1964 - Interior designer and businessman Terence Conran opened his first Habitat Shop in London's Fulham Road.

1824 - The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, London opened to the public. It houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.

1662 - The first recorded Punch & Judy Show in Britain took place at Covent Garden in London performed by the Italian puppet showman Pietro Gimonde from Bologna, otherwise known as Signor Bologna.

1984 - The Thames Barrier is officially opened, preventing the floodplain of most of Greater London from being flooded except under extreme circumstances.

1765 - HMS Victory, the ship which became the flagship of British Admiral Horatio Nelson, was launched at Chatham. The ship is now preserved at Portsmouth.

1979 - Six rock-cut tombs at Heysham in Lancashire became Grade I listed and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Further excavation in 1993 on land below the stone coffins showed that the site had been occupied about 12,000 years previously.

1980 - The SAS stormed the terrorist-occupied Iranian Embassy at Knightsbridge in London. Four gunmen were killed in the attack and all 19 hostages were rescued.

1471 - Edward IV defeated a Lancastrian Army and killed Edward, Prince of Wales. Many of the Lancastrian nobles and knights sought sanctuary in Tewkesbury Abbey although the Abbey was not officially a sanctuary.

1926 - Britain's first General Strike, in support of the miners started 'On This Day'. It ended on 12th May.