1227: Genghis Khan, Mongol emperor who conquered more than a million square miles of land, died after falling from his horse.

1587: Virginia Dare became the first child born of English parents in the New World - on Roanoke Island, North Carolina - seven days after Sir Walter Raleigh's second expedition landed.

1856: Condensed milk was patented.

1930: The two halves of Sydney Bridge met in the centre and were formally joined, seven years after building work began.

1939: The film The Wizard Of Oz, starring Judy Garland, opened in New York.

1948: Lester Piggott, aged just 12, rode his first winner on only his seventh ride.

1960: The birth control pill was launched in America.

1964: South Africa was banned from the Olympics because of its racial policies.

1966: The Tay road bridge was opened.

1977: Elvis Presley was buried in Memphis, Tennessee. It was estimated that 130,000 mourners paid their respects before the burial, including Jackie Onassis.

LAST YEAR: Downing St authorised a substantial rewrite of its Iraq arms dossier before publication, the Hutton Inquiry heard.