On this day

1549: The Church of England adopted The Book Of Common Prayer compiled by Thomas Cranmer.

1870: Charles Dickens died in Gad’s Hill Place, near Rochester, Kent, after a brain haemorrhage the previous evening. He left only six of the planned 12 parts of his final novel, The Mystery Of Edwin Drood, completed.

1898: Hong Kong was leased to Britain from China for 99 years.

1934: Donald Duck was born, in Walt Disney cartoon The Wise Little Hen.

1959: America launched the first ballistic missile submarine, the George Washington.

1975: Live radio broadcasting from the House of Commons began.

1991: The £100 million, two-mile, four-lane Dartford Bridge in east London was completed.