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4 February 1818: Sir Walter Scott finds the Honours of Scotland
Features Romantic poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott discovered the Honours of Scotland – Scotland's crown jewels – on this day in 1818, after they had been missing for over a century.
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3 February 1690: America’s first paper money is issued
Features On this day in 1690, the Massachusetts colony began circulating the first paper money on North America, printed to finance England’s war against France.
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3 February 1960: Macmillan’s “wind of change” speech
Features Harold Macmillan gave his famous “wind of change” speech on his visit to Africa on this day in 1960, marking a change in Britain's colonial policy.
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2 February 1709: Alexander Selkirk is rescued
Features After four years and four months marooned on a desert island, Alexander Selkirk – the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe – was rescued on this day in 1709.
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2 February 1901: Queen Victoria’s funeral procession
Features Britain mourned the death of Queen Victoria by holding a grand state funeral for Britain's then longest-reigning monarch, on this day in 1901.
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1 February 1884: the first volume of the Oxford English Dictionary is published
Features On this day in 1884, after five years of hard slog, the first volume of the Oxford English Dictionary was published. It contained all the words from A to Ant.
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30 January 1933: Adolf Hitler takes power
Features Adolf Hitler came to power on this day in 1933 following a political gamble that went disastrously wrong.
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29 January 1886: Karl and Bertha Benz patent the motor car
Features On this day in 1886 Karl Benz, along with his wife Bertha, patented their Benz Patent-Motorwagen, with a new and revolutionary power source – the internal combustion engine.
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28 January 1958: the Lego brick is patented
Features Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, the son of the Danish founder of Lego, patents the famous eight-stud Lego brick, on this day in 1958.
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