AD 138: Hadrian, Roman Emperor who planned the wall along the Scottish border, died.

1099: Spanish warrior Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar - El Cid - died in Valencia, apparently of grief after his devastating defeat by the Moors.

1460: The Yorkists defeated the Lancastrians and captured Henry VI at the Battle of Northampton.

1553: Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen of England at the age of 16 - she lasted nine days before being arrested and executed.

1871: Marcel Proust, author of A la Recherche du Temps Perdu (Remembrance of Things Past), was born in Paris.

1954: Gordon Richards rode his last mount - at Sandown - the 21,834th of his near-34 year career.

1962: Telstar I, the world's first television telecommunications satellite, was launched in America.

LAST YEAR: Seven people died in a minibus crash as they made their way to catch flights for their summer holidays.