1907: Florence Nightingale was appointed to the Order of Merit at the age of 87.

1937: 999 was introduced as Scotland Yard's emergency number.

1937: German people learned that parents failing to instill Nazi values in their children would have them taken away.

1942: Coffee rationing began in America.

1955: Floodlights were used in an England v Spain game at Wembley for the first time.

1957: David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai premiered in London.

1962: Britain and France agreed to build Concorde.

1965: Mary Whitehouse set up the National Viewers and Listeners' Association.

1982: Eddie Grant's I Don't Wanna Dance was this week's chart topper.

1985: Ian Botham completed a charity walk from John O'Groats to Land's End for leukaemia research.

1990: The UN Security Council authorised the use of force against Iraqi troops if they did not withdraw from Kuwait by January 15, 1991.