ON THIS DAY

1471: The Yorkists defeated the Lancastrians at the Battle of Tewkesbury in the War of the Roses.

1839: The Cunard shipping line was founded by Canadian Sir Samuel Cunard.

1904: Charles Rolls and Henry Royce signed a provisional agreement to produce RollsRoyce cars.

1926: The General Strike began, the first in British history. It was called off on May 12.

1974: Abba, above, reached the top of the pop charts with Waterloo, the Eurovision song contest winner.

1979: Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first woman prime minister.

1982: HMS Sheffield was struck by an Exocet missile during the Falklands War. It was the first British ship to be lost to enemy action since the Second World War.

1990: Latvia declared itself an independent democratic republic in the first stage of withdrawal from the Soviet Union.

2000: Ken Livingstone became the first Mayor of London.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: The Duchess of Sussex revealed she had written a children’s book inspired by the relationship between her husband and son.