This Day in History - 7th July

1575The Raid of the Redeswire took place On This Day at Redesdale in Northumberland. It was the last major battle between England and Scotland.

1850The death of Timothy Hackworth, steam locomotive engineer and the first locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

1919The birth of the actor John Pertwee, best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974. He was also the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge and for 18 years he was on BBC Radio as Chief Petty Officer Pertwee in The Navy Lark.

1927Christopher Stone became the first 'disc jockey' on British radio when he presented his 'Record Round-up' from Savoy Hill.

1930 The death of Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, best known for his detective fiction featuring the character Sherlock Holmes. He was a pupil at Stonyhurst College and he named Sherlock Holmes' nemesis, Moriarty, after a fellow pupil.

1940Ringo Starr, English drummer with the Beatles, was born.

1944Tony Jacklin, English golfer was born.

1955Dixon Of Dock Green began on BBC TV with Jack Warner as George Dixon. The programme ran for 367 episodes over 21 years.

1967England's round-the-world yachtsman Sir Francis Chichester was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. For the ceremony, the Queen used a sword that had originally belonged to Sir Francis Drake.

1981The Church of England decided that divorcees would be allowed to re-marry in a church ceremony.

1984Georgina Clark became the first woman to umpire a Wimbledon final when she presided over the Martina Navratilova victory against Chris Evert.

1985German tennis player Boris Becker, an unseeded 17 year old, became the youngest player to win the men's singles championship at Wimbledon.

1990England goalkeeper Peter Shilton played the last of his 125 games for his country in the World Cup third-place play-off against Italy in Bari.

2004 Fred Dibnah, Bolton born steeplejack, steam enthusiast and later TV presenter, went to Buckingham Palace to receive an MBE from the Queen. He initially planned to drive his beloved traction engine into the palace grounds, but was refused, as the Royal Parks Agency feared that its weight would damage the surface of The Mall. 

2005A series of bomb attacks on London's transport network killed 52 people and injured 700 others. It was the largest and deadliest terrorist attack in London's history.

2010Marksmen searched empty buildings, woods and fields in and around the town of Rothbury in Northumberland in the hunt for suspected gunman Raoul Moat, wanted over the shooting of three people the previous weekend. The manhunt lasted almost seven days, and was the largest in modern British history. After a standoff with the police, Moat shot himself on 10th July.

2013Radical cleric Abu Qatada appeared in court in Jordan after being deported from Britain. He was first arrested over alleged terror connections in 2001 and was rearrested in 2005, when attempts to deport him began. In September 2014 he was released from prison after being found not guilty of terrorism offences.

2014A precious hoard of Roman and Late Iron Age coins were discovered in a cave in Dovedale, Derbyshire, where it had lain undisturbed for more than 2,000 years. Experts said that it was the first time that coins from the two separate civilisations had been found buried together.

2014 Five pupils from Nottingham's Djanogly City Academy staged an unsuccessful 'Great Escape' breakout from school, by trying to tunnel under a 12ft (3.6m) high security fence with cutlery. (Pupils had been banned from leaving the school at lunchtime to ensure that they stayed safe and to improve attendance).