1054Siward, Earl of Northumbria invaded Scotland and defeated Macbeth, King of Scotland 'somewhere north' of the Firth of Forth.

1214The Battle of Bouvines, which the English lost, in a field next to what is now the airport of Lille. "Bouvines is the most important battle in English history that no-one has ever heard of," said John France, medieval history professor. "Without Bouvines there is no Magna Carta, and all the British and American law that stems from that. The armies are small, but everything depends on the struggle. It's one of the climactic moments of European history."

1586Sir Walter Raleigh brought the first tobacco to England, from Virginia.

1663The English Parliament passed the Second Navigation Act requiring that all goods bound for the American colonies had to be sent in English ships from English ports.

1689The ending of the Battle of Killiecrankie, a battle fought between Highland Scottish clans supporting King James VII of Scotland and troops supporting King William of Orange, during the first Jacobite uprising. It was at this spot, called Soldier's Leap (see picture) where Donald MacBean, one of William II of Scotland's supporters, is said to have jumped across the River Garry. from one bank to the other, a distance of 18 ft (5.5.m)

1694The Bank of England was founded by act of Parliament.

1866The Great Eastern arrived at Heart's Content in Newfoundland, having successfully laid the transatlantic telegraph cable.

1877 The death of John Frost, a prominent Welsh leader of the British Chartist movement. (Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in Britain. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838). See picture of the Chartist monument in Newport outside the Westgate Hotel where 22 Chartists were killed in the Newport Rising on 4th November 1839.

1928Alfred 'Tich' Freeman, English cricketer and leg spin bowler for Kent and England, became the only bowler ever to take 200 first-class wickets before the end of July. He was the only man to take 300 wickets in an English season, and is the second most prolific wicket taker in first class cricket history, the record holder being the Yorkshire born Wilfred Rhodes.

1942The Battle of El Alamein ended after 17 days, with the British having prevented the German and Italian advance into Egypt.

1949The British De Havilland Comet, the first jet-propelled airliner, made its maiden flight. It was a 40-passenger airliner.

1958The birth of Christopher Dean, British ice skater and Olympic gold and bronze medal winner.

1965Shadow Chancellor Edward Heath beat off his rivals to become the new leader of the Conservative Party.

1969English rower Tom McLean arrived off the Irish coast to become the first man to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean - from west to east - a distance of 2000 miles. His voyage took 72 days.

1974At Ascot, English champion jockey Lester Piggott had 3 wins, bring his total to 3,001. By the time that he retired in 1985–86 he had 5,300 winners in the UK & abroad, including nine Epsom Derby victories.

1978Two British balloonists battling to be the first to cross the Atlantic got into difficulties half way across the ocean. Their balloon finally collapsed into the sea, just 110 miles from land.

1985English athlete Steve Cram set a new world record for the mile at 3 minutes 46.32 seconds in Oslo.

1988British pole vault record holder Jeff Gutteridge was banned for life by the British Amateur Athletic Board for taking steroids.

2003The death of Bob Hope, the English-born American comedian and actor.

2012The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London. The official mascot for the Olympic Games was named Wenlock (see picture), as it was in the market town of Much Wenlock, Shropshire that doctor William Penny Brookes founded the Olympian Games in 1850. This plaque to William Penny Brookes (see picture) is in Holy Trinity Church, Much Wenlock. The last time that the Games were held in Britain was 1948.

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