2007 - Calder Hall, the world’s first commercial nuclear power station, was demolished in a controlled explosion. When it closed on 31st March 2003, the first reactor had been in use for nearly 47 years.

1928 - Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered what later became known as penicillin when he found that a mould had developed on an accidentally contaminated staphylococcus culture plate. His ‘bacteria killer’ discovery changed the world of modern medicine and has saved millions of people around the world.

1825 - The world’s first public railway service began with the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Built by George Stephenson, the track was 27 miles long, and the steam locomotive pulled 32 passenger wagons at ten miles per hour.

1997 - Two earthquakes strike the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi to collapse and damaging priceless artefacts.

1977 - Independent airline owner Freddie Laker took on the main commercial airlines with his first ‘Skytrain’ service between London and New York... Look how comefy those seats look!

2009 - The UK’s largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure was discovered buried in a field in Staffordshire. Experts said that the collection of 1,500 gold and silver pieces, which may date to the 7th Century, was unparalleled in size and worth “a seven-figure sum”.

2019 - Travel company Thomas Cook goes into liquidation, stranding 600,000 travellers worldwide with 150,000 of them being British.

1934 - The worst pit disaster in Britain for 21 years killed more than 260 miners in an explosion and fire at the Gresford Mine in Wales.

1984 - Police and miners clashed at a pit in Maltby, South Yorkshire, in one of the biggest pickets since the miners’ strike began.