1702: Queen Anne acceded to the throne on the death of William III in a riding accident at Hampton Court.

1787: Karl von Grafe, pioneer of plastic surgery, was born in Warsaw.

1790: The French Assembly voted to continue slavery in their colonies.

1859: Kenneth Grahame, author of children's books, notably The Wind In The Willows, was born in Edinburgh.

1879: Otto Hahn, German physicist and chemist, was born. He discovered nuclear fission, which made the atomic bomb possible.

1910: The first pilot's licences were granted. The Royal Aero Club granted licence number one to JTC Moore Brabazon (later Lord Brabazon of Tara).

1952 An artificial heart was used for the first time on a 41-year-old man, and kept him alive for 80 minutes.

1961 Sir Thomas Beecham, English conductor and founder of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, died aged 81.

1966: An IRA bomb destroyed the Nelson Column in Dublin.

1971: Boxer Joe Frazier defeated Muhammad Ali on points to become World Heavyweight Champion.

1980: President Jimmy Carter refused to apologise for past US actions in Iran in return for the release of 53 diplomatic hostages.

1990: More than 3,000 Britons had fully developed Aids, figures showed.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Labour was accused of letting down patients after Government figures revealed it had failed to meet an election pledge to slash NHS waiting lists. New statistics show the number of patients waiting to be admitted to NHS hospitals in England rose 1.8% in the last year.

BIRTHDAYS:

LORD (Douglas) Hurd of Westwell, former Foreign Secretary, 73; John Cale, rock musician (Velvet Underground), 63; Michael Grade, former chief executive Channel 4, 60; Lynn Redgrave, actress, 60; Mickey Dolenz, actor/singer, 58; Gyles Brandreth, ex-MP, author and TV personality, 55; Dr Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi, 55; Cheryl Baker, singer/TV presenter, 49; Gary Numan, rock musician, 45; Aidan Quinn, actor, 44; Kathy Ireland, actress and model, 40; Freddie Prinze Jr, actor, 27.