This Day in History - 9th June

1549The Church of England adopted the Book of Common Prayer, compiled by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer.

1667The Raid on the Medway, sometimes called the Battle of Chatham began. It lasted for five days and resulted in a decisive victory for the Dutch over the English in the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The Dutch bombarded and then captured the town of Sheerness and sailed up the River Medway to Chatham, where they burned ten naval vessels and towed away the HMS Unity and the HMS Royal Charles, the pride of the English fleet. It was the worst defeat in the Royal Navy's history.

1781The birth of George Stephenson, English civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Stephenson was renowned as being the 'Father of Railways'. His rail gauge of 4 feet 8 1⁄2 inches (1,435 mm), sometimes called 'Stephenson gauge, is the world's standard gauge. 

1836Birth of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, English physician who was refused admission to medical schools, so studied privately and was licensed to practice in 1865. She created a medical school for women which became the New Hospital for Women.

1870Charles Dickens, English novelist died at his home - Gad's Hill Place, Kent. Dickens rocketed to fame with his 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers. His other notable works are Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Hard Times, A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations.

1873Alexandra Palace in London burned down, after being open for only 16 days. It was built as a public centre of recreation, education and entertainment and as North London's counterpart to the Crystal Palace in South London. With typical Victorian vigour, the palace was quickly rebuilt and it reopened on 1st May 1875.

1898An agreement was signed under which Hong Kong was leased to Britain, by China, for a period of 99 years.

1899Boxer Bob Fitzsimmons, the first British world heavyweight champion, lost his title to American James Jeffries at Coney Island, New York.

1904Musicians who left the Henry Wood Orchestra after a disagreement, formed the London Symphony Orchestra.

1933Baird demonstrated high definition television at his Long Acre studio in London, showing the difference between the previous 30-line picture and the new 120-line tubes.

1958The Queen opened an extended airport at Gatwick, south of London, modernised at a cost of £7m.

1960It was announced that one of Britain's oldest quality cars, the Armstrong Siddeley, was to go out of production.

1975The first live transmission from the House of Commons was broadcast by BBC Radio and commercial stations.

1983Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party won a landslide second term election victory.

2014The death of the comedian, actor and writer Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall aged 56. He played the anarchist Rick in The Young Ones, alongside his friend, Adrian Edmonson. The duo later went on to star in the series Bottom and Mayall also appeared in Blackadder and The New Statesman.

2014 Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted chief, delivered his findings on claims of hardline Muslim takeovers in certain school. 21 schools were inspected, following claims in an anonymous letter that hardline Muslims were trying to impose their view on a group of schools in Birmingham. Quote - "A culture of fear and intimidation has taken grip. Some of our findings are deeply worrying and, in some ways, quite shocking."

2015 Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cornwall unveiled a memorial window to Sir Winston Churchill, in St. Martin's Church, Bladon, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire. Churchill died in 1965 and is buried in Bladon churchyard along with other members of the Churchill family.