This Day in History - 30 April

1513Edmund de la Pole, Yorkist pretender to the English throne, was executed on the orders of Henry VIII.

1625 The death of Sir Lawrence Tanfield at Burford in Oxfordshire. Tanfield was a prominent lawyer and politician and lord of Burford manor. Relationships with the locals were poor. There were accusations of Tanfield's corruption and overbearingness and he stripped the vicarage of much of its endowment. Tanfield's widow arranged for him to be buried in Burford church, under an elaborate tomb in the north chapel at dead of night, without the permission of the priests or town. The ghosts of Tanfield and his wife have been reportedly sighted racing around Burford in a fiery coach, bringing death to all who see them.

1770The birth of David Thompson, London-born Canadian explorer who explored much of western Canada, including the Columbia River.

1821The first iron steamship, Aaron Manby, named after the proprietor of the Staffordshire ironworks at which she had been made, was completed. She weighed 116 tons and after trials on the River Thames made her maiden voyage across the Channel.

1938The FA Cup was televised on British TV in its entirety, for the first time. The TV audience was estimated as 10,000. Preston played Huddersfield Town and Preston won in the last minute of extra time.

1943The body of a mystery man (planted with false invasion plans) was used by Britain to fool Nazi Germany into defending the 'wrong' regions of the Mediterranean, aiding a successful invasion of Sicily.

1944The first of 500,000 prefab homes went on show in London. They were designed for demobilised servicemen and bombed-out families and consisted of 2 bedrooms, a living room, bathroom and toilet and kitchen on one floor. They covered an area of 616 sq ft and were built by the motor industry

1945Nazi leader Adolf Hitler committed suicide. Before beginning his assault on Europe, Hitler had assured his followers that the Third Reich would last for 1,000 years. His mistress, Eva Braun, whom he'd married the day before, died alongside him after taking a cyanide pill.

1948 The launch of the Land Rover Defender. The first model was sold for £450 at the Amsterdam Motor Show. See a military Land Rover outside The Fusilier Museum in Bury.

1974England's football manager Sir Alf Ramsey, manager of the England team which won the World Cup in 1966 was sacked, after 11 years as manager.

1980Armed terrorists seized the Iranian Embassy in London taking 20 hostages and threatening to blow up the building.

1988Queen Elizabeth II officially opened World Expo '88 in Brisbane, Australia. The fair was the largest event of the Bicentennial celebrations of the European settlement of Australia and attracted almost 16,000,000 visitors.

2012A flamboyant Australian billionaire ordered a shipyard in China to build him an exact replica of the Titanic. The Chinese navy has been invited to escort Titanic II on its maiden voyage from England to New York in 2016.

2013A 40 thousand piece, 19.5ft. by 8ft. jigsaw commemorating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee crashed to the floor just days before it was due to go on display at Sandringham. Creator Dave Evans, who had spent five weeks creating the jigsaw believed that it would enter the Guinness World records as the world’s largest jigsaw. You can find downloadable jigsaws on the Beautiful Britain website. No chance of these crashing to the floor.