1603: The funeral of Queen Elizabeth I took place at Westminster Abbey.

1789: The crew of the HMS Bounty, led by Fletcher Christian, mutinied in the Friendly Islands in the South Seas.

1923: The first English FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium was staged - Bolton Wanderers defeating West Ham 2-0.

1931: The morning after a stiff Budget, motorists had to pay one shilling and fourpence (just under 7p) a gallon for petrol, a rise of two pence.

1945: Benito Mussolini and his mistress Claretta Petacci were executed by Italian partisans and their bodies hung in a square in Milan.

1947: The Kon Tiki expedition set out with Thor Hyerdahl aiming to prove that ancient cults could have sailed on a balsa wood raft from Peru to Polynesia.

1953: Japan was allowed self-government following its defeat in the Second World War in 1945.

1969: General de Gaulle resigned as president of France after defeat in a referendum on electoral reform.

1985: Dennis Taylor won the Embassy World Snooker Championship after a spectacular final frame against Steve Davis.

1990: A Chorus Line closed on Broadway after a record-breaking 15 years.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Tony Blair was facing an angry backlash over plans to cut child benefit from the parents of youngsters who persistently commit crimes or play truant from school.