ON THIS DAY

● 1265: The Battle of Evesham took place, in which Simon de Montfort was defeated and killed by Royalist forces, led by the future King Edward I.

● 1792: Percy Bysshe Shelley, romantic poet, was born near Horsham, Sussex. After his death from drowning in Italy at 29, his wife kept his heart in her desk until she died.

● 1875: Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish writer most famous for his fairy stories, died.

● 1914: GreatBritaindeclared war on Germany for violating the Treaty of London – and the First World War began.

● 1978: Jeremy Thorpe, a former leader of the Liberal Party, was charged with conspiracy to murder Mr Norman Scott. He was later cleared.

● 1991: Greek cruise ship the MTS Oceanos sank off the coast of

South Africa’s Wild Coast. All 571 passengers and crew members were saved.

● 2007: Nasa’s Phoenix paceship was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to find out whether Mars could have once supported life.

● 2011: Mark Duggan, 29, was shot by police attempting to arrest him in Tottenham, London. His death sparked protests and riots in the UK capital which later spread to other cities.

● ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: French inventor Franky Zapata made the first successful crossing of the English Channel on a jetpowered flyboard on his second attempt.

● BIRTHDAYS: Martin Jarvis, actor, 79; Georgina Hale, actress, 77; Billy Bob Thornton, actor, 65; Ian Broudie, musician/producer (Lightning Seeds), 62; Mary Decker, former track athlete, 62.