1718: The first machine gun was patented by London lawyer James Puckle who, as a keen fisherman, intended to use it at sea.
1800: George III survived two assassination attempts in one day.
1858: The present Royal Opera House in Covent Garden (the third on the site) was opened.
1936: Amy Johnson arrived in England after a record-breaking 12 day, 15 hour flight from London to Cape Town and back.
1940: Nylon stockings went on sale in America. In the first eight hours 72,000 pairs were sold in New York city alone.
1941: Britain's first jet-propelled aircraft, the Gloster-Whittle E28/39, flew for the first time.
1957: Britain's first H-bomb was exploded on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.
1987: Death of American actress Rita Hayworth.
1988: Soviet troops began leaving Afghanistan after eight years of occupation.
1991: Edith Cresson became the first women prime minister of France.
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