1900 – The siege of the British garrison at Mafeking by Boer forces was broken. The commander of the garrison, Colonel Robert Baden-Powell and his forces had held firm for 217 days.

1915 – The fall of the last all Liberal Party government. The poor British performance in the early months of the war forced Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith to invite the Conservatives into a coalition.

1916 – The Daylight-Saving Act (‘Summer Time’) was passed in Britain.

1969 – Tom McClean from Dublin left Newfoundland aboard Super Silver and completed the first transatlantic solo crossing in a rowing boat on 27th July when he arrived at Blacksod Bay, Co. Mayo.

1975 – Elton John’s Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy, becomes the first album ever to be certified platinum on its day of its release.

1978 – The coffin containing the body of Charlie Chaplin, missing since his grave was pillaged nearly two months previously, was found.

1984 – Prince Charles called a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a ‘monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend,’ sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture.

1993 – Nurse Beverley Allitt was convicted of murdering four babies under her ‘care’ at the Grantham and Kesteven hospital.

2000 – Two Royal Marine commandos (Corporal Alan Chambers, 31, and Marine Charlie Paton, 29) became the first Britons to reach the geographical North Pole.

2010 – Four weeks after a volcanic ash cloud disrupted flights over much of Europe, restrictions were lifted at all UK airports after the volcanic ash cloud moved away from UK airspace.

2014 – Arsenal beat Hull City, 3–2 after extra time to win the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. On the same day, St Johnstone win the Scottish Cup for first time in 130 years, defeating Dundee Utd 2-0.