117: Hadrian became Emperor of Rome.

1834: The Poor Law Amendment Act was passed, abandoning the system of outdoor relief by which parishes looked after their poor and replacing it with the workhouse.

1876: Frank Richards, author and creator of fat schoolboy Billy Bunter, was born in London as Charles Hamilton.

1900: The Davis Cup for tennis was contested for the first time at Brookline, Massachusetts, and won by USA.

1919: Frank Winfield Woolworth, American merchant and founder of the first dime-store (in Pennsylvania), died. The chain was extended to Britain in 1910.

1940: The Battle of Britain began.

1958: Columbia Records signed up a 17-year-old singer called Cliff Richard.

1963: The Great Train Robbery took place at Sears Crossing, Buckinghamshire, when a gang of 15 men, including Ronnie Biggs and Buster Edwards, stole more than £2.6 million.

1974: Richard Nixon announced his resignation as US President, the first to do so, because of his implication in the Watergate scandal.

1991: Hostage John McCarthy came home, five years and three months after being kidnapped and held hostage in Beirut.

On this day last year: Police searching for missing 10-year-old Cambridgeshire schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman released CCTV footage of the youngsters shortly before they disappeared.

BIRTHDAYS: Ronald Biggs, train robber, 74; Dustin Hoffman, actor, 66; Connie Stevens, singer, 65; Keith Barron, actor, 59; Keith Carradine, actor, 54; Nigel Mansell, racing driver, 50; The Edge (David Evans), rock guitarist (U2), 42; Angus Fraser, cricketer, 38; Chris Eubank, former boxer, 37; Brain Harvey, pop singer, 29; Bradley McIntosh, pop singer (S Club), 22; Princess Beatrice of York, 15.