This Day in History - 2nd July

1489Thomas Cranmer, a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury was born. He was Archbishop during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and, along with Thomas Cromwell, he supported the principle of Royal Supremacy, in which the king was considered sovereign over the Church within his realm.

1644English Civil War: The Battle of Marston Moor at Long Marston, North Yorkshire. Marston Moor was the first victory of the war for the Parliamentary forces, with Cromwell's Roundhead Army defeating the Royalist Cavaliers, commanded by Prince Rupert. After their defeat, the Royalists effectively abandoned the North of England. The loss of the North was to prove a fatal handicap the following year, when they tried unsuccessfully to link up with the Scottish Royalists under Montrose.

1698Devon born Thomas Savery patented the first steam engine. He described it as a ''A new invention for raiseing of water and occasioning motion to all sorts of mill work by the impellent force of fire, which will be of great use and advantage for drayning mines, serveing townes with water, and for the working of all sorts of mills where they have not the benefitt of water nor constant windes."

1819The first Factory Act was passed in Britain. This banned the employment of children younger than 9 from working in textile factories, whilst those under 16 were allowed to work for 'only' 12 hours a day!

1850 The death of Robert Peel. He served twice as Prime Minister (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) and created the modern police force, leading to a new type of officer known in tribute to him as 'bobbies' or 'peelers'. 

1865At a revivalist meeting at Whitechapel, London, William Booth formed the Salvation Army. Early-day Salvationists started wearing uniform as a natural consequence of the 'army' adopting a military character.

1928 The Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act, widened suffrage by giving women electoral equality with men. It gave the vote to all women over 21 years old, regardless of property ownership.

1940Kenneth Clarke, British politician was born.

1940World War II: Adolf Hitler ordered German military commanders to draw up plans for the invasion of England.

1948Champion English golfer Henry Cotton won the British Open Golf Championship for the third time.

1973The birth, in Bolton, of comedian Peter Kay. He has sold over ten million DVDs, more than any other comedian.

1985The ordination of women as deacons was approved by the General Synod

1987Moors murderer Ian Brady offered to assist police searches of Saddleworth Moor for the first time since his conviction.

1996Weather experts predicted that global warming would have the effect of moving Britain 100 miles south in the next 25 years, bringing summer droughts and winter rainstorms.

1999The Scottish Parliament was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on the day that legislative powers were officially transferred from the old Scottish Office in London to the newly devolved Scottish Executive in Edinburgh.

2001Barry George was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of television presenter Jill Dando. He was released in 2008 after doubt was cast on the reliability of gunshot residue evidence.

2005The world's biggest music stars united in Live8 concerts around the globe to press political leaders to tackle poverty in Africa.

2012Meteorological Office figures showed that June 2012 had been the wettest since records began in 1910, with double the average amount of rain in the UK. It was also the dullest June on record and the coolest since 1991, with average temperatures of 12.3 degrees C.

2013HM Revenue and Customs was urged to show "more urgency" in how it dealt with VAT fraud and tax losses arising out of online trading, after a National Audit Office report found that £32bn of tax was uncollected in 2010, including an estimated £9.6bn in VAT.

2014Researchers from Cambridge and Warwick universities, who had been studying the spread of bovine TB over the past 15 years found that infected cows brought to a farm were the most likely cause of the disease. They said that 10 per cent of farms were acting as 'super-spreaders' and that badgers were not to blame for most cases of tuberculosis in cattle.

2018English divers, John Volanthen, (an IT consultant based in Bristol) and Rick Stanton, (a former Midlands fire fighter), discovered 12 young Thai footballers and their coach, after nine days trapped in caves in northern Thailand. More than 1,000 people were involved in the global operation. All 13 were rescued after 17 days underground. It was the most challenging underground rescue in history.