1603After 44 years of rule, Queen Elizabeth I of England died. The English and Scottish crowns were united when James VI of Scotland became King James 1st of England.

1707The Acts of Union 1707 was signed, officially uniting the Kingdoms of England and Scotland to create the Kingdom of Great Britain.

1733 The birth of Joseph Priestley (FRS) the 18th-century English theologian and chemist. Priestley is generally credited with the discovery of oxygen. He was born at Birstall, near Leeds. This statue (see picture) of Priestley is in Leeds City Square.

1765American Revolutionary War: Great Britain passed the Quartering Act that required the Thirteen Colonies to house British troops.

1829Parliament passed the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, allowing Catholics to serve in Parliament.

1834William Morris, English craftsman, poet and socialist, was born. His designs for furniture, fabrics, stained glass, wallpaper, and other decorative products revolutionized Victorian taste. Kelmscott Manor (see picture) was his country home from 1871 until his death in 1896. The South Transept Window of St Michael church and All Angels in Lyndhurst, Hampshire (see picture) was made in the William Morris workshop. It is thought that the bearded man being grabbed by the scruff of his collar in the lower left window was a representation of William Morris. See close-up picture.

1877The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race on the River Thames ended in a dead heat. Legend in Oxford has it that the judge, 'Honest John' Phelps, was asleep under a bush when the race finished, leading him to announce the result as a 'dead heat to Oxford by four feet'.

1878The British frigate HMS Eurydice sank off the Isle of Wight, close to Ventnor, during a heavy snow storm. All but two of the 319 crew and trainees were killed. It was one of Britain's worst peace-time naval disasters. The ship's bell is preserved in St. Paul's Church, Gatten, Shanklin. See picture of Shanklin Bay.

1944World War II: In an event later dramatized in the movie The Great Escape, 76 prisoners began breaking out of Stalag Luft III.

1946Broadcaster Alastair Cooke read his first 'Letter from America' on BBC Radio. His weekly broadcasts continued for more than 50 years.

1951The Oxford boat sank during the University boat race. Cambridge won the rematch two days later.

1953Her Majesty, Queen Mary, (Queen Consort to King George V) died peacefully in her sleep after a long illness.

1964Stansted was chosen as the site of London's third major airport.

1970Boxer Henry Cooper retained his heavyweight title beating challenger Jack Bodell.

1976The death of British Field Marshal Montgomery, one of the outstanding Allied commanders in World War II.

1978The oil tanker Amoco Cadiz, aground in the English Channel since 16th March, split in two, spilling the last of her 1.6 million barrels of oil.

1981The 'Great Train Robber' Ronnie Biggs was rescued by Barbados police following his kidnapping.

1992Punch, Britain's oldest satirical magazine dating back almost 151 years, announced that it would cease publication because of financial losses.

1994 The new Jewel House, at the Tower of London, was opened by the Queen.

2015 UK inflation fell to zero for the first time on record. A deep oil price slump and a fierce price war being fought out by supermarkets brought fuel prices down by 16.6% over the year and cut food prices by 3.4%.

2020 Day one of the government 'lockdown' of Britain to try and curb the coronavirus epidemic. Yesterday evening's announcement from Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered people to stay at home, except for shopping for basic necessities, daily exercise, any medical need and for travelling to and from essential work for an initial period of three weeks. Shops selling non-essential goods were told to shut and gatherings in public of more than two people who do not live together were prohibited. The public were warned that if they did not follow the rules, police would have the powers to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings.

You may be interested in reading my page about the Derbyshire plague village of Eyam, in which the villagers self-isolated themselves to prevent the bubonic plague of 1665 spreading to other areas.

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