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.

1997 - Elton John started a six week run at No.1 in the UK singles chart with “Candle in the Wind ’97’ as a tribute to Princess Diana. It became the best-selling single of all time.

1975 - The first episode of Fawlty Towers aired on 19 September 1975. Audiences were keen to see what John Cleese would do after Monty Python, but at first the situation comedy received some less than enthusiastic reviews.

2014 - A referendum was held in Scotland, with one single question on the ballot paper - "Should Scotland be an independent country?" The "No" side won, with 2,001,926 (55.3%) of the votes.

2001 - The opening of the Gateshead Millennium Bridge that spans the River Tyne between Gateshead’s Quays arts quarter on the south bank, and the Quayside of Newcastle upon Tyne on the north bank.

1947 - John Cobb became the first man on land to exceed 400 mph, establishing a two-way record of 394.19 mph that stood for almost 17 years.

1916 - First use of tanks in warfare, "Little Willies" at Battle of Flers-Courcelette, part of the Battle of the Somme.

1951 - Prime Minister Clement Attlee opened the largest oil refinery in Europe, at Fawley on Southampton Water.