2003: Hutton Inquiry hears final arguments
On the final day of the Hutton Inquiry, the court hears closing statements bitterly criticising the Ministry of Defence and the BBC.

1973: Concorde slashes Atlantic flight time
Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time.

Norman Conquest begun
On this day in 1066, after being delayed by bad weather, William, duke of Normandy, embarked his army and set sail for the southeastern coast of England in what would be known in history as the Norman Conquest.

2008 SpaceX successfully launched Falcon 1, becoming the first privately owned company to send a liquid-fuelled rocket into orbit.

British mandate in Palestine
Set in motion by the Balfour Declaration of 1917, the British mandate for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine was finally approved by the Council of the League of Nations and came into force this day in 1923.

1955: James Dean killed in car smash
Hollywood actor James Dean is killed when his sports car is involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle.

Charles Darwin's return to England
Naturalist Charles Darwin returned to England this day in 1836 after a five-year journey on the HMS Beagle, on which he gathered the specimens and observations that led to his theory of evolution by natural selection.

1961 The Dick Van Dyke Show, a pioneer of the sitcom genre, began airing on CBS.

Sputnik 1 launched by U.S.S.R.
On this day in 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, which orbited Earth until 1958, inaugurated the space age, and heightened Cold War competition between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.

2011 American businessman Steve Jobs, a pioneer of the personal computer era who cofounded Apple and transformed it into one of the world's most successful companies, died at age 56

1973: Arab states attack Israeli forces
Heavy fighting erupts between Arab and Israeli forces along two fronts as Egypt and Syria attempt to re-take land occupied since 1967.

1971 The American crime thriller The French Connection, directed by William Friedkin and starring Gene Hackman, had its world premieres in New York City and Los Angeles; the movie, which won the Oscar for best picture, is especially known for featuring one of the most exciting and iconic car chases in cinematic history.

2003: The Terminator takes on California
Film star Arnold Schwarzenegger is elected governor of California, ousting the incumbent, Gray Davis, three years before the end of his term of office.

1991: Sumos size up Royal Albert Hall
The first Sumo wrestling tournament ever held off Japanese soil in the sport's 1500 year history begins.

1985 American filmmaker Orson Welles—who notably wrote, directed, produced, and acted in Citizen Kane (1941), one of the most influential films of all time—died at age 70.