ON THIS DAY

1660: England’s Long Parliament was dissolved after sitting for 20 years.

1802:

The United States Military Academy at West Point was established.

1872:

The first English FA Cup Final took place. Wanderers, a team formed by university and ex-public school players, beat the Royal Engineers 1-0 at The Oval in London.

1888:

The first recorded sale of a manufactured motor car was to Emile Roger of Paris, who bought a petrol-driven Benz.

1900:

Sir Arthur Evans uncovered the ancient city of Knossos, Crete.

1926:

The first liquid-fuelled rocket was demonstrated in the USA, by Dr Robert H Goddard.

1935:

Hitler renounced the Versailles Treaty and reintroduced conscription.

1947:

Almost 600,000 acres of farming land were submerged by floodwater on the Fens as the River Ouse overflowed and a million sheep died. Storm damage came to more than £20million.

1971:

Boxer Henry Cooper announced his retirement after losing his title to Joe Bugner.

1980:

Alan Minter out-pointed Vito Antuofermo of the US to win boxing’s world middleweight title.

1988:

A Loyalist gunman opened fire indiscriminately and hurled grenades into a crowd of mourners at an IRA funeral for three people killed by the SAS in Gibraltar 10 days before.

1998:

Beef exports from Northern Ireland were to resume after a three-year ban stemming from the BSE crisis.