This Day in History - 25th August

1537 The Honourable Artillery Company was formed. It is the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, and the second most senior.

1804 Alicia Meynell rode Vingarillo over a four-mile racecourse at York to become the first recorded woman jockey. She was in the lead most of the way against only one other contestant, but lost.

1830 Robert Stephenson’s locomotive 'Northumbrian' took a trial run to prepare for the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Actress Fanny Kemble rode on the footplate, the first woman to do so.

1867 The death, aged 75, of the English scientist Michael Faraday. His inventions formed the foundation of electric motor technology, and it was largely due to his efforts that electricity became viable for use in technology.

1917 The Order of the British Empire (OBE), and the Companion of Honour (CH), were awarded for the first time

1919 The world's first international daily air service began between London and Paris.

1928 The opening of the famous Kop End at Liverpool Football Club's ground at Anfield. It was most likely named after the Battle of Spion Kop during the Boer War, the word 'Kopje' meaning 'small hill'.

1931 Ramsay MacDonald formed a National Government.

1939 Britain and Poland formed a military alliance in which the UK promised to defend Poland in case of invasion by a foreign power.

1940 The RAF made the first air raid on Berlin.

1942 The Duke of Kent, youngest brother of King George VI, was killed in a plane crash during a war mission to Iceland. He was the first member of the Royal family to be killed on active service.

1944 World War II - The Allies liberated Paris.

1986 Britain staged its first street motor race - along roads around the centre of Birmingham.

1988 The first GCSE results were published.

1988 Romanian Chess master Mihai Suba & his son defected to the West during an international tournament in London.

2009 The British Steam Car, driven by Charles Burnett III, broke the existing land speed record by a steam powered vehicle with an average speed of 139.843 mph over two consecutive runs over a measured mile at the Edward's Air Force Base in California, USA.

2009 A man was stabbed in the chest during "large-scale trouble" involving hundreds of fans at West Ham's Carling Cup match against Millwall. Fights were still raging five hours later.

2010 Gareth Williams, 30, an MI6 worker was found in a holdall in the bath at his central London flat. Police believed that he may have been murdered two weeks previously.