ON THIS DAY

1455:

Opening battle in England’s War of the Roses takes place at St Albans, when the Lancastrians defeated the Yorkists.

An official order is issued ending the practice of sending convicts from Britain to the penal colony Australia.

First meeting of the Queensland parliament.

The Wright brothers patent their flying machine in the US.

Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, is jailed for life after being convicted of 13 murders.

Voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland vote overwhelmingly for a peace agreement to end 20 years of sectarian strife.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, English author (1859-1930); George Best, Northern Irish soccer star (1946-2005); Iva Davies, Australian pop singer (1955-).

1840: 1860: 1908: 1981: 1998: Birthdays: