On This Day - 4th April
1581
Queen Elizabeth I knighted Francis Drake aboard his ship the Golden Hind
at Deptford after his circumnavigation of the world.
1660The 'Declaration of Breda' was proclaimed by King Charles II in which he promised a general pardon for crimes committed during the English Civil War.
1811 The opening of the Standedge Tunnel (see 
picture. It is located on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and is the longest, deepest and highest canal tunnel ever built in Britain, being over 3 miles long, 638 feet (194m) underground and 645 feet (196m) above sea level.
1860 The publication of George Eliot's book The Mill on the Floss. (Her real name Mary Anne Evans). She visited Gainborough in 1859 (see 
plaque) staying in this house (see 
picture) - now the United Services Club. She renamed the town St. Oggs in her novel.
1873The Kennel Club was founded. It is the oldest, recognized kennel club in the world and was the first official registry of purebred dogs in the world. Its role is to act as governing body for various canine activities including dog shows, dog agility and working trials.
1617The death of John Napier, the Scottish mathematician who invented logarithms.
1934Yorkshireman Percy Shaw laid the first "cats' eyes" along
the centre of the road at an accident black spot near Bradford.
1949The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established by 12 Western
states including Great Britain. The military alliance provided for a collective
self-defence against Soviet aggression and greatly increased American influence
in Europe.
1958The first Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) protest march left Hyde
Park in London towards Aldermaston in Berkshire.
1964British pop group The Beatles occupied the first five places in the US
singles pop charts with:- 'Can't Buy Me Love', 'Twist and Shout', 'She Loves
You', 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' and 'Please Please Me'. It was the first and only time anyone ever monopolized the entire top five. The Beatles are the best-selling pop band in history, have had the most number-one albums in the UK charts and have held the top spot longer than any other musical act. See 
picture of the Beatles' statue at Liverpool's Pier Head.
1981An emotional Aintree saw Bob Champion win the Grand National on Aldaniti.
Champion, suffering from cancer, had been given eight months to live, while
Aldaniti, who had led all the way, had been plagued with tendon problems and
a broken back.
1984The women from the main peace camp at Greenham Common in Berkshire were
evicted, but said it would not end their protest against nuclear weapons being sited at the RAF base.
1985Royal Assent was given for the Bill to hand Hong Kong to China in 1997.
1988The British TV soap opera 'Crossroads' came to an end after 24 years
with the transmission of the last of its 4,510 episodes.
1991Children at the centre of 'satanic abuse allegations' in the Orkney Islands
were reunited with their families after the case was thrown out of court.
1997The residents of Eigg, a small island off the west coast of Scotland,
bought their island with help from an anonymous English millionairess, after
an eight-month ownership battle.
2007The death of ventriloquist Terry Hall. He appeared regularly on television with his puppet, Lenny the Lion and is credited as being one of the first ventriloquists to use a non-human puppet.
2007Fifteen British Royal Navy personnel from HMS Cornwall who had been held in Iran, were released by the Iranian President. In the course of events the Iranians claimed that the British forces had been sailing in Iranian waters.
2013Mick Philpott (56), his wife Mairead and friend Paul Mosley were jailed for manslaughter. Six of Philpott's children died in a fire at his Derby house after he set his house alight (11th May 2012) to frame his former mistress, with whom he was fighting a custody battle over their children.
2014Levi Bellfield the triple murderer and killer of 13 year old Milly Dowler’s in 2011 was awarded £4,500 compensation after a prison attack in 2009 in which he suffered minor cuts. Bellfield had launched his legal action after claiming that the prison staff should have protected him.
2015 'Thunderbirds Are Go' returned as a TV series, a remake of the 1960s television series 'Thunderbirds' created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Additional note: - Gerry Anderson died on 26th December, 2012 (aged 83) and Sylvia died on 15th March 2016 (aged 88).