1937 – King George VI officially opened the National Maritime Museum.

1939 – Conscription for men aged 20 – 21 was announced in Britain.

1944 – The birth of Michael Fish, British meteorologist. He became infamous in the wake of the Great Storm of 1987 when it was rumoured that there a hurricane on the way to which he commented ‘Well, if you’re watching, don’t worry, there isn’t!’ That evening, the worst storm to hit South East England since 1703 caused record damage and killed 18 people.

1945 – World War II: The Völkischer Beobachter, the newspaper of the Nazi Party, ceased publication.

1968 – The Abortion Act legalised abortion in Britain when pregnancy could endanger the physical or mental health of a woman or child.

1971 – Police were forced to physically remove demonstrators from the entrance of a courtroom after they disrupted proceedings inside. Eight people were accused of conspiring to damage, remove or destroy English language road signs in Wales during a rally in December 1970. It was regarded as a major event in the struggle for greater recognition of the Welsh Language.

1992 – The House of Commons elected a woman to the post of Speaker for the first time. She was Betty Boothroyd, the 62-year-old Labour MP for West Bromwich.

2005 – The Airbus A380 passenger airliner successfully underwent its maiden flight. It was first delivered to Singapore Airlines on 15 October 2007 and entered service on 25 October.

2014 – TV Springwatch presenters Chris Packham and Bill Oddie blamed a risk-averse culture for ‘killing childhood’. “Children should be allowed to get up to mischief in the countryside by starting fires, trespassing and scrumping. Parents should let their children roam the countryside unsupervised.” Oddie also questioned a current campaign by the National Trust – 50 things to do before you’re 11¾ – in which adults and children take part in activities together, saying it does not encouraging children to get away from older generations.

2020 – Prime Minister Boris Johnson returned to work after being hospitalised (5th April) and then placed in intensive care with coronavirus. At the time of his return, more than 21,000 had died in hospital from coronavirus, with another reported 4,300 coronavirus deaths in care homes in just two weeks.