2016 - Astronomers announced the discovery of an Earth-like planet named Proxima b. The planet orbits the nearest star to our sun, Proxima Centauri, 4.22 lightyears away.

2005 - Hilary Lister, from Kent, became the first quadriplegic sailor to cross the English Channel. She achieved this by using controls powered by her breath to navigate her boat and made the crossing in six hours thirteen minutes.

1989 - The rings of Neptune were discovered. NASA’s spacecraft Voyager 2 was approaching Neptune when images revealed a faint ring circling the planet.

2017 - Restoration work halted the chimes of Big Ben from noon, for four years of conservation work on the Elizabeth Tower. The Tower is 96 metres high and home to the bells that make up the Great Clock, the most photographed building in Britain.

1989 - The pleasure cruiser Marchioness was hit by a dredger, the Bowbelle, on the River Thames. The collision resulted in the deaths of 51 people out of 131 onboard.

2008 - Chris Hoy encapsulates British dominance of track cycling at the Beijing Olympics beating teammate Jason Kenny to win the sprint, adding to his keirin and team sprint gold medals.

1932 - Scottish aviator, Jim Mollison made the first westbound solo transatlantic flight in a light aircraft when he arrived in New Brunswick, Canada after leaving Portmarnock in Ireland 30 hours earlier.

1979 - “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” directed by Terry Jones, starring Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, & John Cleese, premieres in the US (8th November 1979 in the UK). “Wait till Biggus Dickus hears of this!”

2004 - Flash floods struck the Cornish village of Boscastle after receiving an amount of rain equivalent to the area's average August rainfall in just two hours.