1596An English expedition under Lord Howard of Effingham and the Earl of Essex attacked Cadiz, ravaged the Spanish coast, and captured much booty. Philip II was thus prevented from sending an Armada against England.

1643The Battle of Adwalton Moor (also called Atherton Moor) in the English Civil War. The Royalists, under the Earl of Newcastle, defeated the Parliamentarians.

1704John Quelch, aged 38 and an English pirate, was hanged for piracy in Boston. He was the first person to be tried for piracy outside England under Admiralty Law and thus without a jury.

1837Punishment by pillory was finally abolished in Britain.

1893The birth of Harold (Joseph) Laski, English politician and economist who campaigned for social reforms. He became chairman of the Labour Party in 1945.

1894London's Tower Bridge was officially opened to traffic by the Prince of Wales. After the ceremony the bascules were raised to allow a flotilla of ships and boats to sail down the Thames.

1937The world's first emergency telephone number, 999, was introduced in London. 999 was chosen was because it could be dialled on the old rotary dial telephones by placing a finger against the dial stop and rotating the dial to the full extent three times, even in the dark or in dense smoke. This enabled all users, including the visually impaired, to easily dial the emergency number.

1954A total eclipse of the sun spread from America, through Europe and on to Asia.

1956‘I’m Walking Backwards For Christmas’, written and performed by arch-Goon Spike Milligan, entered the British singles chart ..... six months after Christmas.

1957The British Egg Marketing Board stamped a crowned lion on British eggs as a sign of freshness. In the first week 80% of all eggs sold carried the stamp.

1960The London production of the stage musical Oliver opened in the West End.

1969 In prepartaion for his investiture as Prince of Wales the following day in Caernarfon, Prince Charles spent the night at Ruthin Castle. See picture of Ruthin Castle, now the Ruthin Castle Hotel.

1973Observers aboard the Concorde jet observed a 72 minute solar eclipse.

1992Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher took her place in the House of Lords as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven.

1997Britain handed Hong Kong back to China at midnight, when the 99 year lease expired.

1998Violence erupted at the inquiry into the 1993 murder of the 18 year old, black teenager Stephen Lawrence when the five suspects left the courtroom. It was suggested that the murder was racially motivated and that the handling of the case by the police and Crown Prosecution Service was affected by issues of race.

2007A blazing vehicle, packed with gas canisters, was driven into the front of the Glasgow airport's Terminal One building in a suspected terror attack. The failed terror attacks were to prove a serious first test for new Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who had taken over at Number 10 and unveiled his first Cabinet revamp only the day before.

2012Rufus, the hawk that patrolled Wimbledon's tennis courts to frighten away pigeons, was stolen from a car parked outside his owner's home. Three days later he was returned, to a national animal charity in London.

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