1483: The two young princes, the uncrowned Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York, were believed murdered in the Tower of London.

1786: Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, was born in Limestone, Tennessee.

1892: Mae West, actress, was born in Brooklyn. A hat-check girl once said of her jewellery: "Goodness, what beautiful diamonds." "Goodness," replied Mae West, "had nothing to do with it."

1896: Gold was discovered at Bonanza Creek on the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory. This led to the great gold rush of 1898 when the settlement of Dawson would grow into a city of some 25,000 inhabitants.

1896: The first pedestrian to be knocked down and killed by a motor vehicle in Britain was Bridget Driscoll of Croydon. The car was travelling at 4mph - the lady apparently froze in panic at the oncoming vehicle.

1938: Henry Armstrong won the lightweight boxing title and became the only man in the ring's history to hold three world titles at different weights at the same time.

1978: The first transatlantic balloon crossing was successfully completed when the Eagle II sank to the ground in a wheat field in Normandy.

1989: Britain's first electronically-tagged suspect was allowed home.

LAST YEAR: A 40-year-old document instructing senior Catholics to cover up cases of abuse was unearthed in America.