1996 - A block of gray sandstone known as the Stone of Scone was returned to Scotland, 700 years after it had been taken to England as war booty by King Edward I.

2015 - Great Britain won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936 after Andy Murray beat Belgium's David Goffin to clinch the decisive point in Ghent, Belgium.

1935 - The Miles quadruplets (Ann, Ernest, Michael and Paul) were born in Cambridgeshire and were the first British quads to survive infancy.

1944 - Between 3,500 and 4,000 tons of explosives stored in a cavern beneath Staffordshire detonated, killing 68 people and wiping out an entire farm.

1805 - Scottish civil engineer Thomas Telford designed and completed The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

1984 - The cream of the British pop world including Bono, George Michael, Boy George, Paul Young and Sting gathered to record the historic Do They Know It’s Christmas? as Band Aid.

1991 - Queen frontman Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara) died at the age of 45, following complications from the AIDS virus.

2022 - The European Space Agency is the first to announce the inclusion of a disabled person, Britain's John McFall (surgeon and former Paralympian), among their new class of astronauts.

2003 - England's rugby team won the World Cup, beating Australia 20-17 in a nail biting final in Sydney. Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson lands winning drop goal in extra time.