On this day in 1858, after the original Big Ben, a 14.5-tonne bell for the Palace of Westminster had cracked during testing, it was recast into the current 13.76-tonne bell by Whitechapel Bell Foundry.
On this day in 1912, the Titanic left port in Southampton, England for her only voyage.
On this day in 1970, Paul McCartney announced that he was leaving The Beatles for personal and professional reasons.
And on this day in 2009, President of Fiji Ratu Josefa Iloilo announced he would suspend the constitution and assume all governance in the country, creating a constitutional crisis.