30 January

Henry sets out the Constitutions of Clarendon; Becket refuses to seal them.

Thomas Becket Never caught

Four of Henry II's knights cut down the Archbishop of Canterbury in his own cathedral in 1170. Within three years he was a saint and the king did penance.

Digby, Robert Wintour, Grant and Bates are executed at St Paul's Churchyard.

Gunpowder Plot Executed

Thirty-six barrels of powder under the House of Lords, an anonymous letter, and a man called 'John Johnson' with a lantern: the plot behind Bonfire Night.

Kidd captures the Quedagh Merchant off the Indian coast.

Captain Kidd Executed

Sent by powerful backers to hunt pirates, William Kidd came home accused of being one, and was hanged twice at Execution Dock in 1701.