1988: Piper Alpha oil rig ablaze
An out-of-control fire on a North Sea oil rig is feared to have claimed the lives of most of those on board.

2005: Bomb attacks on London
A series of bomb attacks on London's transport network kills more than 30 people and injures about 700 others.

1965: Ronald Biggs escapes from jail
Ronald Biggs who was serving a 30-year prison sentence for his part in the Great Train Robbery escapes from Wandsworth prison.

1991: Bank collapse costs taxpayers millions
The closure of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International loses about 20 local councils up to £30m in investments.

1979: Skylab tumbles back to Earth
The space laboratory, Skylab I, plunges to Earth scattering debris across the southern Indian Ocean and the sparsely populated Australian desert.

1990: Yeltsin resignation splits Soviet Communists
Boris Yeltsin resigns from the Soviet Communist Party, bringing the radical-conservative split into the open.

1985: Live Aid makes millions for Africa
The Live Aid concert for the starving in Africa, the world's biggest rock festival held in London and Philadelphia, raises £30m.

1958: Coup in Iraq sparks jitters in Middle East
A military revolt in Iraq overthrows the monarchy and prompts King Hussein of Jordan to call for British and US military help to avert a similar rebellion in his country.

1966: Euston staff 'colour bar' ended
A West Indian refused a job at Euston Station will now be employed there after managers overturn a ban on black workers.

1969: Apollo 11 takes off for the Moon
The Apollo 11 space rocket takes off from Cape Kennedy at the start of the first attempt to land a man on the Moon.

2000: Tesco bows to imperial pressure
British supermarket Tesco is to revive imperial measures in its stores.

2000: Sarah Payne's body found
Police confirm the body they found in a West Sussex field yesterday is that of missing eight-year old Sarah Payne.

1983: Flesh-eating dinosaur resurrected
A gigantic new dinosaur skeleton is unveiled to the media at the Natural History Museum in London.