A look back at events in history on March 5 with Mike Badham 1133: Ginger-haired King Henry II, the first Plantagenet king, was born. His mum was Matilda, who spent the best part of 20 years fighting Stephen for the English throne. Henry grew up to be a big man, fond of riding and sport. He married shrewish Eleanor of Aquitaine and had four sons, but the marriage was not otherwise a success - he kept her locked up for years in a chilly castle. Henry is also notable for reforming the laws of England and being blamed for the death of Thomas a Becket.

1746: Charles Howard, Duke of Northumberland was born. As well as being fond of a drink, he was a bit short on personal hygiene. But his servants used to wait until he was legless and then dunk him in a bath of hot water. He fathered many illegitimate children, but did have the grace to pay for their keep.

1770: When a mob of American demonstrators threw snowballs at British troops, they opened fire, killing five. This became known as the Boston Massacre. Six years later, after a revolution, the United States became free of Britain.

1868: The stapler was patented today. 1879: A box full of human flesh was washed up on the Hammersmith shore of the Thames. The meat was the remains of a Mrs Thomas, whose servant, Kate Lawler, had rendered her down and sold the dripping to a pub.

1929: Burly fascist Colonel Barker was arrested for bankruptcy - and was found to be female! Her real name was Lily Arkell and although she'd had two children, she preferred to live as a man. After going so far as to marry another woman, she was jailed for stating a falsehood on the marriage certificate. On release, she retired to a quiet village as "Mr Norton".

1933: Hitler was elected chancellor of Germany on a platform of restoring the value of the mark and providing jobs for all.

1936: The Supermarine Spitfire fighter made its maiden flight from Eastleigh, near Southampton.

1940: The Royal Navy seized seven Italian ships in the Channel. They were laden with coal, bound for Germany. Neutral Italy protested to the British Government.

1942: To conserve pencils, civil servants had their pencil sharpeners taken away. A further economy move saw tubes on sale into which the stub of a pencil would just fit. Thus even the last half inch could still do duty.

1946: In a speech in the USA, Winston Churchill used the phrase "Iron Curtain" for the first time.

1953: Joseph Stalin died. Although he had killed more people than Hitler, he had managed to be on the winning side in World War Two, and so never stood trial.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.