1306Robert the Bruce (eighth Earl of Carrick) was crowned King of Scotland at Scone Palace, near Perth. Bruce secured Scottish independence from England, militarily, if not diplomatically, at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. His statue is at the Bannockburn battlefield site, (see picture) his body is buried in Dunfermline Abbey (see picture) while his heart is at Melrose Abbey. See picture.

1625King James I of England (he was also James VI of Scotland), died. King Charles I ascended to the throne as King of England, Scotland and Ireland as well as claiming the title King of France. He later lost the English Civil War and was executed by parliament.

1852 The completion of Grimsby Dock Tower. See picture. Its purpose was to provide hydraulic power to power the cranes, lock gates and sluices at Grimsby Docks. During the Second World War, there were plans to demolish the tower (309ft : 61m high) as it acted as a beacon for German Luftwaffe aircraft heading towards Liverpool. There is a model of the tower at Legoland in Windsor.

1854Crimean War:- Britain declared war on Russia.

1863Henry Royce, co-founder of the Rolls-Royce auto & aerospace companies was born.

1871Scotland beat England in the first international rugby union match in Edinburgh, at Raeburn Place. Scotland scored two tries and a goal to England's single try.

1880The Salvation Army uniform was authorized, but the distinctive bonnets for women did not appear until June.

1881Rioting took place in Basingstoke in protest against the daily promotion of rigid alcohol abstinence by the Salvation Army.

1899Italian inventor Marconi achieved the first international radio transmission (a Morse Code message) between England and France.

1912Birth of (Leonard) James Callaghan, former Labour Party leader and Prime Minister from 1976-1979.

1923The death of Sir James Dewar, Scottish chemist and physicist and the inventor of the vacuum flask.

1963The Beeching Report on Britain's railways was published. The report concluded that only half the network's routes carried enough traffic to cover the cost of operating them. Many lines and stations were subsequently closed.

1964Six months after the ‘Great Train Robbery’ in Buckinghamshire, 20 of the gang were still at large, but the ten who were arrested were found guilty of stealing more than £2.6m from mailbags. They included Ronnie Biggs. Sentences totalled 307 years in jail.

1966The stolen football world cup was found in south London by a dog called Pickles, whilst it was out for a walk with its owner.

1980The oilrig platform Alexander Keiland, located 235 miles east of Dundee, overturned in the North Sea killing 123.

1991David Icke, former footballer, BBC sports presenter and member of the Green Party, announced that he had been "chosen" to save the world.

1994The future warplane, Eurofighter, made its inaugural flight two years later than expected, at Manching in Germany. Eurofighter is the most expensive combat aircraft built in Europe, and was developed by a consortium of European companies, including British Aerospace. See picture.

2004HMS Scylla, a decommissioned Leander class frigate, was sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, about 40 minutes by boat from Plymouth. It was the first of its kind in Europe and the ship soon became a very popular dive site and a source of study for marine life.

2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson tested positive for coronavirus, also the Health Secretary Matt Hancock and England's Chief Medical Officer, Prof. Chris Whitty, has shown symptoms. Figures showed that another 181 people died with the virus in the past day alone.

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