This day in history: 14 Oct

1066: William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy, defeated English forces under King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings. Harold was killed in the battle, and William became known as William the Conqueror.

1806: French forces led by Napoleon I defeated the Prussian at the twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt.

1913: 439 Welsh coal miners were killed in an explosion in the Senghenydd Colliery - the worst mine disaster in the history of the United Kingdom.

1939: The battleship HMS Royal Oak, lying at anchor in Scapa Flow, was torpedoed and sunk by Günther Prien's U-47; 833 crewmen were lost.

1947: Chuck Yeager, flying a Bell X-1, became the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound.

1987: Jessica McClure fell into a well.

Erwin Rommel (1891-1944), Errol Flynn (1909-1959) and Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) died on this date.

And happy birthday to James VII and II (1633-1701), Dwight D Eisenhower (1890-1969), Sir Roger Moore (1927-TBD) and Harry Anderson (1952-TBD).