On This Day...

1702 - William III, King of England, drew his last breath. He died when his horse stumbled on a molehill and fell. Supporters of the rival ruling family, the Jacobites, were known to raise their glasses to the mole.

1925 - the Chicago Department of Health declared crosswords were good for your health.

1930 - William Howard Taft, the 27th American President died. Taft suffered from chronic obesity and weighed more than 24 stone when he was sworn in.

1946 - bananas arrived in Covent Garden for the first time since the outbreak of war.

1950 - the USSR announced they had an atom bomb.

2000 - prostitutes in Soho went on strike to protest at plans to clean up the area.

2001 - the wreckage of Donald Campbell's Bluebird was brought to the surface 34 years after it crashed at Coniston Water, Cumbria.