1979: Thorpe cleared of murder charges.
A jury clears former Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe of the attempted murder of Norman Scott.

1983: Pope meets banned union leader Walesa.
Pope John Paul II holds a private meeting with the founder of Solidarity, Lech Walesa, on a visit to Poland.

1983: US astronaut Sally Ride returns.
America's first woman in space, Sally Ride, returns safely in the Challenger space shuttle after a six-day flight.

1953: Christie to hang for wife's murder.
John Christie is sentenced to hang for murdering his wife and then hiding her body under the floorboards of their Notting Hill home in London.

1986: Branson on course for Blue Riband.
Entrepreneur Richard Branson sets off on his second attempt to claim the transatlantic crossing record for Britain.

1957: Smoking 'causes lung cancer'
The link between smoking and lung cancer is one of 'direct cause and effect', a report by the Medical Research Council finds.

1991: Thatcher to retire from Commons.
Margaret Thatcher is to give up her seat in the House of Commons at the general election.

1995: US shuttle docks with Russian space station.
American and Russian spacecrafts successfully dock in orbit for the first time in 20 years.

1971: Space mission ends in tragedy.
Three Russian cosmonauts are found dead in their Soyuz 11 space capsule after it made what looked like a perfect landing in Kazakhstan.

2004: Cassini captures Saturn's rings.
International space probe Cassini-Huygens reaches Saturn and sends back the closest photographs yet of the planet's rings.

1964: President Johnson signs Civil Rights Bill.
The Civil Rights Bill - one of the most important piece of legislation in American history - becomes law.

1988: US warship shoots down Iranian airliner.
An American naval warship patrolling in the Persian Gulf shoots down an Iranian passenger jet after apparently mistaking it for a fighter plane.

1976: Israelis rescue Entebbe hostages.
In a dramatic raid Israeli commandos fly to Uganda to save 100 hostages held by pro-Palestinian hijackers at Entebbe airport.

1975: Ashe's Wimbledon win makes history.
American tennis player Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles' championship.

1952: London's trams trundle into history.
After nearly a century of service the tram has made its final appearance in London.