On this DAY

1567: The first state lottery was held in England – 40,000 lots at 10 shillings each were available from St Paul’s Cathedral.

1753: Sir Hans Sloane, British physician and naturalist, whose collection formed the nucleus of the British Museum, died.

1917: An appeal was launched for the nation to subscribe to the new War Loan, to finance the staggering cost of the conflict (£5.7 million a day).

1922: Insulin was first used successfully in the treatment of diabetes.

1928: Thomas Hardy, English poet and novelist, died in his native Dorset aged 87.

1973: The Open University awarded its first degrees.

1989: The second Battle of Naseby was lost when judges refused to halt the M1-A1 link across a field where Cromwell was defeated by Royalists in 1645.

1993: Richard Branson won a legal victory after British Airways apologised for a “dirty” campaign against Virgin Atlantic Airways.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Southern train drivers entered their second day of strikes over the company’s decision to turn guards into supervisors.