1189: Richard the Lionheart was crowned King at Westminster after the death of his father, Henry II.

1651: Oliver Cromwell's army defeated Royalist forces at the Battle of Worcester. On this day seven years later (1658), Cromwell, Puritan leader and Lord Protector of England, died of pneumonia.

1752: What should have been September 3 became September 14 with the introduction of the Gregorian calendar. Crowds flocked through the streets crying: "Give us back our 11 days."

1783: Britain finally recognised the United States of America by signing the Treaty of Paris, ending the American War of Independence.

1916: The first pilot to shoot down a Zeppelin was Captain Leefe Robinson. During a raid on London, his tiny biplane attacked the airship which caught fire and crashed in Cuffley, Hertfordshire. He was later awarded the VC.

1939: Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia and France declared war on Germany.

1962: The Trans-Canada highway, 4,800 miles from St John's Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia, was opened.