore had already achieved a landmark success at last month's Cheltenham Festival when she was the first woman to be the meeting's leading jockey.

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