1509Henry VIII became King of England following the death of his father, Henry VII.

1671The birth of John Law, Scottish economist who believed that money was only a means of exchange that did not constitute wealth in itself. He was a gambler and a brilliant mental calculator who was known to win card games by mentally calculating the odds.

1689William III and Mary II were crowned joint king and queen of England, Scotland and Ireland.

1750 Peter Dollond opened a small optical business in Vine Street, near Hatton Garden in London. In 1927 Dollond & Co merged with Aitchison & Co, to form Dollond & Aitchison. On 29th January 2009, it was announced that Boots Opticians were to merge with D&A, forming a chain of 690 stores and 5,000 staff after Boots purchased a controlling share in D&A.

1816Charlotte Bronte, eldest of the three literary sisters, was born at this house (see picture) and also this close up picture, in Thornton, West Yorkshire. .Her publisher rejected her first novel, 'The Professor,' but she went on to write her masterpiece, 'Jane Eyre'. You can find out more about the village of Haworth and the Brontes by visiting this webpage.

1828Lexicographer Noah Webster compiled a two volume work entitled 'The American dictionary of the English language'. It was the first attempt to standardize the the American language and distinguish it from the English of the British.

1838The birth, in Dunbar (see plaque) of John Muir, naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. One of the most well know hiking trails in the United States, the 211 mile John Muir Trail, was named in his honour.

1907Political clubs in Ireland merged to form the Sinn Fein League.

1913Richard Beeching, former British Rail chairman was born.

1916Roger Casement, the Irish-born British consular official, landed in Ireland from a German submarine prepared to lead the Sinn Fein rebellion, but was arrested as the ‘Easter Uprising’ took place. The rebellion against the British in Dublin reached its worst level as Irish republicans took over sections of the city, while a Royal Navy gunboat bombarded them from the River Liffey.

1918Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the legendary German ace pilot who had destroyed 80 Allied aircraft, was shot down by an RAF fighter and died from the crash behind British lines. He was known as the ‘Red Baron’ because of his distinctive red Fokker tri-plane.

1926Queen Elizabeth II was born. On 23rd Janury 2015, (following the death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz), the Queen became the oldest reigning monarch in the world and on 21st April 2016 she became the first 90 year old head of state of the UK and 15 other Commonwealth realms.

1934The 'Surgeon's Photograph', the most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster, was published in the Daily Mail. In 1999, it was revealed to be a hoax.

1955National newspapers were published for the first time in nearly a month following the end of the maintenance workers' strike.

1959English ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn was jailed for a day in Panama while the police looked for her Panamanian husband, accused of plotting a coup.

1964BBC television launched Playschool as the opening programme of their second channel. BBC2 actually opened a day late due to a major power failure the previous day.

1983One pound coins replaced notes in England and Wales.

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