IT HAPPENED TODAY
1796: Spain declared war on Britain by signing the Treaty of San Ildefonso, aligning with revolutionary France.
1908: Bulgaria declared its independence from Turkey.
1917: Sir Arthur Lee (above) donated Chequers to the nation as a country retreat for British Prime Ministers.
1927: The Labour Party voted to nationalise coal mines at its party conference in Blackpool.
1930: The British airship R101 crashed at the edge of a wood near Beauvais, France, killing 48 of the 54 passengers, including Air Minister Lord Thompson.
1936: The march of unemployed shipyard workers — from Jarrow to London — started.
1961: The film Breakfast at Tiffany’s is released, based on the novella by Truman Capote and starring Audrey Hepburn (below).
1968: A civil rights march in Derry is stopped by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and resulting clashes lead to two days of serious rioting, often considered the start of The Troubles in Northern Ireland.
1972: The Congregational Church in England and Wales and the Presbyterian Church of England combined to form the United Reformed Church.
1974: Five people died and 65 were injured when the IRA bombed two pubs in Guildford.
ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: A tin of Heinz kidney soup dating back at least 46 years was donated to a foodbank, which was also given a 35-year-old tin of sweetcorn.
BIRTHDAYS: Glynis Johns, actress, 95; Stephanie Cole, actress, 77; Brian Johnson, rock singer, 71; Clive Barker, author, 66; Bob Geldof, rock singer, 67; Laura Davies, golfer, 55; Guy Pearce, actor, 51; Kate Winslet, actress, (above) 43.