1478George - Duke of Clarence, impeached for treason by his brothers Edward IV and Richard III, was, (so legend decrees), secretly drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine at the Tower of London. The allegations may have originated as a joke, based on his reputation as a heavy drinker. However, a butt was equal to 105 imperial gallons, enough to easily drown a man. A body, believed to be that of Clarence was later exhumed, and showed no indications of beheading, the normal method of execution for those of noble birth at that time.

1516The birth of Mary I, Queen of England, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.

1678Pilgrim’s Progress was published. John Bunyan started writing it during his second term in prison, for preaching on behalf of the Baptists.

1871The birth, in Sheffield, of Harry Brearley who is credited with the invention of "rustless steel" (later to be called "stainless steel").

1882Oliver Vaughton (5 goals) and Arthur Brown (4 goals) became the first English players to score hat tricks in a full football international when England beat Ireland 13-0.

1901Winston Churchill made his maiden speech in the House of Commons.

1933 The birth, in Sacriston (County Durham), of Sir Robert William "Bobby" Robson CBE, English footballer and football manager. Appointed (in 1999) as Newcastle's manager at the age of 66 he was the oldest manager in the league. His first home game in charge was particularly memorable and impressive: an 8–0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday. The result remains the club's record Premier League home win. See the picture of his statue outside St James Park, Newcastle.

1946Sailors of the Royal Indian Navy mutinied in Mumbai harbour, from where it spread throughout British India. The mutiny involved 78 ships, 20 shore establishments and 20,000 sailors.

1949Opportunity Knocks was presented for the first time (on BBC radio) by its creator, Hughie Greene. It later transferred to Radio Luxembourg then went on to become a popular television programme on ITV.

1969Hundreds of people clamoured to see the marriage of pop stars Lulu and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees in a Buckinghamshire church.

1981Mrs. Thatcher's Conservative Government withdrew plans to close 23 pits in its first major U-turn since coming to power two years previously.

1981Oxford University announced that Sue Brown would become the first woman cox in the history of the University Boat Race.

1991One man was killed and 43 people injured by an IRA bomb at Victoria Station.

1996An IRA bomb detonated prematurely on a bus travelling in central London, killing Edward O'Brien, the IRA member who was transporting the device. Eight others were injured.

2003The Hutton inquiry heard that No.10 Downing Street authorised a substantial rewrite of its Iraq arms dossier before publication.

2012Bill Cooper (83) and his wife Laurel (82), who had spent the previous 36 years sailing round the world and clocked up 100,000 nautical miles returned to the UK to retire, because their health was starting to fail. They had sold their home in Chatham, Kent, and set off from Lowestoft, Suffolk, in June 1976 on their 50ft. vessel Fare Well.

2015 It was announced that RBS and NatWest banks were to allow their customers to access accounts on their smartphones using Apple's Touch ID fingerprint recognition technology.

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