BBC - On This Day
1986: Kinross Miners 'killed where they stood'
At least 177 people die during a lethal fire in a South African gold mine.
1978: Thousands dead in Iran earthquake
An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale hits south-east Iran demolishing a major city and dozens of surrounding villages.
1977: T-Rex singer killed in car smash
Pop star Marc Bolan is killed in a car crash in south-west London.
1992: UK crashes out of ERM
The government suspends Britain's membership of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.
1968: Post Office backs first class service
The new two-tier postal service proves confusing for customers, but the Post Office says it will raise extra cash.

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1971: British diplomat freed after eight months
The British Ambassador, Geoffrey Jackson, is released eight months after being captured by extreme left-wing guerrillas in Uruguay.
1987: Liverpool fans to stand trial in Belgium
Twenty-five English football fans involved in the Heysel stadium disaster are extradited to Belgium.
1999: Report urges sweeping reform of RUC
The Royal Ulster Constabulary should undergo wholesale reform, a Police Review Commission report recommends.
1976: Chairman Mao Zedong dies
One of the greatest leaders of the Chinese revolution Chairman Mao Zedong dies at the age of 82.
1988: Indian cricket tour 'cancelled'
English cricket captain Graham Gooch and seven other members of his squad are refused visas to travel to India.

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1945: Japan signs unconditional surrender
Japanese officials sign the act of unconditional surrender, finally bringing to an end six years of world war.
1979: Ripper suspected of 12th murder
Police discover the body of a young woman - thought to be the 12th victim of the "Yorkshire Ripper"- in an alleyway near the centre of Bradford.
1984: Seven killed in biker shootings
A 14-year-old girl and six bikers are killed in a gun battle between rival gangs in a suburb of Sydney, Australia.
1994: Roy Castle loses battle with cancer
Entertainer and television presenter Roy Castle dies from cancer at his Buckinghamshire home, just two days after his 62nd birthday.
1951: Designers prepare to dazzle Venice
British designers hold a fashion show of 40 outfits they plan to show at the Venice Biennale arts festival.

BBC - On This Day
1959: US to 'stand by' West Germans
America will stand by West Germans in their efforts to remain strong and free, the US President pledges.
1975: Rhodesia peace talks fail
Talks between the Rhodesian Government and the African National Council collapse acrimoniously.
1985: Budd smashes 5,000m record
Controversial athlete Zola Budd breaks the world 5,000m record.
1994: Man gets 'bionic' heart
A man is given the world's first battery-operated heart in a pioneering operation in Britain.
1962: Abortion mother returns home
An American mother-of-four is on her way home amid a storm of controversy after having an abortion in Sweden.

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BBC - On This Day
1987: Gunman kills 14 in Hungerford rampage
A man shoots 14 people dead in the Berkshire town of Hungerford.
1991: Hardliners stage coup against Gorbachev
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev is overthrown in a coup as Communist hardliners take over.
2003: UN envoy dies in Baghdad bombing
A massive bomb wrecks the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, killing at least 17 people including the UN's chief envoy to Iraq.
1942: Allies launch daring raid on Dieppe
Allied troops, mainly Canadian, pull back after nine hours of heavy fighting on the French coast at Dieppe, northwest of Paris.
1960: Moscow jails American U-2 spy pilot
The United States pilot, Francis Gary Powers, is sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Soviet military court.
1975: Davis campaigners stop Test match
Campaigners calling for the release of robber George Davis from prison vandalise the pitch at Headingley cricket ground in Leeds.

BBC - On This Day
1985: Hundreds dead in Boeing crash
A Japan Airlines jumbo jet crashes on a remote mountainside 70 miles from Tokyo in Japan.
1969: Police use tear gas in Bogside
The Royal Ulster Constabulary uses tear gas for the first time in its history afternine hours of rioting in the Bogside area of Londonderry.
1964: Great Train Robber escapes from jail
A massive manhunt is underway across Britain after one of the gang involved in the Great Train Robbery breaks out of a high-security prison in Birmingham.
2003: Gilligan: language 'wasn't perfect'
BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan answers questions from the Hutton Inquiry over his report that the government "sexed up"a weapons dossier on Iraq.
2000: Murdered schoolgirl's life celebrated
The family of murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne is joined by friends and hundreds of members of the public for a memorial service.
1990: Briton shot by Iraqis
A British man attempting to escape in a convoy from Iraqi-occupied Kuwait is shot by Iraqi soldiers.

BBC - On This Day
1973: Athens attack leaves three dead
Three people are killed and 55 wounded when two Arab gunmen open fire on a crowded passenger lounge at Athens airport.
1962: Marilyn Monroe found dead
Film actress Marilyn Monroe is found dead in her bed with an empty bottle of sleeping tablets by her side.
1983: IRA members jailed for 4,000 years
Twenty two members of the IRA are jailed for a total of more than 4,000 years following one of Northern Ireland's biggest mass trials.
1991: Toddler 'poorly' after dog attack
A two-year-old girl is recovering in hospital after being savaged by a Rottweiler dog.
1975: Deadly tree disease spreads
Dutch elm disease, which has so far attacked more than three million trees in Britain, is spreading, according to Forestry Commission officials.

BBC - On This Day
1981: Charles and Diana marry
Thousands line the streets of London to glimpse Prince Charles and Lady Diana on their wedding day.
1993: Israeli court sets Demjanjuk free
A court in Israel says retired Ohio car worker John Demjanjuk may not after all have been notorious Nazi death camp guard Ivan the Terrible.
1968: Pope renews birth control ban
Pope Paul VI has confirmed a ban on the use of contraceptives by Roman Catholics in spite of a Church commission's recommendation for change.
1993: Lawrence murder suspects freed
Charges are dropped against two youths accused of murdering black teenager Stephen Lawrence.
1976: Fire engulfs Southend Pier
Fire has destroyed the famous pierhead at the end of the world's longest pier, in Southend on the UK's south-east coast.

BBC - On This Day
1977: Deng Xiaoping back in power
The disgraced deputy Prime Minister of China, Deng Xiaoping, returns to Chinese Government.
2003: Saddam's sons killed in gun battle
The United States says Uday and Qusay Hussein, the infamous sons of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, have been killed in a gun battle in northern Iraq.
1987: Cartoonist shot in London street
A famous Palestinian cartoonist is shot in the face and critically wounded in London.
1965: Sir Alec steps down from top of Tory tree
The leader of the Opposition, Alec Douglas-Home, surprises colleagues by resigning from his post.
1991: Citizen's charter promises better services
British Prime Minister John Major launches a citizen's charter to improve public services.

BBC - On This Day
1996: Seven slashed in school machete attack
Three young children and four adults are attacked by a man with a machete at an infant school in Wolverhampton.
1965: Ronald Biggs escapes from jail
Ronald Biggs who was serving a 30-year prison sentence for his part in the Great Train Robbery escapes from Wandsworth prison.
2003: Conjoined twins die in separation op
Conjoined Iranian twins who volunteered to go ahead with a major operation to separate them both die during surgery.
1971: British troops shoot Londonderry rioters
Two men are killed by the British army in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
2000: New Harry Potter most magical yet
The latest story about boy wizard Harry Potter breaks all publishing records.

BBC - On This Day
1997: Hong Kong handed over to Chinese control
Hong Kong has been handed back to the Chinese authorities - ending more than 150 years of British control.
1963: Philby confirmed as 'third man'
Former Foreign Office official Harold Philby is confirmed as the "third man"in the Burgess and Maclean case.
1994: Yasser Arafat ends 27-year exile
The chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, Yasser Arafat, returns to the Gaza Strip after 27 years in exile.
1987: Stock-broker guilty of corruption
One of the City's top investment bankers receives the first conviction for insider dealing since it became illegal.
2000: Ex-Blair ally attacks prime minister
Millionaire novelist Ken Follett levels scathing personal criticism at Prime Minister Tony Blair.

BBC - On This Day
1983: US astronaut Sally Ride returns
America's first woman in space, Sally Ride, returns safely in the Challenger space shuttle after a six-day flight.
1974: Labour rift over nuclear test
The Labour Government admits Britain exploded a nuclear device in the United States a few weeks ago.
1968: Rail go-slow begins
The country's rail network is thrown into disarray as the National Union of Railwaymen begins its work-to-rule and ban on overtime.
1986: Ian Paisley's battle cry condemned
Hard-line unionist leader the Reverend Ian Paisley warns Northern Ireland is on the verge of civil war.
1993: Minister resigns over business links
Northern Ireland Minister Michael Mates resigns over his links with fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir.

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.

BBC - On This Day
1940: Dunkirk rescue is over - Churchill defiant
As the last Allied soldier leaves Dunkirk, the British Prime Minister vows his forces "shall never surrender".
1989: Massacre in Tiananmen Square
The Chinese army storms an uprising by students in Tiananmen Square, killing several hundred people.
1977: Greece releases UK plane-spotters
Five British plane-spotters imprisoned in Greece for spying are released after 10 weeks in jail.
1991: UK army spending to be cut
Defence Secretary Tom King has confirms Britain will reduce the amount it spends on the army.
1968: Dover begins bird purge
Dover residents prepare to get rid of "these horrible birds"in the drive to create a cleaner, quieter seaside resort.