1979 - Twenty year old stuntman Eddie Kidd accomplished a "death-defying" motorcycle leap when he crossed an 80ft gap over a 50ft sheer drop above a viaduct at Maldon, Essex.

1960 - The first episode of Coronation Street was screened live on ITV. It is the world's longest-running television soap opera.

1864 - Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the Clifton Suspension Bridge spanning the Avon Gorge and the River Avon was finally opened. It was from this bridge that the first modern bungee jumps were taken.

1941 - Pearl Harbor was attacked. The Imperial Japanese Navy used 353 planes to attack the US fleet at Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor Naval Base. The attack killed 2,403 people.

2017 - Scientists discovered the most distant supermassive black hole. It’s estimated to be 13 billion light-years away and 800 million times the mass of our Sun.

1958 - Prime Minister Harold Macmillan (center) opened the Preston bypass in Lancashire. It was the first stretch of motorway in Britain and is now part of the M6 and M55 motorways.

1952 - A lethal fog began to cover London, lasting for five days, causing the term “smog” to be termed – a combination of smoke and fog.

1992 - The first text message was sent to a mobile phone by Vodafone engineer Neil Papworth in Berkshire. It was sent to test out the technology and read Merry Christmas.

1697 - The rebuilt St Paul’s Cathedral, the work of Sir Christopher Wren, was opened. The previous cathedral had been destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666.