1914 – Alec Guinness, English actor was born. His roles included ‘Kind Hearts and Coronets’, ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’, for which he won an Oscar, and ‘The Ladykillers’. He was also nominated for a further four Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for what is possibly his best-known role; as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

1921 – The IRA took delivery of their first consignment of ‘Tommy’ guns. It’s said that the nickname comes from their potential targets, British ‘Tommies’, but Tommy Gun is more likely derived from its American creator General John T. Thompson. The guns were developed for him with the assistance of Oscar Payne and Theodore Eickhoff of Hartford, Connecticut.

1940 – The birth of actress Penelope Keith. She became a household name in the 1970s when she played Margo Leadbetter in the sitcom The Good Life. She was also the lead character in another BBC sitcom, To the Manor Born, a show that received audiences of more than 20 million.

1946 – Britain’s Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst was founded.

1954 – Britain’s first TV soap opera was transmitted. It was ‘The Grove Family’, named after the BBC’s Lime Grove Studios in London.

1960 – The birth of sprinter Linford Christie. He is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes: the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games.

1962 – A new style of pedestrian crossing (the Panda crossing) was launched in London by the Minister of Transport, Ernest Marples. It caused confusion among both drivers and pedestrians.

1966 – The death of the author C.S Forester, best known for his ‘Hornblower’ books.

1977 – Charlotte Brew becomes the first woman jockey to ride in the Grand National. Her horse, Barony Fort, fell at the 27th fence.

1977 – Red Rum won the Grand National for a record third time.

1982 – Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, a British possession for 149 years. The British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force. The resulting conflict lasted 74 days and ended with the Argentine surrender on 14th June 1982, which returned the islands to British control. During the Falklands conflict the Royal Navy requisitioned more vessels registered in Hull than from any other British port.

2007 – A smoking ban came into force in Wales, making it illegal for anyone to smoke in an enclosed public place and within the workplace.

2019 – NASA states it wants to send astronauts to Mars by 2033, and land on the Moon again in 2024.

2020 – The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide passes 1 million, with 1,002,159 cases and 51,485 deaths reported.