19BC: Virgil, the Roman poet, died and his tomb in Naples became a shrine.

1327: Edward II was murdered with a red-hot poker in the dungeon of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, to ensure his son Edward III could succeed to the throne.

1745: Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Stuart) and his Jacobite army defeated the English at the Battle of Prestonpans.

1756: John McAdam, Scottish surveyor who introduced the "macadam'' system of roadmaking, was born in Ayr.

1792: France was declared a Republic and the monarchy abolished.

1857: British forces retook Delhi from Indian mutineers.

1866: Author HG Wells - The War Of The Worlds and The Time Machine was born in Bromley, Kent.

1915: Stonehenge and the surrounding 30 acres of land was sold by Sir Edmund Antrobus to Mr CH Chubb for £6,600 at auction. Chubb presented it to the nation three years later.

1962: The British TV quiz programme University Challenge, conducted by Bamber Gascoigne, was first transmitted.

1964: Malta became independent, after 164 years of British rule. On this day in 1981, Belize, originally known as British Honduras, gained its independence.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Home Secretary David Blunkett called for ID cards after admitting he had no idea how many illegal immigrants are in Britain.