On this day

1801 - The first census began in Britain.

1906 - The Bakerloo Line opened on London's underground system.

1956 - Test pilot Peter Twiss became the first person to fly at more than 1000 mph.

1963 - 25,000 mourners attended Patsy Cline's funeral.

1964 - Prince Edward - Earl of Wessex - was born.

1969 - James Earl Ray was sentenced to 99 years imprisonment , after pleading guilty to the murder of civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

1974 - A Japanese soldier was discovered hiding on Lubang Island in the Phillipines. He was unaware that World War II had ended and was waiting to be picked up by his own forces.

1994 - Fred West was charged with the murder of eight women after their bodies were discovered at his home in Cromwell Street, Gloucester.

2005 - Michael Jackson was later for court during his child abuse trial, due to a bad back. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but he eventually limped in wearing pyjamas. He was later found not guilty on all charges.

2006 - John Profumo died following a stroke. Profumo was at the centre of the most sensational sex and security scandal of the 20th century, when he had an affair with a call girl called Christine Keeler. He did penance for parliamentary dishonour with more than 30 years of charity work among the poor in London.