1872: The first English FA Cup Final took place. Wanderers, a team formed by university and ex-public school players, beat the Royal Engineers 1-0 at The Oval in London.

1947: Almost 600,000 acres of farming land were submerged by floodwater on the Fens as the River Ouse overflowed and a million sheep died. Storm damage came to more than £20 million.

1971: Boxer Henry Cooper announced his retirement after losing his title to Joe Bugner.

1973: The Queen opened the new London Bridge. The old one was sold to an oil tycoon for £1 million, and rebuilt at Lake Havasu in America.

1988: A Loyalist gunman opened fire and hurled grenades into a crowd of mourners at an IRA funeral for three people killed by the SAS in Gibraltar.

LAST YEAR: Patients who received transfusions were banned from donating blood due to fears over the spread of vCJD.