1154 Nicholas Breakspear became the only English Pope - as Adrian IV.

1791: The Observer, the oldest Sunday newspaper in the United Kingdom, was first published.

1798: Income tax was introduced by William Pitt the Younger.

1875: Thriller writer Edgar Wallace was born. He was one of the most prolific writers with some 175 books and 15 plays to his credit.

1921: Roscoe "Fatty Arbuckle", silent film comedian, was found not guilty by 10-2 of rape and manslaughter. He was retried twice and found not guilty both times - but his career was ruined.

1935: The game of Monopoly was born - the brainchild of unemployed engineer Charles Darrow. It is the world's most successful box game - an estimated 500 million sets have been sold.

1937: The Dandy comic was first published by D C Thomson, featuring Desperate Dan.

1947: Tennessee Williams's play A Streetcar Named Desire was premiered on Broadway with Marlon Brando and Jessica Tandy in the leading roles.

1952: Smog enveloped London and killed more than 4,000 people in less than a week.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Government plans to cut NHS waiting lists by paying for patients to be treated in a private hospital today triggered a storm of protests from public service unions.

BIRTHDAYS: Ronnie Corbett, comedian, 72; Gemma Jones, actress, 60; Jeff Bridges, actor, 53; Pamela Stephenson, comedy actress, 52; Cassandra Wilson, singer, 47; Paul McGrath, former footballer, 43; Marisa Tomei, actress, 38.