It happened today – this day in history – August 14

1040: King Duncan I of Scotland is killed in battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth.

1498: Christopher Columbus lands at the mouth of the Orinoco River in what is now Venezuela.

1585: Elizabeth I refuses sovereignty of the Netherlands.

1678: The French repulse William of Orange at the Battle of Mons.

1762: The English fleet occupies Havana, Cuba.

1816: Britain annexes Tristan da Cunha.

1851: Birth of John Henry “Doc” Holliday in Georgia, US.

1861: Martial Law is declared at St Louis, Missouri, due to pro-secession sentiment which surged throughout Missouri after the Battle of Wilson’s Creek.

1867: Birth of author John Galsworthy in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey.

1880: Construction of Cologne Cathedral is finally completed after it began in 1248.

1882: Queen Victoria receives Zulu chief Cetewayo.

1885: The Criminal Law Amendment Act raises the age of consent from 13 to 16, protecting against child prostitution.

1888: Birth of inventor of television, John Logie Baird.

1903: James J Jeffries KOs James J Corbett in Round 10 for the heavyweight boxing title.

1908: Race riot in Springfield, Illinois.

1912: US marines invade Nicaragua.

1917: China declares war on Germany and Austria.

1920: The Olympic Games open in Antwerp, Belgium.

1932: The Olympic Games close in LA.

1936: Rainey Bethea is hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky in the last public execution in the US.

1937: China declares war on Japan.

1941: After days of secret meetings between Winston Churchill and President Franklin D Roosevelt, Britain and the US announce a joint declaration on what it calls the basic principles for a post-war world, but in reality it is a plan to overthrow Hitler months before the US officially enter the war. On the same day, German spy Josef Jakobs is executed in the Tower of London.

1942: General Dwight D Eisenhower is named commander for the invasion of North Africa.

1943: The first allied air raid on Borneo.

1944: Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives at Corsica.

1945: Japan surrenders unconditionally to end the Second World War. On the same day, Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh movement launches a coordinated uprising against French rule across Vietnam.

1947: Pakistan gains independence from Britain.

1948: The Olympic Games close in London.

1949: Military coup in Syria under colonel Sami Hinnawi.

1956: German poet and playwright, Bertolt Brecht dies from a heart attack at 58.

1958: Elvis Presley’s mother Gladys dies. On the same day, blues artist Big Bill Broonzy dies aged 65.

1960: Jack Brabham clinches his second consecutive Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by winning the Portuguese Grand Prix at Boavista.

1962: After being told by George Martin at their Parlophone audition that Pete Best was not up to scratch, Brian Epstein and the other Beatles decide to sack the drummer. John Lennon calls Ringo Starr, who is nearing the end of a three-month engagement with Rory Storm & the Hurricanes at a Butlin’s holiday camp and invites him to join the band.

1964: Singer Johnny Burnette is killed in a boating accident on Clear Lake in California, aged 30, when his unlit boat is struck by a cabin cruiser. Burnette is thrown overboard and drowns.

1965: Actress Jane Fonda marries director Roger Vadim in Las Vegas.

1967: All UK offshore pirate radio stations are closed down when the Marine Broadcasting Act comes into force. Radio Caroline continues to broadcast for a further seven months. On the same day, celebrity hairdresser Vidal Sassoon supposedly cuts actress Mia Farrow’s hair into the famous pixie cut, costing $5,000. In reality, it was a publicity stunt as Farrow had previously cut her own hair.

1969: The British Government sends troops into Northern Ireland in what it calls a “limited operation” to restore law and order.

1970: Stephen Stills was arrested on suspected drugs charges while staying at a San Diego Hotel after being found crawling along a corridor in an incoherent state. On the same day, the three-day Yorkshire Folk, Blues & Jazz Festival began at Krumlin featuring Atomic Rooster, The Kinks, Elton John, Mungo Jerry, Yes and The Groundhogs.

1971: Kevin Keegan makes his League debut for Liverpool at Anfield, scoring after 12 minutes against Nottingham Forest. On the same day, Bahrain decalres independence from Britain.

1972: A Catholic civilian is shot dead during an IRA attack on a British Army patrol in Belfast.

1974: The Turkish army attacks Nicosia, Cyprus.

1975: Pakistani military coup against Bangladeshi President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

1976: 10,000 women demonstrate for peace in Belfast.

1979: Dozens of yachts are lost and 15 people die after a freak storm during the Fastnet yacht race.

1980: Shipyard workers in Gdansk, Poland, strike in protest over the dismissal of a trade union activist, marking the beginning of the Solidarity movement. On the same day, Essex host the first senior day-night cricket match played in England under floodlights against the West Indies at Chelsea FC’s ground Stamford Bridge.

1984: Death of novelist J B Priestly aged 89.

On TV tonight (Tuesday)

1986: Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is arrested.

1988: Lead singer of Hawkwind, Robert Calvert, dies of a heart attack. On the same day, American guitarist Roy Buchanan dies by hanging himself with his own shirt in Fairfax County Adult Detention Centre after being arrested for drunkenness. Also, Italian sportscar manufacturer Enzo Ferrari dies aged 90.

Singles chart:

1. The Only Way Is Up – Yazz and the Plastic Population
2. The Locomotion – Kylie Minogue
3. I Need You – B.V.S.M.P.
4. You Came – Kim Wilde
5. The Evil That Men Do – Iron Maiden
6. Hands To Heaven – Breathe
7. Find My Love – Fairground Attraction
8. The Harder I Try – Brother Beyond
9. Superfly Guy – S-Express
10. Martha’s Harbour – All About Eve

Album chart:

1. Now That’s What I Call Musuc 12 – Various Artists
2. Kylie – Kylie Minogue
3. The First Of A Million Kisses – Fairground Attraction
4. Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman
5. Hits 8 – Various Artists
6. Bad – Michael Jackson
7. Idol Songs: 11 Off The Best – Billy Idol
8. The Greatest Ever Rock ‘n’ Roll – Various Artists
9. Dirty Dancing – Original Soundtrack
10. The Best Of – The Eagles

1989: South African President P W Botha resigns.

1992: Tony Williams lead singer with The Platters dies in his sleep from emphysema aged 64.

1994: Terrorist Carlos the Jackal is arrested in Khartoum, Sudan.

1997: Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh is formally sentenced to death by the Oklahoma Court of Appeals.

2001: The IRA withdraws a proposal made the previous week to put its weapons beyond use. On the same day, a pizza-stained piece of paper signed by three of the four Beatles (Ringo was in hospital in the UK recovering from having his tonsils out) while on tour of Australia in 1964, sells for $48,000 (£17,441) to an anonymous collector at an auction in Melbourne.

2003: Massive power failures lasting up to 30 hours cause chaos across the eastern United States and Canada, affecting 50 million people.

2007: Co-ordinated bombings in Yazidi communities in Iraq kill at least 500 people – the second-deadliest terror attack of all time.

2008: Singer Lita Roza dies in Liverpool aged 82.

2009: George Michael is arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drink or drugs after his Land Rover was in collision with a lorry on the A34 in Berkshire. He was later released without charge.

2015: Record producer Bob Johnston dies aged 83. On the same day, Jazz Summers, manager of bands such as Wham!, Snow Patrol, Scissor Sisters and The Verve, dies from lung cancer. Also, the most extensive face transplant surgery ever performed is carried out on Patrick Hardison by Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez at New York University Langone Medical Centre.

2016: Usain Bolt wins the 100m at the Rio Olympics, becoming the first man to win the event three times. On the same day, Jason Kenny wins cycling sprint gold for Britain and Andy Murray wins the tennis.

2017: A parliamentary citizenship scandal deepens in Australia after Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is revealed to be a New Zealand citizen.

2018: A Pennsylvania grand jury alleges 300 “predator priests” abused over 1000 children over 30 years and Catholic leaders covered it up. On the same day, singer Jill Janus committed suicide age 42.

2019: Stephanie Frappart of France is the first woman to referee a major match in a European men’s tournament – the UEFA Super Cup tie Chelsea vs Liverpool in Istanbul.

2020: UFO bassist Pete Way dies age 69 following life-threatening injuries he had sustained in an accident two months earlier.

BIRTHDAYS: David Crosby, singer-songwriter, 80; Steve Martin, comedian/writer, 76; Wim Wenders, director/screenwriter, 76; Larry Graham, bassist (Sly and the Family Stone/Graham Central Station), 75; Maddy Prior, singer (Steeleye Span) 74; Danielle Steel, author, 74; Bruce Thomas, bassist (Elvis Costello & The Attractions), 73; Carl Lumbly, actor, 70; Earvin “Magic” Johnson, basketball legend, 62; Marcia Gay Harden, actress,62; Sarah Brightman, singer, 60; Emmanuelle Seigner, actress, 56; Mark Francois, MP, 56; Gillian Taylforth, actress, 56; Tanya Donnelly, guitarist (Throwing Muses/Belly) 55; Halle Berry, actress, 55; Adrian Lester, actor, 53; Jay-Jay Okocha, former footballer, 48; Paddy McGuinness, comedian/TV presenter, 48; Ana Matronic (Lynch) singer (Scissor Sisters) 47; Mila Kunis, actress, 38; Nick Grimshaw, broadcaster, 37; Georgia Chellini, Italian footballer, 37; James Buckley, actor, 34; Ander Herrera, footballer, 32; Myles Kellock, multi-instrumentalist (Blossoms) 27; Joelinton (Cássio Apolinário de Lira), footballer, 25; Neal Maupay, footballer, 25; Brianna Hildebrand, actress, 25.