On this day

1792 - The French national anthem "La Marseillaise" by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, was first sung in Paris.

1942 - Frank Sinatra recorded the last of 90 recordings with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

1954 - Elvis Presley made his professional debut in Memphis. It was his first concert to be advertised.

1910 - Dr Crippen was arrested aboard the SS Montrose as it was docking at Quebec. He was charged with the murder of his wife and was the first criminal to be caught by the use of radio.

1950 - Britain's first self-service store, (Sainsbury's) opened in Croydon.

1959 - Cliff Richard had his first British No.1 with Living Doll.

1964 - The American space probe Ranger 7 transmitted pictures of the moons surface.

1965 - Cigarette advertising on British television was banned.

1969 - The halfpenny ceased to be legal tender in Britain.

1977 - The ''Son of Sam'' killer claimed his last victims when he shot and killed Stacy Moskowitz, 20, and seriously wounded her date as they sat in a parked car in Brooklyn, N.Y. (David Berkowitz was arrested less than two weeks later. He is serving six sentences of 25 years to life.)

2008 - Scientists reported the Phoenix spacecraft had confirmed the presence of frozen water in Martian soil.

1976 - Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear The Reaper" was released

1980 - John Phillips (Mamas and Papas) was arrested by the FBI for possession of cocaine. He was sentenced to five years in prison. He lectured against drugs for 250 hours as an alternate sentence.

2007 - The iTunes Music Store reached 3 billion songs sold.

1740 - Rule Britannia was sung for the first time for the then Prince of Wales' daughter's third birthday.

1774 - English chemist Joseph Priestley identified oxygen, which he called 'a new species of air'.

1831 - The New London Bridge was opened by King William IV. It lasted for 140 years and was sold and rebuilt in Arizona.

1834 - Slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire. An estimated 770,000 slaves were freed.

1914 - World War I began with Germany's invasion of Luxembourg. On the same day, Germany and Russia declared war against each other.

1966 - The British Empire officially came to an end as the Colonial Office closed its doors and lowered its flag giving way to the Commonwealth.

1989 - Britain's oldest person, Charlotte Marion Hughes from Cleveland, celebrated her 112th birthday.

1960 - Elvis Presley was named Public Enemy #1 by the East German newspaper, "Young World."

1981 - MTV made its debut at 12:01am. The first video to be shown was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles.

1996 - MTV launched another channel known as M2.

1100 - King William II of England the son of William the Conqueror, was killed by an arrow while hunting in the New Forest after allegedly being mistaken for a deer.

1784 - The first specially built Royal Mail coach began its scheduled service from Bristol to London.

1865 - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll was published but was soon withdrawn because of bad printing. Only 21 copies of the first edition survived, making it one of the rarest 19th century books.

1894 - Death duties, now known as inheritance tax, were introduced in Britain.

1939 - Albert Einstein signed a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt urging creation of an atomic weapons research program.

1970 - The British army used rubber bullets for the first time to quell a riot in Northern Ireland.

1989 - Trade restrictions between Britain and Argentina were lifted for the first time since the 1982 Falklands war.

1460 - James II King of Scotland, died after being injured by an exploding cannon at Kelso in the Scottish Borders.

1492 - Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, on a voyage that would take him to the present-day Americas.

1856 - London was divided into postal districts in order to speed up letter deliveries.

1858 - Lake Victoria (the source of the Nile) was discovered by the explorer John Speke.

1908 - The Post Office sent its first parcel mail to the US on the White Star liner, the Teutonic.

1926 - Britain installed its first traffic lights - at Piccadilly Circus in London.

1949 - The National Basketball Association was formed.

1958 - The nuclear-powered submarine Nautilus became the first vessel to cross the North Pole underwater.

1870 - The British Red Cross Society was founded by Lord Wantage.

1914 - Britain declared war on Germany after the Germans had violated the Treaty of London, and so began 'the war to end all wars'.

1923 - The BBC began using the 'pips' as a time signal in its broadcasts.

1944 - Anne Frank, was arrested along with her sister, parents and four other people after they had spent two years hiding from the Nazis in a building Amsterdam. Her diary became a famous account of the Holocaust.

1954 - Britain's first supersonic fighter plane, the English Electric Lightning P-1 made its maiden flight.

1966 - In a US radio interview, John Lennon claimed that the Beatles were probably more popular than Jesus Christ. Beatles' records were consequently banned in many US states and in South Africa.

2000 - Celebrations took place all over the United Kingdom to mark the 100th birthday of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. She was the first ever member of the Royal Family to reach her centenary.

1305 - Sir William Wallace, who beat Edward I at the battle of Stirling Bridge, was captured by the English and later executed as a traitor on the outskirts of Stirling.

1858 - The first transatlantic cable was officially opened, with Queen Victoria sending a telegraphic message to US President James Buchanan.

1884 - The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was laid on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor.

1901 - Britain's first cinema, the Mohawk, opened in Islington, north London. Films were accompanied by the 16-piece Fonobian Orchestra.

1962 - Actress Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home at age 36. (Her death was ruled a probable suicide from an overdose of sleeping pills.)

1963 - A Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed in Moscow by Russia, the United States and Britain. Under the treaty, nuclear tests in the Earth's atmosphere, in space or under the sea were outlawed.

1976 - The clock overlooking the Houses of Parliament stopped for the first time in 117 years.

1844 - The first UK press telegram was sent, to The Times, announcing the birth of Prince Alfred to Queen Victoria.

1881 - Sir Alexander Fleming, scientist, Scottish bacteriologist was born.

1889 - The Savoy Hotel in London was opened.

1890 - The electric chair was used for the first time, to execute a convicted murderer at Auburn State Prison in New York.

1945 - The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, that instantly killed an estimated 66,000 people in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare.

1962 - Jamaica became independent, after being a British colony for 300 years.

1998 - Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky testified before a grand jury about her relationship with President Bill Clinton.