National day of Syria

1421: More than 100,000 drowned when the sea broke through the dykes at Dort in Holland.

1521: Martin Luther was excommunicated by the Diet of Worms.

1860: The first world title fight took place near Farnborough, Hants, when Tom Sayers took on American John Heenan. After 42 rounds, the match was declared a draw.

1937: A British attendance record at a football match was set when 149,547 people watched Scotland v England at Hampden Park, Glasgow.

1956: Premium Bonds were introduced by Chancellor Harold Macmillan.

1960: American rock star Eddie Cochran died in a car crash near Chippenham while on tour with Gene Vincent.

1961: An attempt by Cuban exiles and US forces to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, and overthrow Castro's Communist regime, was repulsed.

1963: In Moscow, British businessman Greville Wynne was accused of spying. He was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison and five in a labour camp.

1980: Rhodesia became the independent nation of Zimbabwe.

1984: WPC Yvonne Fletcher was shot dead outside the Libyan People's Bureau in London.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Files on 26 murders were examined as part of the inquiry into widespread collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and security forces in Northern Ireland.