On this day

1489: Thomas Cranmer, Henry VIII’s first reformed Archbishop of Canterbury, was born. He was responsible for The Book of Common Prayer in 1549.

1644: The Battle of Marston Moor took place, in which Cromwell’s Roundheads defeated Prince Rupert’s Cavaliers and left 3,000 dead. One of the fatalities was Rupert’s poodle Boye, which he took everywhere with him.

1850: Sir Robert Peel, Tory prime minister (twice) and founder of the police force, died in London after a riding accident.

1865: The Salvation Army was originated by William Booth, with a revival meeting at London’s Whitechapel.

1921: Jack Dempsey defeated Georges Carpentier in Jersey City in the first boxing match to take more than a million dollars at the gate.

1937: Amelia Earhart Putnam, American aviator, and co-pilot Fred Noonan were lost near Howland Island in the Pacific during their attempt to fly round the world.

1956: Elvis Presley recorded Hound Dog and Don’t Be Cruel in RCA’s New York Studio. The release reached number one.

1961: Writer Ernest Hemingway died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds in Ketchum, Idaho.

1964: President Johnson signed the USA Civil Rights Bill, prohibiting racial discrimination.

2005: Live8 took place around the globe, as the world’s biggest music stars united to press political leaders to tackle poverty in Africa.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Beavers had been born in Essex for the first time since the Middle Ages, conservationists said.