1606Sir Everard Digby, Thomas Winter, John Grant and Thomas Bates who, along with others, had tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in November 1605 were hanged, drawn and quartered for their part in the 'Gunpowder Plot'.

1649The executioner Richard Brandon beheaded King Charles I at Whitehall.

1661Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, was exhumed and formally executed, after having been dead for two years! Ironically, it took place on the anniversary of the execution of King Charles I, the monarch who Cromwell himself had deposed 12 years previously.

1736 The birth of James Watt, Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1781. His engine was fundamental to the changes of the Industrial Revolution.

1790The first purpose-built lifeboat, The Original, was launched on the River Tyne at South Shields. The boat was 28 feet (8.5m) long and was rowed by up to 12 crew for whom cork life jackets were provided.

1826The opening of the Menai Bridge, the world's first modern suspension bridge. It was designed by Thomas Telford and links North Wales to the island of Anglesey. See picture.

1858Charles Hallé founded the celebrated Hallé Orchestra in Manchester. Charles Hallé remained its principal conductor, proprietor and performer until his death in 1895.

1915The birth of John Profumo, British politician. He is best remembered today for his involvement in a 1963 scandal involving the 'call-girl' Christine Keeler. After his resignation, Profumo began to work as a volunteer, cleaning toilets at Toynbee Hall, a charity based in the East End of London with a focus on working towards a future without poverty. Eventually Profumo volunteered as the charity's chief fundraiser and was awarded a CBE in 1975 for his charitable activities.

1937Birth of the actress Vanessa Redgrave. She remains the only British actress ever to win the Oscar, Emmy, Tony, Cannes, Golden Globe, and the Screen Actors Guild awards. She was also the recipient of the 2010 BAFTA Fellowship 'in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film'.

1965The state funeral, in London, of Sir Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of Britain. It was the biggest state funeral of its kind since the burial of the Duke of Wellington in 1852. After his state funeral service, his body was taken by train to Bladon, Oxfordshire and there the private burial took place, conducted by the rector. By contrast with the earlier service, only relatives and close friends were present. The grave of Winston Churchill is in Bladon churchyerd (see picture). The bells in the church were rung for 2 hrs and 40 minutes - (see picture).

1969The Beatles played their last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in London. The impromptu concert was broken up by the police.

1972‘Bloody Sunday’ in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. British paratroopers, believing they were under fire from Catholic protesters on a banned march which had become a violent riot, opened fire, killing 13 people.

1988A microlight aircraft landed near Sydney, Australia, to create a record time of 55 days since leaving London.

2003British-born Richard Reid was sentenced to life in jail for trying to bomb an American Airlines flight carrying 197 people.

2012London City trader Kweku Adoboli appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court accused of fraudulently gambling away a record £1.5bn whilst working for Swiss bank UBS. He was subsequently jailed for seven years after being found guilty of two counts of fraud.

2015 Sir Jay Tidmarsh, Lord-Lieutenant of Bristol between 1996 and 2007, found an old school library book as he cleared his shelves. He decided to return the book to Taunton School, in Somerset, and made a £1,500 donation to the library in lieu of a fine for not returning the book for 65 years.

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