1877 – The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race on the River Thames ended in a dead heat. Legend in Oxford has it that the judge, ‘Honest John’ Phelps, was asleep under a bush when the race finished, leading him to announce the result as a ‘dead heat to Oxford by four feet’. 

1878 – The British frigate HMS Eurydice sank off the Isle of Wight, close to Ventnor, during a heavy snow storm. All but two of the 319 crew and trainees were killed. It was one of Britain’s worst peace-time naval disasters. The ship’s bell is preserved in St. Paul’s Church, Gatten, Shanklin.

1944 – World War II: In an event later dramatized in the movie The Great Escape, 76 prisoners began breaking out of Stalag Luft III.

1946 – Broadcaster Alastair Cooke read his first ‘Letter from America’ on BBC Radio. His weekly broadcasts continued for more than 50 years.

1951 – The Oxford boat sank during the University boat race. Cambridge won the rematch two days later.

1953 – Her Majesty, Queen Mary, (Queen Consort to King George V) died peacefully in her sleep after a long illness.

1964 – Stansted was chosen as the site of London’s third major airport.

1970 – Boxer Henry Cooper retained his heavyweight title beating challenger Jack Bodell.

1976 – The death of British Field Marshal Montgomery, one of the outstanding Allied commanders in World War II.

1978 – The oil tanker Amoco Cadiz, aground in the English Channel since 16th March, split in two, spilling the last of her 1.6 million barrels of oil.

1981 – The ‘Great Train Robber’ Ronnie Biggs was rescued by Barbados police following his kidnapping.

1992 – Punch, Britain’s oldest satirical magazine dating back almost 151 years, announced that it would cease publication because of financial losses.

1994 – The new Jewel House, at the Tower of London, was opened by the Queen.

1999 – In the Kosovo war, NATO commences air bombardment against Yugoslavia, marking the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country. On the same day, 39 people die when a transport truck carrying flour and margarine catches fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel.

2002 – Halle Berry becomes the first woman of colour to win the best actress Oscar for Monster’s Ball at the Academy Awards.

2015 – UK inflation fell to zero for the first time on record. A deep oil price slump and a fierce price war being fought out by supermarkets brought fuel prices down by 16.6% over the year and cut food prices by 3.4%.

2018 – Australian cricketer Cameron Bancroft is caught on camera rubbing match ball with an object during third Test against South Africa in Cape Town, resulting in nfamous ball tampering scandal.

2020 – Day one of the government ‘lockdown’ of Britain to try and curb the coronavirus epidemic. Yesterday evening’s announcement from Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered people to stay at home, except for shopping for basic necessities, daily exercise, any medical need and for travelling to and from essential work for an initial period of three weeks. Shops selling non-essential goods were told to shut and gatherings in public of more than two people who do not live together were prohibited. The public were warned that if they did not follow the rules, police would have the powers to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings.