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).

2008 - Weston-super-Mare Grand Pier burns down for the second time in 80 years. Following the 2008 fire, which completely destroyed the pavilion, the pier was rebuilt at a cost of £39 million and reopened on 23rd October 2010.

1974 - At Ascot, English champion jockey Lester Piggott had 3 wins, bring his total to 3,001. By the time that he retired in 1985–86 he had 5,300 winners in the UK & abroad, including nine Epsom Derby victories.

2018 - In one day, Facebook lost $120 billion in value on the stock market. The drop equated to 20% of the company value and was the worst drop in Facebook's history.