1586 – Sir Walter Raleigh, returning from Virginia, brought the first tobacco to England

1663 – The British Parliament passed the second Navigation Act requiring that all goods bound for the American colonies have to be sent in English ships from English ports

1694 – The Bank of England was founded thanks to the granting of a Royal Charter

1865 – Welsh settlers arrived in Argentina

1866 – Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s ship, The Great Eastern arrived in Newfoundland, having successfully laid the transatlantic telegraph cable, allowing transatlantic telegraph communication for the first time

1888 – The first electric automobile, designed by Philip W. Pratt, was demonstrated in Boston

1900 – The H. J. Heinz Food Company came into being in Pennsylvania

1921 – Researchers at the University of Toronto announced the discovery of the hormone insulin

1924 – The 8th modern Olympic Games closed in Paris

1926 – London’s first traffic roundabout came into operation at Piccadilly Circus

1928 – Tich Freeman became the only bowler ever to take 200 first-class wickets at cricket before the end of July

1929 ”“ Birthday, Jack Higgins, British novelist and thriller writer, he wrote “The Eagle Has Landed”, about a plot by the Nazis to kill Winston Churchill during World War 2 (83)

1930 ”“ Birthday, Shirley Williams, British politician, was a Labour MP, then co-founded the SDP, was then leader of the Lib Dems in the House of Lords and advised Gordon Brown (82)

1931 – It was officially announced that unemployment stood at a record 2.71 million

1940 – Bugs Bunny made his debut in a cartoon called “A Wild Hare”

1942 – Sweet rationing was introduced in Britain

1942 – Birthday, Dennis Ralston, American tennis player, once lost in the Wimbledon final (70)

1943 – In World War 2, 772 British bombers attacked Hamburg

1944 – Birthday, Bobbie Gentry, US musician, one of the first female country artists to write and produce her own material (68)

1948 – Birthday, Betty Thomas, American actor and film director, starred in “Hill Street Blues” and has directed movies including the Eddie Murphy vehicle “Doctor Dolittle (64)

1949 – The world’s first jet-propelled airliner, the British De Havilland Comet, made its maiden test-flight in England

1950 – Birthday, Simon Jones, English actor, played Arthur Dent in “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” (62)

1950 – Birthday, Michael Vaughn, guitarist with 70′s pop band, Paper Lace of “Billy Don’t Be a Hero” fame (62)

1953 – Birthday, Yahoo Serious, Australian comedian, best known for his 1988 comedy Young Einstein (59)

1953 – The Korean War ended

1955 – The Allied occupation of Austria stemming from World War II, ended after 10 years

1955 – Birthday, Allan Border, Australian cricketer, former test captain and one of the all-time great batsmen (57)

1958 – C Birthday, hristopher Dean, English figure skater of Torvill and Dean fame, now tries very hard not to look embarrassed in “Dancing on Ice” – he’s also an ex-policeman (54)

1958 – Rock and Roll fans were warned by scientists that tuning into music on the car radio could cause the driver to be foot heavy on the pedal, making them waste fuel, because they were tapping away to the rhythm

1960 – Birthday, Jo Durie, Bristol-born former tennis star, once in the world’s top five, she also won the Mixed Doubles at Wimbledon in 1987 (52)

1964 – Churchill paid his last visit to the House of Commons

1965 – In America, President Johnson signed a bill requiring cigarette makers to print health warnings on all cigarette packages about the effects of smoking

1965 – Shadow Chancellor Edward Heath became leader of the Conservative Party

1968 – Bee Gee Robin Gibb collapsed, from nervous exhaustion, as the group were about to set out on their first US tour

1969 – Birthday, Jonty Rhodes, South African ex-cricketer, one of the best fielders in history (43)

1973 – Birthday, Tracy Shaw, British actress and singer. She is best known for her role as hairdresser Maxine Peacock in ‘Coronation Street’ during the 1990s and early 2000s. Her character met a tragic end in 2003 when she was murdered by Richard Hillman (played by Brian Capron). (39)

1976 – Bruce Springsteen sued his manager Mike Appel for fraud and breach of trust. An out of court settlement was reached the following year

1977 – John Lennon was granted a green card for permanent residence in U.S.

1977 – Birthday, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Irish actor, known for playing King Henry VIII in the historical drama The Tudors (35)

1981 – On Coronation Street, Ken Barlow married Deirdre Langton, attracting massive viewing figures

1984 – Roger Taylor from Duran Duran married Giovanna Cantonne in Naples, Italy

1984 – Birthday, Taylor Schilling, American actress. Was in ‘The Lucky One’ (2012), a romantic drama film, opposite Zac Efron. (28)

1986 – Queen became the first western act since Louis Armstrong in 1964 to perform in Eastern Europe when they played at Budapest’s Nepstadion, Hungary

1987 – The first salvaging from the Titanic wreckage began

1989 – Michael Jackson sued the Daily Mirror for libel after they printed a less than flattering colour photo of the ever-changing singer on the front page. 1990 – Belarus declared itself independent of the Soviet Union

1996 – A bomb exploded in Atlanta, Georgia, the city hosting that year’s Olympic Games

1996 – The Spice Girls scored their first No.1 UK single with ‘Wannabe’.

2000 – The Labour Government announced the most radical re-organisation of the NHS since it was founded in 1948

2002 – Mariah Carey checked herself into an undisclosed hospital suffering from “extreme exhaustion”