1682 The Chelsea Hospital for old soldiers (Chelsea Pensioners), also venue for the world-famous flower show, was founded.

1702 The first successful English daily newspaper, a single broadsheet called the Daily Courant, was published.

1819 Sir Henry Tate, sugar refiner who left his art collection to the nation which formed the basis for the Tate Gallery, was born in Chorley, Lancs.

1845 In New Zealand, a Maori uprising against the British began.

1864 The Bradfield Reservoir, near Sheffield, burst its banks, killing 250 people.

1925 No No Nanette was premiered at the Palace Theatre, London, with Binnie Hale playing Nanette.

1941 The US Congress passed the Lend-Lease Bill enabling Britain to borrow millions of dollars to buy food and arms needed for the Second World War. The loan was only to be paid back after the war.

1945 The huge Krupps factory in Germany was destroyed when 1,000 Allied bombers took part in the biggest ever daylight raid.

1952 The Budget raised tax allowances and profits tax, cut food subsidies and raised the bank rate to 4%.

1960 Riot police stood by in the Belgian Congo as Patrice Lumumba, the future controversial independence premier, was allowed to speak in public for the first time. He was found massacred in the bush less than a year later.

1974 Kenneth and Keith Littlejohn, allegedly MI6 spies inside the IRA, escaped from prison.

1985 The Al-Fayed brothers won control of the House of Fraser Group to become owners of Harrods.

1988 The Bank of England pound note ceased to be legal tender at midnight, and was replaced by the pound coin.

1993 North Korea pulled out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Tony Blair said there was "no doubt" that Saddam Hussein posed a threat but insisted the international coalition against terrorism would take action against Iraq in a "calm and measured way

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BIRTHDAYS: Terence Alexander, actor, 80; Rupert Murdoch, newspaper magnate, 72; Alan Yentob, TV executive, 56; Bobby McFerrin, jazz singer, 53; Alex Kingston, actress, 40; Shane Richie, actor and former game show host, 39; Lisa Loeb, singer, 34; Thora Birch, actress, 21.