1910: The twin-engined plane had its first test flight in France.

1938: The 80,000 ton liner, Queen Elizabeth, was launched by the Queen Mother.

1960: Europe's first travelator began operating at London's Bank tube station.

1968: The musical Hair, which took advantage of the end of British stage censorship by including a nude scene, had its London premier.

1972: Mama Weer All Crazee Now by Slade was at number one in the charts.

1978: Eric Clapton sponsored a West Bromwich Albion UEFA Cup match against Galatasary of Turkey.

1979: Gracie Fields, British singer, actress and comedienne, died of pneumonia in Italy.

1982: Filming began on the Bond film Never Say Never Again. The film's original title was Warhead but it was changed as a joke about Sean Connery's refusal to play Bond again.

1990: Caroline Cossey, a British sex-change model and Bond girl, lost her appeal in the European Court of Human Rights when she challenged the British law preventing marriage or birth certificate alterations for trans-sexuals.