2nd June 1953: the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

On this day in 1953 the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place at Westminster Abbey. The first coronation to be televised, an estimated twenty-seven million people in the UK are believed to have watched it out of a population of thirty-six million - even though there were only just over two million television licences at the time. Despite being a cold and wet day, the procession back to Buckingham Palace was four-and-a-half miles long so that as many Londoners as possible could see the Queen; in contrast, the procession of Charles III was just under one-and-a-half miles long.

On this day in 1778 George Bryan "Beau" Brummell was born in Downing Street. The most eminent dandy of his day, he was also the foremost trendsetter of fashion, spending five hours a day getting dressed. Brummell was a close friend of, and heavy influence on, the Prince Regent (later George IV), until the two had a falling out - culminating at a party in 1813 when the Prince blanked Brummell, to which he responded "[Lord] Alvanley, who's your fat friend?" Brummell fled London for France to in 1816 to escape his gambling debts; he died penniless in a Caen asylum in 1840, driven insane by syphilis.

On this day in 1801 Major General Benedict Arnold died at his home of 62 Gloucester Place. Born in Connecticut, Arnold rose through the ranks of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and was a highly distinguished officer, gaining the trust of George Washington. Arnold had married into a family that was loyal to the British crown, and he himself had loyalist feelings; he sent secret communications to the British Army to arrange the surrender of his fort at West Point, but was exposed and openly switched his allegiance, fighting as a Brigadier General for the British. In 1987 a commemorative plague was erected outside Arnold's Marylebone home describing him as an "American Patriot", which caught the eye of US Ambassador Winthrop Barzun in 2014; after tracking down the person who erected it, Barzun said "It was a joy to talk with the man behind the plaque, even though we see Benedict Arnold's intentions from different perspectives."

On this day in 1675 the foundation stone for the new St Paul's Cathedral was laid. The previous Cathedral, started by William the Conqueror in the eleventh century, had been gutted in the Great Fire of 1666. Sir Christopher Wren submitted designs for a new, domed cathedral, modelled somewhat on St Peter’s Basilica in Rome - but England being a protestant nation, the Bishop of London decided that this was too popish a design. After years of wrangling Wren’s fourth design was adopted, which featured a small dome and a tall spire so that it more closely resembled a traditional Anglican church. But Wren was given permission to make structural changes as and when required during the building process – which is how he got away with constructing his original domed design.

On this day in 1830 the first British police officer was killed in the line of duty. Constable Joseph Grantham intervened in an argument between two drunks, one of whom had been beating his wife, when PC Grantham was attacked by the men and kicked in the head. The jury, however, returned a verdict of "justifiable homicide" - i.e. legal murder - and that PC Grantham was responsible for his own death due to "over-exertion in the discharge of his duty". This could have been due to the Metropolitan Police, which had been founded just the previous year, being very unpopular with certain sections of the public. Tragically, PC Grantham's wife had given birth to twins the same day as his murder. The National Police Memorial, unveiled in 2005, contains the names of those officers who died whilst on duty - the earliest being Issac Smith, a parish watchman who died in 1680.

On this day in 1613 the first Globe Theatre burnt down. During a performance of Henry VIII a theatrical cannon misfired, setting alight the Globe's thatched roof. There were no injuries, except one man whose breaches caught fire which had to be extinguished using a bottle of ale. The Globe was rebuilt the following year; the second Globe lasted until 1642 with the outbreak of the English Civil War, when the puritan parliament shut down all the theatres in London. Two years later it was demolished to make way for tenements.