1873: Sergei Rachmaninov, last of the great Russian Romantic composers, was born in Oneg. He later settled in the USA.

1875: Edgar Wallace, thriller writer and journalist, was born in London. In his 28-year career he wrote 173 books, 22 plays and hundreds of short stories.

1908: The Territorial Army was founded.

1918: The Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps merged to become the Royal Air Force.

1924: The first gramophone to change records automatically went on sale.

1965: Greater London came into being, comprising the City of London plus 32 metropolitan boroughs.

1973: Value Added Tax was introduced in Britain.

1974: The re-organisation of local government saw changes to many county names and boundaries.

1990: The longest prison riot in British history began at Strangeways, Manchester, lasting until April 25. One remand prisoner died.