On this day

1934 - A man identified as bank robber John Dillinger was shot to death by federal agents in Chicago.

1986 - MPs voted to abolish corporal punishment in state schools.

1992 - Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escaped from his luxury prison near Medellin.

1998 - Iran tested a medium-range missile capable of reaching Israel or Saudi Arabia.

2005 - Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes was mistaken for a terrorist suspect and was shot dead at Stockwell Tube station in south London.

1745 - Charles Stuart, the 'Young Pretender' landed in the Outer Hebrides in his attempt to win back the throne for the Stuarts.

1904 - The ice cream cone was invented by Charles E. Menches in St. Louis.

1955 - British speed enthusiast Donald Campbell broke the world water speed record on Ullswater in the Lake District when he reached 202.32mph.

1995 - Britain sent 1,200 troops to relieve the besieged Bosnian capital, Sarajevo.

1534 - Jacques Cartier lands in Canada and claims it for France.

1567 - Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned and forced to abdicate her throne to her 1 year old son, James VI of Scotland (James I of England).

1926 - The first greyhound racing track in the UK was opened, at Belle Vue in Manchester.

1938 - Instant coffee is invented.

1979 - A Miami jury convicted Ted Bundy of first-degree murder in the slayings of two Florida State University sorority sisters.

2005 - Lance Armstrong won a seventh consecutive Tour de France.

1797 - British naval commander Horatio Nelson, had his right arm shattered by grapeshot during an assault on Tenerife. The injured arm was amputated later.

1843 - Charles Macintosh, Scottish chemist and inventor (waterproof clothing) died.

1909 - Frenchman Louis Blériot won the Daily Mail prize for the first successful flight across the English Channel. He made the trip in 37 minutes, landing close to Dover Castle.

1944 - The first jet fighter to engage an enemy in combat was a Messerschmitt 262, over Munich, when it was intercepted by a Mosquito of 544 Squadron.

1959 - A hovercraft, the SRN 1, made its first English Channel crossing from Dover to Calais.

1978 - The first test-tube baby in Britain was born Louise Joy Brown, at Oldham Hospital, Lancashire.

2009 - The last British survivor of the World War I trenches, Harry Patch, died, aged 111.

1788 - Sydney, Australia is settled by British colonists.

1890 - Guglielmo Marconi made the first public transmission of wireless (radio) signals, from the roof of the General Post Office in Aldersgate.

1943 - World War II: The Allies mounted one of the largest raids of the war – sending more than 1,000 aircraft to bomb the German city of Hamburg. An estimated 60,000 people were killed.

1971 - Apollo 15 was launched on a manned mission to the moon.

1993 - The Mars Observer takes the 1st photo of Mars, from 5 billion km.

Really interesting thread.
Great stuff Skully
Outstanding info from down the years.

1586 - Sir Walter Raleigh brought the first tobacco to England, from Virginia.

1694 - The Bank of England was founded by act of Parliament.

1940 - Bugs Bunny made his debut in the Warner Bros cartoon 'A Wild Hare'.

1944 - The first British jet fighter was used in combat, the Gloster Meteor.

1949 - The British De Havilland Comet, the first jet-propelled airliner, made its maiden flight. It was a 40-passenger airliner.

1953 - The Korean War armistice was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting.

1985 - English athlete Steve Cram set a new world record for the mile at 3 minutes 46.32 seconds in Oslo.

2003 - Comedian Bob Hope died at age 100.

1540 - Thomas Cromwell, Chancellor to Henry VIII and his chief minister, was executed.

1586 - Thomas Harriot was credited with bringing the first potato to Britain (from Colombia) ahead of Sir Walter Raleigh.

1794 - Maximilien Robespierre (a leading figure of the French Revolution) was sent to the guillotine.

1858 - Fingerprints were first used as a means of identification by William Herschel, who later established a fingerprint register.

1865 - A crowd of 100,000 watched the last public execution in Scotland, when Dr Edward Pritchard was hanged for poisoning his wife and mother-in-law.

1959 - Postcodes were introduced in Britain.

1833 - William Wilberforce, English campaigner for the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire died, a month before the Slavery Abolition Act was passed.

1930 - The airship R100 began its first passenger-carrying flight from England to Canada.

1938 - Dennis the Menace first appeared in the Beano.

1948 - King George VI opened the 14th Olympic Games opened in London - the first time the Games had been held in 12 years, due to World War II.

1981 - The Prince of Wales married Lady Diana Spencer at London's St Paul's Cathedral. The televised ceremony was watched by over 700 million viewers around the world.

1900 - London Underground's Central Line was opened by the Prince of Wales, with a two pence (tuppence) fare for all destinations.

1935 - Penguin paperback books, founded by Allen Lane, went on sale in Britain.

1948 - The world's first radar station was opened to assist shipping at the port of Liverpool.

1966 - England won World Cup in London, beating West Germany 4 - 2.

1973 - British victims of the drug Thalidomide were awarded £20 million compensation, as their 11 year case against the Distillers company ended in victory.