1974: Americans end outer space marathon.
Three US astronauts return safely to Earth after a record-breaking stay in space.

1950: McCarthy launches anti-red crusade.
United States Senator Joe McCarthy accuses more than 200 staff in the State Department of being Communists.

2005: Charles and Camilla to be married.
The Prince of Wales and long-term partner Camilla Parker Bowles are engaged, Clarence House announces.

1990: Freedom for Nelson Mandela.
Leading anti-apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela has been freed from prison in South Africa after 27 years.

1994 One hundred people made history by walking from France to England for the first time in millions of years. Each represented charities and voluntary organisations and walked the 31 mile Channel Tunnel which took, on average, 13 hours to complete.

1978: Ford makes her ITN debut.
Tomorrow's World presenter Anna Ford has been officially announced as ITN's first female newsreader.

1997: Lawrence 'killed by racists'.
Jurors at the inquest into the death of Stephen Lawrence have decided the black teenager was unlawfully killed "in a completely unprovoked racist attack by five white youths".

1971: D-Day delivers new UK currency.
The British Government launches a new decimal currency across the country.

2005: Kyoto Protocol comes into force.
The Kyoto Protocol that aims to slow down global warming takes effect but the US remains outside it.

1958 The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) was formed in Britain.

2005: Ban on hunting comes into force.
Hunting with dogs in England and Wales becomes illegal as the ban on the activity passes into law.

1968: Damages for thalidomide children.
The High Court awards compensation to 62 children born with thalidomide-induced deformities.

1986: Soviets launch space station Mir.
The Soviets open a new phase in space exploration with the launch of the world's biggest space station, Mir.

1972: Nixon makes historic visit to China.
US President Richard Nixon arrives in China at the start of a week-long summit aimed at ending 20 years of frosty relations between the two countries.

1997: Dolly the sheep is cloned.
A sheep named Dolly is cloned by scientists in Edinburgh and is being hailed as one of the most significant breakthroughs of the decade.