1969 – Actress Sharon Tate, the pregnant wife of director Roman Polanski, is found brutally murdered in her Los Angeles home along with four other victims. 

1972 – Widespread rioting in Nationalist areas of Northern Ireland on the anniversary of the introduction of Internment.

1974 – Gerald Ford takes over as president of the US as Richard Nixon leaves office.

1975 – Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich dies from lung cancer aged 68.

1979 – Brighton becomes the first major resort in Britain to agree to set aside part of its seafront to nudists.

1980 – Ten original Gerald Scarfe drawings for Pink Floyd’s album The Wall were stolen from the foyer of Earls Court where they were being exhibited.

1984 – Daley Thompson of Great Britain scores 8,797 points to win the Olympic decathlon in Los Angeles.

1986 – Queen ended their Magic European tour at Knebworth Park, Stevenage, with over 120,000 fans witnessing what would be the band’s last ever live performance with Freddie Mercury.

1990 – Former Manchester City manager Joe Mercer dies from Alzheimer’s disease at 76.

1992 – The last day of test cricket for David Gower. On the same day, Oscar De La Hoya of the US beats German Marco Rudolph on points to win the lightweight gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics.

1994 – During an Oasis gig at The Riverside in Newcastle upon Tyne, guitarist Noel Gallagher was hit in the face by a man who had jumped on the stage. Noel refused to carry on playing and after leaving the stage a mob of over 300 people attacked the band’s bus as they were leaving.

1996 – Sir Frank Whittle, inventor of the turbojet engine, dies aged 89.

2005 – The Magic Numbers walked out of an appearance on Top of the Pops when presenter Richard Bacon introduced them as having been put in a “fat melting pot of talent.” On the same day, singer/songwriter Marc Cohn survived being shot in the head during an attempted car jacking as he left a concert in Denver, Colorado.

2007 – Amy Winehouse cancelled a series of European shows after being admitted to hospital suffering from “severe exhaustion”. On the same day, Baltimore’s mayor Sheila Dixon proclaimed today as the city’s official Frank Zappa Day.

2012 – Jamaica’s Usain Bolt wins the 200m at the London Olympics in 19.32 to become the first to win 100/200m double in back-to-back Olympics.

2014 – Michael Brown, an 18 year old black man is shot dead by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. His death provokes nationwide protests and civil unrest.

2016 – Swimmer Michael Phelps wins the men’s 200m butterfly at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics – his 20th gold medal.