ON THIS DAY

74 years ago (1944)

Our front page covered the war in Europe as 2,000 fighter-bombers backed up Allied troops in the Battle of Aachen and the town of Weisweiler fell to the US First Army.

We also reported a V2 attack on a shop crowded with mothers and children doing their Christmas shopping. A total of 168 people died in the attack on Woolworths in New Cross, South London.

47 years ago (1971)

The Soviet Union’s Mars 2 orbiter became the first man-made object to reach the surface of red planet when it malfunctioned and crash-landed after entering the Martian atmosphere at a steeper angle than planned.

28 years ago (1990)

John Major became Prime Minister after winning the Conservative leadership election triggered by Margaret Thatcher’s resignation.

The former Chancellor beat rivals Michael Heseltine and Douglas Hurd by 185 votes to 131 and 56 respectively. Major would go on to lead the Tories to their fourth consecutive election victory in 1992.

57 years ago (1961)

The RAF began airlifts to drop food supplies to flood victims in Somalia. The aircraft arrived with six tons of maize. More than 200 people drowned and 230 villages were destroyed just in the Lower Juba province. Around 300,000 people were made homeless.