1868 – The birth of Arthur Gore, English tennis player. He competed at Wimbledon on every occasion from 1888 to 1927, winning the men’s singles championship in 1901 and 1908, and becoming the oldest winner in 1909. He also won two gold medals at the London Olympics in 1908, winning the men’s indoor singles and the men’s indoor doubles, with Herbert Barrett.

1905 – Sir Michael Tippett, English composer, was born. His most famous work ‘A Child of Our Time’ was inspired by events in 1938 when a Jewish refugee teenager in Paris murdered a German diplomat. The attack was a catalyst for the Nazis’ attacks against Jews in Germany. During the war Tippett tried, and failed, to get exemption as a conscientious objector, and was imprisoned.

1938 – David Bailey, English photographer, was born. Along with photographers Terence Donovan and Brian Duffy, he captured and helped create the ‘Swinging London’ of the 1960s.

1969 – Australian Rupert Murdoch beat off a rival bid to win control of the News of the World, his first Fleet Street newspaper.

1971 – Sixty six spectators were crushed to death and more than 200 others injured at the Ibrox football ground in Glasgow at the end of a Rangers v Celtic derby. The official inquiry into the disaster concluded that someone, possibly a child being carried on his father’s shoulders, fell whilst exiting the ground, causing a massive chain reaction pile up of people. It was the second major loss of life at the Ibrox, the previous one being in 1902 when 25 people died and 517 were injured when a Stand collapsed after heavy rain. A statue of John Greig, who spent his career with Rangers, as a player, manager and director commemorates those killed in the 1971 tragedy.

1974 – Museums and Galleries began charging admission for the first time.

1980 – Steel workers staged their first national strike for more than fifty years.

1982 – Erica Rowe became the first sports ‘streaker’ when she ran across the Twickenham ground at the England v Australia rugby match waving her bra in the air. She was arrested, with policemen covering her 40″ breasts with their woefully undersized helmets.

1987 – The publishers of Enid Blyton’s Noddy books bowed to pressure groups and agreed to expunge racism by changing the golliwog characters to gnomes.

2013 – Thieves in Manchester dug a 100ft (30m) long 4ft high tunnel directly under a cash machine, using machinery to cut through concrete. They escaped with only £6,000 because the machine had not been re-filled after the New Year bank holiday. A similar plot was foiled in the same area in 2007, and police believe it may have been carried out by the same gang.

2018 – The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that gaming addiction is a Mental Health Disorder.