IT HAPPENED TODAY
1428:
Richard Nevill, the Earl of Warwick, so-called Kingmaker who was the power behind the throne during the Wars Of The Roses, was born.
1497:
The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope in his search for a route to India.
1718:
Edward Teach, English pirate who sailed under the name of Blackbeard, was killed off the coast of North Carolina.
1808:
Thomas Cook, who pioneered the holiday package tour, was born in Derbyshire.
1819:
Mary Ann Evans, who took the pseudonym George Eliot and wrote The Mill On The Floss, was born in Arbury, Warwickshire.
1830:
Container transport was introduced for the first time by Pickfords, the carriers, in an agreement with the Liverpool & Manchester Railway Company.
1913:
Composer Benjamin Britten, whose works included Peter Grimes, was born in Lowestoft.
1946:
The first ballpoint pen went on sale, it was invented by Hungarian Laszlo Biro.
1963:
John F Kennedy president of the United States, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, during the run-up to the 1964 presidential campaign.
1975:
The monarchy was restored in Spain when Juan Carlos was sworn in as king in Madrid.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:
Prince Harry returned to the Caribbean island of Barbuda where he once holidayed with his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
BIRTHDAYS:
John Bird, actor and satirist, 81; Terry Gilliam, film-maker, 77; Tom Conti, actor, 76; Billie-Jean King, former tennis player, 74; Jamie Lee Curtis actress, 59; Boris Becker, former tennis player, 50.