1986 - The Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez saw Ayrton Senna win by a mere 0.014 seconds over Nigel Mansell, one of Formula One's closest finishes.

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. Her commander was Captain Edward J. Smith.

1937 - The Mitsubishi Ki-15 Karigane (flown by Masaaki Iinuma and Kenji Tsukagoshi), nicknamed "Kamikaze", landed at Croydon Airport in London, marking the first time a Japanese-built aircraft flew 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.

1974 - The Swedish pop group ABBA won the 19th annual Eurovision Song Contest, held at The Dome in Brighton, Sussex, with their song "Waterloo". ABBA's win marked Sweden's first Eurovision victory and launched their career as one of the most successful pop groups of all time.

1621 - The Mayflower departed for England after having deposited 102 Pilgrims at what became the American colony of Plymouth (Massachusetts), United States.