NEWS
1492 - Christopher Columbus discovered maize. It was being farmed by Cuban Indians.
1860 - Abraham Lincoln was elected 16th American President.
1916 - Jeanette Rankin from the state of Montana became the first female member of the American Congress.
1927 - Britain's first automatic traffic lights began functioning in Wolverhampton.
1954 - The Highway Code was introduced.
1965 - Capital punishment was abolished in Britain.
1975 - The North Sea pipeline - the first to be built underwater, was officially opened by the Queen.
1990 - Mary Robinson became the Irish Republic's first female president.
2000 - The new £10 note went into circulation, with anti-forgery devices and an image of Charles Darwin instead of Charles Dickens.
SPORT
1957 - Northern Ireland recorded their first ever football win at Wembley.
1988 - In Las Vegas, 'Sugar' Ray Lewis knocked out Canadian Donny Londe, completing his collection of world titles at five different weights.
1991 - Ayrton Senna won the shortest Formula 1 race ever. It was just 17 laps long.
ENTERTAINMENT
1932 - 'Buck Rodgers' was broadcast for the first time on the radio in America.
1935 - The game of Monopoly was launched by the Parker brothers.
1976 - 'Gone with the Wind' was televised for the first time.
2003 - The last ever episode of 'Brookside' was screened on Channel 4.
MUSIC
1957 - Jerry Lee Lewis released 'Great Balls of Fire'.
1957 - Elvis Presley set an all-time record when he notched up eight simultaneous hits in the UK Top 30 chart.
1972 - Four young Swedish musicians formed ABBA.
1982 - 'Tainted Love' by Soft Cell spent its 43rd week in the Top 100 - setting a record for the longest unbroken chart run.
NUMBER ONES
2007 - Leona Lewis: 'Bleeding Love'.
2005 - Westlife: 'You Raise Me Up'.
1998 - Cher: 'Believe'.
1988 - Enya: 'Orinoco Flow'.
1983 - Billy Joel: 'Uptown Girl'.
1978 - John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John: 'Summer Nights'.
