1466The birth of Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII and mother of King Henry VIII. She died, on her birthday in 1503 aged 37. In the children's nursery rhyme, 'Sing a Song of Sixpence' Elizabeth is reportedly the queen in the parlour, while her husband, with a reputation for thrift, is the king counting his money.

1531Henry VIII declared himself as supreme head of the Church of England.

1542Catherine Howard, the fifth queen consort of Henry VIII, was confined in the Tower of London to be executed three days later. Henry learned that Catherine had had several affairs before their marriage and had Parliament declare it treason for an unchaste woman to marry the king. The night before her execution, Catherine spent many hours practising how to lay her head upon the block.

1800The birth of William Henry Fox Talbot, English pioneer of photography. Talbot's technique involved the use of a photographic negative, from which multiple prints could be made. His photograph of the Oriel window at Lacock Abbey, is the earliest camera negative in existence. See the picture of his famous picture of the window at Lacock Abbey, and my, (not quite so famous) digital picture, of the same window!

1895The lowest ever UK temperature of -27.2°C was recorded at Braemar in Aberdeenshire. This record was equalled, also at Braemar on 10th January 1982. Minus 27°C was also recorded at Altnaharra (Highland) on 30th December 1995.

1908Birth of Sir Vivien Fuchs, English geologist and leader of the Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition (1956-8).

1932The birth in Clay Cross, Derbyshire of Dennis Edward Skinner, former NUM leader and Labour Member of Parliament for Bolsover since 1970. He is known for never missing a Commons session, for his left-wing views and his acid tongue that has led to him being suspended from Parliament on at least ten occasions, usually for 'unparliamentary language' when attacking opponents.

1934The birth of the racing driver John Surtees. He remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels.

1956Two British spies, Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, who had vanished in mysterious circumstances five years previously, re-appeared in the Soviet Union.

1963 The death, by suicide, of the 30 year old, Boston born poet and novelist Sylvia Plath. She was married to fellow poet Ted Hughes. Hughes served as Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death. Sylvia Plath is buried (see picture) in the extension to Heptonstall graveyard, West Yorkshire

1971Eighty-seven countries, including the UK, the United States and the USSR, sign the Seabed Treaty. It outlawed nuclear weapons on the ocean floor in international waters.

1975Margaret Thatcher won the Conservative Party Leadership and became the first woman leader of a British political party.

1976John Curry became the first Briton to win a gold medal for men’s figure skating.

1983Police launched a mass murder investigation in London after discovering human remains in drains. Civil servant Dennis Andrew Nilsen, 37, was later charged with 12 murders and sentenced to six life sentences.

1993Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince of Wales both volunteered to pay income tax and capital gains tax on their private income. The Queen also took over civil list payments to junior members of the royal family.

2017 It was announced that Andrew Lloyd Webber had become the first composer to have four shows on Broadway at one time since Rodgers and Hammerstein in 1953. His shows were School of Rock – The Musical, The Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Sunset Boulevard.

2022 The national papers carried the story that Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick, the first woman to lead the UK's biggest police force, was to leave her role after a series of damaging controversies. The police watchdog found 'disgraceful' misogyny, discrimination and sex harassment among some Met. PCs and London's Mayor, Sadiq Khan, made it clear to her that he had no confidence in her leadership.

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