1216: King John of England died after over-indulging on peaches and ale at Swinehead Abbey in Lincolnshire. Some have said King John's spirit roams Surrey as a werewolf.

1745: Irish author and satirist, Jonathan Swift, whose works include Gulliver's Travels, died.

1872: The Holtermann nugget was mined at Hill End, New South Wales. It weighed 630lbs and was the largest gold-bearing nugget ever found.

1958: Mike Hawthorn became the first World Motor Racing Champion.

1981: British Telecom announced it would scrap the telegram.

1987: Wall Street was struck by Black Monday, when millions were wiped out on stock markets around the world.

1994: In the House of Commons, Labour MP Stuart Bell, accused two junior government ministers, Tim Smith and Neil Hamilton, of accepting payments to ask questions on behalf of a Westminster lobbying company.

1998: Cliff Richard fans demonstrated outside Chris Evans' radio station after he announced he wouldn't play Sir Cliff's hits on the air.

1999: It was revealed that nearly 1.3 million people had tried to get tickets for the Euro 2000 decided between England and Scotland.