News

1752 - Benjamin Franklin conducted his famous lightning experiment during a thunderstorm.

1943 - The ball point pen was patented by Hungarian Lazlo Biro.

1964 - Neslon Mandela and seven others were sentenced to life imprisonment for acts of sabotage in Pretoria.

1968 - James Earl Ray, wanted for the murder of Martin Luther King, was arrested at Heathrow airport.

1983 - Margaret Thatcher won a landslide second term election victory for the Conservatives taking 397 seats to Labour's 209.

1999 - One time Eurovision Song Contest winner Dana Scallon became and Irish MEP.

2002 - The European Parliament agreed a Europe-wide ban on all cosmetics containing ingredients tested on animals.

2005 - Michael Jackson was cleared of all charges after his four-month-long child abuse trial in California.

Sport

1956 - Real Madrid won the first European Cup.

1965 - Frenchman Michel Jazy ran the mile in three minutes 53.6 seconds, breaking New Zealander Peter Snell's 1964 record.

1998 - The World Cup football championship opened in Paris.

Entertainment

1934 - Donald Duck appeared for the first time, in the cartoon 'The Wise Little Hen'.

1954 - Iris Murdoch's first novel, 'Under The Net', was published.

1963 - The premiere of 'Cleopatra', starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, took place in New York.

2003 - Actor Gregory Peck died peacefully at home with his second wife, Veronique, at his side.

Music

1935 - Ella Fitzgerald made her first recordings, aged 17.

1970 - Mickey Dolenz and Davy Jones decided to end The Monkees.

1986 - The Police reunited for an Amnesty International concert in Atlanta.

Number Ones

2007 - Rihanna ft Jay-Z: 'Umbrella'.

1998 - B*Witched: 'C'est La Vie'.

1993 - Gabrielle: 'Dreams'.

1983 - The Police: 'Every Breath You Take'.

1973 - Suzi Quatro: 'Can The Can'.

1968 - The Rolling Stones: 'Jumpin' Jack Flash'.