2012 - Pioneering astronomer and physicist Sir Bernard Lovell, the founder of University of Manchester’s Jodrell Bank Observatory died, aged 98.

1957 – The comic strip “Andy Capp” created by cartoonist Reg Smythe, makes its debut in The Daily Mirror.

2015 - Because of the locusts, a state of emergency has been declared in three regions near Stavropol, according to local media. In Stavropol alone, efforts to kill the insects have stretched across more than 350 miles, according to officials.

1926 - Manually operated three-colour traffic lights were first used in Piccadilly, London with automatic traffic lights making their first appearance on an experimental basis in Princes Square, Wolverhampton, during November 1927.

1985 - England captain David Gower scores his 5,000th run in Test cricket during the drawn fourth Test v Australia at Old Trafford.

2017 - The reopening, after a £19 million restoration, of the Piece Hall in Halifax, one of Britain’s most outstanding Georgian buildings.

1970 - The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy. The centuries-old tradition of issuing alcohol to the sailors of British warships came to the end with the final tots of rum being handed out that morning in ships and establishments around the world.

1966 - England won the Football World Cup in London, beating West Germany 4 – 2. This was England’s first (and only) win since the tournament began in 1930. England forward Geoff Hurst became the only man to score a hat-trick in a world cup final.

1987 - British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France François Mitterrand sign the agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel (Eurotunnel).