On this day

1850: Sir Thomas Lipton, founder of Lipton’s grocery chain, who went from errand boy to millionaire by the age of 30, was born in Glasgow. 1857: The Sepoy Rebellion broke out in Meerut, triggering the Indian Mutiny against British rule.

1869: The first US transcontinental railroad was completed when the

Central Pacific and Union Pacific railways were joined.

1940: Neville Chamberlain resigned as prime minister and Winston Churchill formed a coalition wartime government, saying: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

1941: The worst night of the

London Blitz when the Houses of Parliament were damaged.

1941: Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy, parachuted into Scotland in an effort to negotiate a peace settlement, but was arrested and imprisoned for the remainder of the war.

1994: Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first black president of South Africa.

2002: A passenger train travelling from London to Norfolk derailed at Potters Bar railway station in Hertfordshire. Seven people died. ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Efforts were under way to help a small whale after it became stranded along the River Thames.