1800: The first soup kitchens for the poor of London began.

1815: The British, led by General Sir Edward Pakenham, were defeated at New Orleans in the last battle Britain fought against the US.

1824: Wilkie Collins, English pioneer of the detective and suspense story, was born in London. He wrote The Woman In White (1860) and The Moonstone (1868).

1832: Bell's New Weekly Messenger published the first cartoon to appear in an English newspaper.

1889: Dr Herman Hollerith of New York patented an electrically-operated computer to process data. The company he formed to market his invention evolved into the giant IBM.

1921: David Lloyd George became the first British Prime Minister to occupy Chequers, a country mansion in Buckinghamshire, presented to the nation as a gift by Lord Lee of Fareham.

1935: Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, the survivor of twin boys.

1940: Sugar, bacon and butter were rationed in Britain.

1982: Spain ended its siege of Gibraltar and reopened the frontier. In return, Britain ended its opposition to Spain joining the EEC.

1989: A British Midland 737 crashed into an embankment alongside the M1 near Kegworth, Leicestershire, killing 47 people.

1997: Kevin Keegan quit as manager of Newcastle United after five years in the post.

On this day last year: The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, announced his retirement.

BIRTHDAYS:

RON Moody, actor, 79; Dame Shirley Bassey, singer, 66; Prof Stephen Hawking, mathematician and author, 61; Lord Hardie QC, Lord Advocate, 57; David Bowie, rock singer, 56; John McTiernan, film director, 52; Amanda Burton, actress, 46; R Kelly, soul singer, 34.