1999
British footballer David Beckham married Spice Girls singer Victoria Adams

1998
Japan launched a space probe – ‘Nozomi’ – to Mars .

1968
British sailor Alec Rose landed at Portsmouth, England having sailed single-handed around the world in 354 days.

1959
The 49-star American flag made its debut, with the newly added 49th star representing Alaska, which had become a state earlier in the year

1958
Karol Wojtyla (later Pope John Paul II) was appointed an auxiliary bishop of Krakow, Poland, by Pope Pius XII.

1958
American mountaineers Pete Schoening and Andrew Kauffman made the first successful ascent of Gasherbrum I (K5) in the Himalayas – the 11th.

1934
Death of Marie Curie, Polish-born French physicist, twice winner of the Nobel Prize for her work on radioactivity, first woman to win a Nobel Prize

1934
Hungarian-born American scientist Dr Leo Szilard patented the nuclear chain-reaction

1918
Birth of Ann Landers, American advice columnist .

1900
Birth of Louis Armstrong, trumpeter

1898
Birth of Gertrude Lawrence, actor

1892
Keir Hardie became the first socialist to win a seat in the House of Commons.

1872
Birth of Calvin Coolidge, 30th US President

1829
London's first regular bus service commenced from Paddington to the City

1829
First scheduled London bus service started operating

1826
Death of Thomas Jefferson, 3rd US President

1807
Birth of Giuseppi Garibaldi, Italian politician

1804
Birth of Nathaniel Hawthorne, author

1790
Birth of Sir George Everest who mapped Mount Everest

1776
American Declaration of Independence

1623
Death of William Byrd, composer
