BBC - On This Day
1955: Le Mans disaster claims 77 lives
Seventy-seven people are killed and 77 others injured when a racing car spins off the track and into the crowd.
1998: UN warns of famine in Sudan
More than a million people in Sudan are facing starvation, prompting the United Nations to declare an official famine in the region.
1959: Hovercraft marks new era in transport
The Hovercraft invented by Christopher Cockerell is officially launched in Southampton.
1987: Thatcher wins record third term
Margaret Thatcher declares she is "raring to go"as she wins a record third term as prime minister.
1976: Mercenaries trial begins in Angola
The trial of 13 mercenaries - 10 of them British - begins in Angola with the public still in the dark over the exact charges.
1968: French student rebel arrives in UK
French student rebel leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit arrives in Britain stirring up fears of campus unrest.