This Day in History - 26th June

1483Richard, Duke of Gloucester, began to rule England as Richard III, having deposed his nephew, Edward V. Edward and his brother, Richard, Duke of York, were soon afterwards murdered in the Tower of London.

1817The birth of Branwell Brontë, at this house in West Yorkshire. He was a painter, poet, the only son of the Brontë family, and the brother of the writers Charlotte, Emily, and Anne.

1826 The death, in Bolton of Samuel Crompton, the inventor of the 'spinning mule' a machine that revolutionised the industry worldwide. 

1830George IV died. His brother, William IV ascended the throne.

1857The first investiture ceremony for Victoria Cross awards took place in Hyde Park, London. Queen Victoria presented 62 servicemen with Britain's highest military honour.

1862Joseph Wells (father of sci-fi writer H.G. Wells) was a Kent cricketer and became the first man to take four first class wickets with four consecutive balls, playing against Sussex.

1909London's Victoria & Albert Museum opened to the public

1945Delegates from nations around the world signed the United Nations Charter, designed to help ensure future world peace. The first meeting of the U.N. General Assembly occurred in London early the following year.

1959The St. Lawrence Seaway, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean, was opened by Queen Elizabeth II and President Eisenhower.

1977Peter Sutcliffe (the Yorkshire Ripper) killed 16 year old Jayne MacDonald in Leeds. She was the fifth of his 13 victims. Her murder changed public perception of the killer, as she was the first victim who was not a prostitute. In 1981 Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attacking seven others. He is currently serving 20 sentences of life imprisonment in Broadmoor Hospital.

1986Entrepreneur Richard Branson set off on his second attempt to claim the transatlantic powerboat record for Britain. He smashed the previous record by two hours but was denied the Blue Riband by the trustees of the award because he had broken two rules of the competition; he had stopped to refuel and his vessel did not have a commercial maritime purpose.

1997Dresses belonging to Diana, Princess of Wales were auctioned for more than £2million in New York.

2012A gas explosion in a house in Shaw, Lancashire, killed two-year-old Jamie Heaton who was discovered in the rubble of the adjoining property. The blast also caused £1.2million of damage along the street and a number of houses had to be demolished. 28-year-old Andrew Partington was arrested two days later and jailed for 10 years after it was proved that he had cut the gas pipes in his terraced home following an argument with his girlfriend.

2014David Greaves, 43, who took two cash tills and three plasma televisions from The Railway pub in Accrington, Lancashire, lost his stolen goods when two other opportunistic thieves took them as he went back to steal more. Greaves was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for 12 months.