On this day

1346:

Edward III of England, aided by his son Edward the Black Prince, defeated the French at the Battle of Crecy.

1740:

Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, pioneer balloonist, was born in Annonay, France. He and his brother created the idea for the hot air balloon by filling paper bags with smoke from the fire and letting them rise to the ceiling.

1819:

Prince Albert, Consort to Queen Victoria, was born in Bavaria.

1875:

John Buchan, Scottish novelist and statesman, was born in Perth. At the age of 39 hewas confined to bed and wrote The 39 Steps.

1936:

The BBC transmitted the first high-definition television pictures, introduced by its announcer Leslie Mitchell. More than 7,000 people queued to see the pictures from Alexandra Palace on sets at the Olympia Radio Show.

1940:

The RAF bombed Berlin for the first time in retaliation for attacks on London.

1952:

The Soviet Union announced that the first successful intercontinental ballistic missile tests had taken place.

1978:

Cardinal Albino Lucianiwas elected Pope John Paul I. Within 33 days hewas dead.

2012:

Tributes poured in from around theworld for Neil Armstrong, the first man towalk on the moon, whodiedat theageof 82.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR:

A schoolgirl arrested with a teenage boy involved in a plot to attack police at an Anzac Day parade in Australia admitted two terror offences.