1989 - The oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of oil. The ecologically sensitive location, season of the year, and large scale of this spill resulted in one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history.

1956 - Queen Elizabeth II laid the foundation stone of the new Coventry cathedral. The new building was built next to the remains of the 14th-century cathedral that had been destroyed in the 2nd World War.

1997 - Comet Hale-Bopp made its closest approach to Earth in the skies over the northern hemisphere. Hale-Bopp was visible to the naked eye for about 18 months, making it one of the most-viewed comets in history. The comet’s next pass is predicted for the year 4300.

1990 - A demonstration in London against the poll tax became a riot. More than 400 people were arrested. During the early months of 1990, over 6,000 anti-poll tax actions were held nationwide, with demonstrations in England and Wales drawing together thousands of protestors.

1999 - British balloonist Brian Jones and Swiss physicist Bertrand Piccard became the first to fly a hot-air balloon non-stop around the world. They eventually landed in the Egyptian desert after a 45,755-kilometer (28,431-mile) flight lasting 19 days, 21 hours, and 47 minutes.

1969 - The 385-metre-tall (1,263 ft) TV-mast at Emley Moor transmitting station, United Kingdom, collapses due to ice build-up. The falling mast caused damage to a chapel and the transmitter building, but thankfully, no one was injured.

1960 - The steam locomotive, Evening Star (No. 92220), the last steam locomotive built by British Railways was named at Swindon Works after the name was chosen from a competition in the BR Western Region Staff Magazine.

2015 - The UK's first Bio-Bus, nicknamed 'the poo bus' was officially launched in Bristol as "Service Number 2". Powered entirely on gas generated by human and food waste, it went into regular service on 25th March.

1689 - The 23rd Regiment of Foot (later known as the Royal Welch Fusiliers) was founded to oppose James II and the imminent war with France.