This Day in History - 16th September

1387 King Henry V was born at Monmouth Castle. He went on to win the Battle of Agincourt against the French on St Crispin’s Day.

1400 Owain Glyndŵr, Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales, instigated the Welsh Revolt against the rule of Henry IV of England. 

1485 The Yeoman of the Guard, the bodyguard of the English Crown - popularly known as 'Beefeaters' - was established by King Henry VII.

1701 James Francis Edward Stuart, sometimes called the 'Old Pretender', became the Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England and Scotland.

1785 Birth of Thomas Barnes, editor of The Times. Barnes took over the editorship in 1817 and did much to improve it. The newspaper was nicknamed ‘the Thunderer’ because of the forcefulness of its content.

1847 The United Shakespeare Company bought the house in which playwright William Shakespeare was born at Stratford Upon Avon in Warwickshire for £3,000. 

1859 British explorer Dr. David Livingstone discovered Lake Nyasa - now Lake Malawi, in central Africa. He was from humble beginnings and was born in Blantyre, eight miles south east of Glasgow.

1861 The Post Office Savings Banks opened in Britain.

1888 Walter Bentley, British car designer, was born.

1945 World War II: Japanese troops in Hong Kong surrendered. The surrender was accepted by Royal Navy Admiral Sir Cecil Harcourt.

1947 John Cobb set a world land speed record of 394.2mph.

1947 The birth of Russ Abbot, musician, comedian and actor who first came to public notice during the 1970s as the singer and drummer with the British comedy showband the Black Abbots. He later forged a solo career as a television comedian with his own weekly show on British television.

1960 Donald Campbell destroyed Bluebird in a crash at 350mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in north west Utah. He was only slightly hurt.

1968 Britain introduced a 'two tier' postal system - First and Second Class. Letters and parcels bearing the more expensive 1st class stamps would be given priority of delivery.

1981 Two British political parties - the SDP and the Liberals - voted for an alliance.

1992 Black Wednesday, when the GB Pound Sterling was forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism by currency speculators and was forced to devalue against the German mark.

2000 Cyclist Jason Queally claimed Britain's first medal of the Sydney Olympics.

2002 The world's first self cleaning glass was launched after being developed by scientists at the leading glass company of Pilkington's in St Helens.