On This Day On This Day May 1, 1994: Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna is killed at the San Marino Grand Prix
On This Day On This Day May 2, 1997: Labour win general election by a landslide to end 18 years of Conservative rule
On This Day On This Day May 3, 2007: British toddler Madeleine McCann disappears while on holiday in Portugal
On This Day On This Day May 5, 1980: SAS storm Iranian Embassy to end six-day siege in front of millions of TV viewers
On This Day On This Day May 6, 1937: Hindenburg disaster kills 36 and marks the end of the ‘age of the airship’
On This Day On This Day May 7, 1946: Electronics pioneer Sony founded in Tokyo out of the ruins of post-war Japan
On This Day On This Day May 8, 1945: Millions rejoice on VE Day as German surrender ends World War II in Europe
On This Day On This Day May 10, 1961: Bennett, Cook, Miller and Moore launch satire boom with Beyond the Fringe
On This Day On This Day May 11, 1985: Triumph turns to tragedy as football fans perish in Bradford City stadium fire
On This Day On This Day May 12, 1994: John Smith's death leaves Britain mourning 'the best prime minister it never had'
On This Day On This Day May 13, 1981: Catholic Church calls for prayers as Pope John Paul II is gunned down in Rome
On This Day On This Day May 15, 1957: Britain reclaims superpower status with first successful H-bomb test
On This Day On This Day May 16, 1990: Minister John Gummer enlists daughter's help in fight against mad cow disease
On This Day On This Day May 19, 2004: Dads' group hits Tony Blair with purple flour during Prime Minister's Questions
On This Day On This Day May 20, 1960: Captured Nazi Adolf Eichmann is smuggled out of Argentina by Israeli agents
On This Day On This Day May 21, 1979: Elton John's tour of the USSR puts the first cracks in the Iron Curtain
On This Day On This Day May 23, 1969: The Who launch the ‘rock opera’ era with release of the album Tommy
On This Day On This Day May 24, 1989: Hislop fury as Yorkshire Ripper's wife wins £600,000 damages from Private Eye
On This Day On This Day May 25, 1961: Kennedy ramps up the Space Race by pledging to put a man on the Moon
On This Day On This Day May 26, 1998: Australia acknowledges 'Stolen Generation' on first National Sorry Day
On This Day On This Day May 27, 1940: 'Dunkirk Spirit' thwarts Hitler's invasion as little ships come to troops' rescue
On This Day On This Day May 30, 1968: Charles de Gaulle calls France's bluff to end a month of civic strife
On This Day On This Day May 31, 1985: English football teams banned from Europe after Heysel Stadium deaths
On This Day On This Day On this day in June: Jaws fever bites, the nation celebrates the Silver Jubilee and more