National day of Ecuador

1675: Greenwich Observatory was established by King Charles II, who laid the foundation stone.

1787: Mozart completed his famous Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. On the same day in 1788, he finished his Jupiter Symphony.

1842: The Mines Act was passed by the British Parliament, forbidding women and children to work underground.

1868: The first dukedom was created by Queen Victoria, when stylish James Haworth was appointed Duke of Abercorn.

1889: The screw bottle top was patented by Dan Rylands of Hope Glass Works, Barnsley.

1895: The first London Promenade Concert took place, founded by Henry Wood and Robert Newman, and played by an orchestra of 80 in the Queen's Hall.

1897: The Royal Automobile Club was founded, under the name of The Automobile Club of Great Britain.

1949: "Acid bath" murderer John Haigh, who confessed to nine killings, was executed at Wandsworth Prison.

1954: Sir Gordon Richards, champion English jockey, retired after 4,869 wins.

1961: Britain first applied for membership of the EEC.

LAST YEAR: Britain's temperature broke through the 100F mark, at 37.9C, for the first time ever, the Met Office said. The record was set at Heathrow.