THURSDAY MAY 18 1936 The start of the Spanish Civil War. 1964 Mods and Rockers clashed during the Whit holiday. Birthdays: Nobby Stiles, England 1966 World Cup hero, 64; Rick Wakeman, keyboard player and Grumpy Old Man, 57; Dennis Bergkamp, Arsenal s Dutc

THURSDAY MAY 18

1936 The start of the Spanish Civil War.

1964 Mods and Rockers clashed during the Whit holiday.

Birthdays: Nobby Stiles, England 1966 World Cup hero, 64; Rick Wakeman, keyboard player and Grumpy Old Man, 57; Dennis Bergkamp, Arsenal's Dutch master, 37.

FRIDAY MAY 19

1649 Oliver Cromwell declared England a republican state.

1988 The Special Jury prize at Cannes was awarded to Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.

Birthdays: Robert Kilroy-Silk, ex-television presenter and UK Indpendence Euro MP, 64; Peter Townshend, of The Who, 61; Victoria Wood, creator of The Dinner Ladies, 53.

SATURDAY MAY 20

1975 The 500th edition of Z Cars screened.

1967 The BBC banned The Beatles' record A Day in the Life.

2000 Last Wembley Stadium FA Cup Final before re-building.

Birthdays: Joe Cocker, singer-songwriter, 61; Cher, singer and actress, 60; Greg Dyke, ex-BBC director-general, 59; Earl Spencer, brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, 42.

SUNDAY MAY 21

1827 First edition of the London Evening Standard published.

1904 FIFA was established in Paris.

Birthdays: Barry Norman, movie critic, 73; Mary Robinson, ex-President of Ireland, 62; Leo Sayer, singer-songwriter, 58; Andrew Neil, broadcaster and journalist, 57.

MONDAY MAY 22

1936 The Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera opened in the US.

1981 Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe jailed for life.

Birthdays: Sir Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrats' leader, 65; Morrisey, singer-songwriter, 47; Naomi Campbell, supermodel, 36; Jordan, model, 28.

TUESDAY MAY 23

1924 Bonnie and Clyde killed in an ambush.

1947 The British Cabinet decided to partition India.

1958 The Hovercraft was unveiled.

Birthdays: Joan Collins, actress, 73; John Newcombe, ex-Wimbledon men's singles champion, 62; Anatoli Karpov, Russian Grand Master chess player, 55.

WEDNESDAY MAY 24

1954 First business computer unveiled by IBM.

1956 First Eurovision Song Contest held, in Lugano.

1965 The Government announced Britain would switch to the metric system.

Birthdays: Bob Dylan, singer-songwriter, 65; Kristin Scott Thomas, actress, 46.