On this day

1825 - The Stockton and Darlington Railway opened. It was the first passenger rail service and travelled at 10mph.

1938 - The 80,000 tonne liner Queen Elizabeth was launched by the Queen Mother.

1951 - Meatloaf - American singer, whose hits include Dead Ringer for Love and Bat Out of Hell - was born.

1968 - The musical Hair, which took advantage of the end of British stage censorship by including a nude scene, had its London premiere.

1978 - Eric Clapton sponsored a West Bromwich Albion UEFA Cup match against Galatasaray of Turkey. He presented every player with a gold copy of Slowhand before kick off.

1994 - Chad Hunderby set a new record time of seven hours and 17 minutes for swimming the English Channel.

2001 - Researchers in Argentina found unhatched baby dinosaurs - they were from the long-necked, plant eating sauropods family.