1606: Guy Fawkes, chief conspirator in the Gunpowder Plot, was hung, drawn and quartered.

1788: Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart), the Young Pretender, died in Rome.

1797: Composer Franz Schubert was born in Alsergrund, Austria.

1867: The four great bronze lions at the base of Nelson's Column were completed by painter Sir Edwin Landseer and positioned in Trafalgar Square.

1885: Anna Pavlova, Russian prima ballerina who settled in London, was born in St Petersburg.

1910: Dr Crippen poisoned his wife, then cut her in small pieces and buried her in the cellar.

1943: Field Marshal Paulus surrendered the German 6th Army to the Russians at Stalingrad -- the worst single defeat in German military history.

1953: More than 300 people died in widespread flooding in Kent, Essex and East Anglia.

1956: AA Milne, English writer of children's books, notably Winnie the Pooh, died in Hartfield, Sussex.

1983: Wearing seat belts in cars became compulsory in Great Britain.

1991: Allied forces recaptured the Saudi border town of Khafji in the first ground battle of the Gulf war.

On this day last year: Lord Wakeham stepped aside as chairman of the Press Complaints Commission to answer questions over his involvement with the collapsed energy giant Enron.

BIRTHDAYS:

CAROL Channing, actress, 81; Norman Mailer, writer, 79; Jean Simmons, actress, pictured, 73; Sir Christopher Chataway, athlete and former Tory MP, 71; Philip Glass, composer, 66; Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, 64; Phil Manzanera, rock guitarist (Roxy Music), 51; John Lydon, rock singer (Johnny Rotten), 46; Anthony LaPaglia, actor, 44; Lloyd Cole, singer, 41; Minnie Driver, actress, 32; Justin Timberlake, pop star, 22.