1547 Ivan the Terrible, first Russian to assume title of Tsar, was crowned.

1780 British forces under Admiral Rodney defeated the Spanish at Cape St Vincent.

1908 The first issue of Scouting For Boys, journal of the Scouting Movement, was published.

1909 The magnetic South Pole was found by Ernest Shackleton, who was knighted later the same year.

1920 Prohibition started in United States, banning the manufacture, sale or involvement with alcohol.

1928 Thomas Hardy was buried beside Charles Dickens in Westminster Abbey. His heart was buried in the grave of his first wife, Emma, in Wessex.

1950 Listen With Mother started on radio, setting nursery rhymes to music. The catchphrase "Are you sitting comfortably?" originated in this series.

1970 Colonel Gadaffi became Prime Minister of Libya.

1979 The Shah of Iran fled to Egypt from Tehran after being ousted by Ayatollah Khomeini.

1991 US-led allied air forces launched Operation Desert Storm, the campaign to expel Iraqi invaders from Kuwait.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The decision by rail chiefs to cut more than 100 train services a day was greeted with incredulity.