871 The Battle of Marton, took place at a place recorded as Marton, perhaps in Wiltshire or Dorset. King Æthelred of Wessex (who reigned from 865 - 871) and Prince Alfred fought against the Danes. After 'much slaughter' the Danes remained masters of the field. It was the last of the battles known to be fought by Æthelred against the Danes that year, and the defeated King is reported to have died in April 871.

1774Mary Cooper published the first book of English nursery rhymes. Called Tommy Thumb's Song Book, it included Baa Baa Black Sheep, whose 'three bags full' is thought to refer to a tax imposed on the wool trade in 1275.

1785 The birth, in the village of Dent (now in Cumbria, but still in the Yorkshire Dales National Park!) of Adam Sedgwick, a British geologist and one of the founders of modern geology. Sedgwick had guided the young Charles Darwin in his early study of geology, but was an opponent of Darwin's theory of evolution. This commemorative stone (see picture) is in Dent village. The Sedgwick Club (University of Cambridge) is the oldest student-run geological society in the world and was set up in honour of him in 1880.

1824The British parliament purchased 38 paintings (cost £57,000) to establish a national collection now at the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London.

1888The English Football League was founded when 12 clubs met at a hotel in Fleet Street, London.

1896 The death of Thomas Hughes, See picture, English lawyer and author of the novel Tom Brown's School Days, a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, where Hughes had been a pupil.

1906The first rugby international between France and England in Paris ended with a 35-0 victory to England.

1910The birth of Nicholas Monsarrat, naval officer and British novelist known today for his sea stories, particularly The Cruel Sea (1951), regarded as his finest work.

1912The birth of Wilfrid Brambell, Irish film and television actor best known for his role as Albert Steptoe in the television series Steptoe and Son. He also performed alongside The Beatles in their film A Hard Day's Night, playing Paul McCartney's fictional grandfather and played Ebenezer Scrooge in a musical version of A Christmas Carol.

1926The first directional road markings were introduced onto British roads (Hyde Park Corner, London). They caused confusion and led to seven accidents on the first day.

1942The BBC began broadcasting in Morse code to the French Resistance.

1948Andrew Lloyd Webber, English composer of musicals, was born. Several of his 13 musicals have run for more than a decade, both in the West End and on Broadway. He was awarded a knighthood in 1992, followed by a peerage from the British Government.

1954Closed since 1939, the London bullion market, a market for trading gold and silver, reopened.

1963John Profumo (Secretary of State for War) denied any impropriety with the model Christine Keeler, or that he was in any way connected to her disappearance when she had been due to appear as a witness in a trial at the Old Bailey. On 5th June 1963 he resigned after admitting that he had lied about his relationship.

1997Comet Hale-Bopp made its closest approach to Earth in the skies over the northern hemisphere. The comet’s next pass is predicted for the year 4397.

2000D.C. Cook became the first major dealership to sell imported vehicles on the Internet and car buyers were offered price reductions of up to 40%

2002 A woman, paralysed from the neck down and known to the court as 'Miss B', won the legal right to die by having her treatment withdrawn.

2006Three Christian Peacemaker Team hostages were freed by British forces in Baghdad after 118 days of captivity and the death of their colleague, American Tom Fox.

2013The death, in Ripley, Debyshire of New Zealand born George Lowe, aged 89. He was the last surviving member of the team which first conquered Everest in 1953.

2015 The coffin of Richard III, the last Plantagenet king, visited locations in Leicestershire associated with his final days, ahead of the reinterment at Leicester Cathedral on 26th March. More than 5,000 white, hand-made roses were placed along the route of Richard III's cortege to raise awareness of missing people.

2017 Four members of the public were killed and fifty injured at Westminster in a terrorist incident on Westminster Bridge. The terrorist, who was attempting an assault on the Houses of Parliament.was shot and killed after he drove his car at pedestrians on the bridge and then knifed PC Keith Palmer to death.

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