This Day in History - 3rd June

1162Thomas à Becket was consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.

1657The death of William Harvey, the English physician who described the circulation of the blood.

1665James Stuart, Duke of York (later to become King James II of England) defeated the Dutch fleet off the coast of Lowestoft.

1739The opening of the first Methodist Chapel in Britain - in Bristol.

1839In Humen, (China) 1.2 million kg of opium were confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a justification to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War.

1865The birth of George V, King of England from 1910 to 1936 who married Princess May of Teck (Queen Mary) in 1893. He ruled during the First World War and changed the family name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor in 1917.

1899English cricket captain W.G.Grace became the first man to play Test cricket beyond the age of 50. He played his last game against Australia aged 50 and 320 days at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

1931The Baird Company televised the Epsom Derby, which was transmitted by the BBC.

1937The Duke of Windsor, (the abdicated King Edward VIII), married American divorcee Mrs Wallis Simpson, privately in a château near Tours, France.

1940World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk ended with a German victory and with Allied forces in full retreat.

1967 The death of Arthur Ransome, author best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. The east shore of Coniston Water in the Lake District inspired Arthur Ransome and was used as a location in the 2016 film adaptation of his book.

1971The London opening of "No Sex Please, We're British" starring Michael Crawford. It became the longest-running comedy in theatre history before closing on 5th September, 1987.

1978The Guiness Book of Records entered the record books as the most-stolen book from British libraries.

1981Shergar won the Epsom Derby by a record 10 lengths.

1992The death of Robert Morley, (CBE) the English actor who was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment.

1996The High Court awarded compensation to a total of 14 police officers traumatised by the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster when 96 fans were killed in a crush during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. On 26th April 2016 The jury of 9 in the Hillsborough Inquest reached a verdict that vindicated the bereaved families who had fought for 27 years against South Yorkshire police claims that misbehaving supporters caused the disaster, as well as against the 1991 verdict of accidental death. The Hillsborough inquest started on 31st March 2014 and was the longest in British legal history.

2012 The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant took place on the Tideway of the River Thames, as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Despite the cold, wet weather, 670 boats took part, including military, commercial and pleasure craft. According to Guinness World Records, it was the largest ever parade of boats, surpassing the previous record of 327 vessels set in Bremerhaven, Germany, in 2011. 

2017 Eight people were killed and forty eight were injured in terrorist attacks when a van was deliberately driven into pedestrians on London Bridge. The three terrorists then carried out a stabbing spree in nearby pubs and restaurants before being shot dead by the police.