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

2009 - The UK’s largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure was discovered buried in a field in Staffordshire. The hoard, containing almost 4,000 objects and fragments of war-gear, is thought to have been buried in the 7th century in the Kingdom of Mercia.

2000 - British rower Sir Steve Redgrave won his fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal in the men's coxless fours, making history as the only British athlete to achieve this feat.

1934 - The worst pit disaster in Britain for 21 years at the time, killed more than 260 miners in an explosion and fire at the Gresford Mine, near Wrexham 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. The miners began returning to work in large numbers in February 1985.

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 titled "A Touch of Class," aired on BBC2. Only 12 half hour episodes were ever made.

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.

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.