On this day

1434: The River Thames froze over and, exactly 281 years later, it froze again – hard enough for a Frost Fair to be held on the ice. 1713: Laurence Sterne, clergyman, novelist and humourist, was born in Tipperary. 1815: Grace Darling, lighthouse-keeper’s daughter and heroine of the wreck of the Forfarshire, was born.

1849: Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy, was born in Manchester.

1859: On The Origin Of Species by Charles Darwin was published. 1864: Henri de ToulouseLautrec, French painter famous for his scene of Paris low-life, was born in Albi, southern France.

1962: The satirical TV programme That Was The Week That Was went out live from the BBC for the first time.

1963: Lee Harvey Oswald, charged with killing president Kennedy, was shot dead by club owner Jack Ruby at Dallas Police Headquarters.

1965: The Government imposed an experimental 70mph speed limit on motorways.

1991: Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen, died aged 45. 2005: The biggest overhaul of licensing laws in more than 50 years took effect. It permitted pubs, bars, clubs and stores in England and Wales to serve alcohol for longer – and even round the clock.