1745: Bonnie Prince Charlie defeated the English at the Battle of Prestonpans in Scotland.

1937: JRR Tolkein published The Hobbit.

1949: The Republic of Ireland beat England 2-0 at Goodison Park. It was England's first home defeat by a foreign football team.

1961: Yves Saint Laurent announced his intention to start his own fashion business.

1968: Madame Tussauds gave The Beatles their fifth change of image in four years.

1970: Eric Burdon of The Animals claimed on TV that Jimi Hendrix had left a suicide note.

1991: Status Quo made the Guinness Book of Records when they played four venues within 12 hours. They played Sheffield, Glasgow, Birmingham and London all in one day.

1998: Bill Clinton's four-hour video testimony in the Monica Lewinsky case was broadcast. He was criticised for evasiveness and "squirming".