2019 - The historic Notre-Dame de Paris caught fire during a restoration campaign. The blaze destroyed most of the cathedral's roof and the 19th-century spire.

2010 - Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland sent ash plumes into the skies that spread and disrupted air traffic across northern and central Europe. Over 95,000 flights had been cancelled all across Europe during the six-day airspace ban.

1892 - The birth of Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, considered by many to be the inventor of radar. The system provided the vital advance information that helped the Royal Air Force win the Battle of Britain.

1989 - Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 'Cats' was performed for the 3,358th time at the New London Theatre, Drury Lane, making it Britain’s longest running musical.

1951 - The Stone of Scone, (the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned) was found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey in Angus. It had been stolen from Westminster Abbey 107 days earlier by Scottish nationalists.

1912 - Shortly after 12noon, The British built luxury liner RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton's White Star Dock on her maiden voyage to New York.

1937 - The Kamikaze arrived at Croydon Airport in London. It was the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.

1093 - The new Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire was dedicated to Bishop Walkelin after which, the monks moved into their new home and the relics of St Swithun transferred.

1739 - English highwayman Dick Turpin was hanged in York for murdering an inn-keeper. Before becoming a highwayman, he had been a butcher's apprentice. He is also known for a fictional 200-mile (320 km) overnight ride from London to York on his horse Black Bess, a story that was made famous by the Victorian novelist William Harrison Ainsworth almost 100 years after Turpin's death.