1958: Monkey lost after space flight.
The search for a small bushy-tailed monkey fired into space in the nose cone of a Jupiter missile is called off.

1972: Last Moon mission returns.
Apollo 17, the last manned space mission to the Moon, returns to Earth, bringing an end to America's programme of lunar exploration.

2015 Forty three year old astronaut Major Tim Peake became the first Briton to serve a mission on the International Space Station. He took off from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan at 11:03am GMT, alongside Nasa astronaut Tim Kopra and Russian commander Yuri Malenchenko.

1969: MPs vote to abolish hanging.
MPs vote by a big majority for the permanent abolition of the death penalty for murder.

1843 A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, was published.

1997: Dawn of Scottish parliament.
Scottish Secretary Donald Dewer unveils a blueprint for Scotland's new parliament.

1984: Britain signs over Hong Kong to China.
The British colony of Hong Kong is to be returned to China in 1997 after an historic agreement is signed.

2007 Elizabeth II became the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.

1988: Jumbo jet crashes onto Lockerbie.
A Pan Am jumbo jet with 258 passengers on board crashes on to the town of Lockerbie in Scotland - hundreds are feared dead.

1965 The government introduced an 'experimental' speed limit of 70mph on motorways in England. The limit is still in force.

2013 Grandfather John McCafferty (71) entered the record books as the world's longest-surviving heart transplant patient at 30 years, 11 months and 11 days. At the time of his heart transplant in 1982 he was told that he might expect to live for another five years if the procedure was a success.

1968: First astronauts orbit Moon.
The Apollo 8 spacecraft and its crew of three astronauts become the first manned space mission to orbit the Moon.

1974: Cyclone Tracy leaves Darwin devastated.
The Australian city of Darwin is wrecked by a powerful cyclone that leaves thousands of people homeless.

1932 The BBC presented the first televised pantomime, Dick Whittington.