TODAY IN HISTORY

787

The second Council of Nicaea takes place at the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.

1869

Panic hits the US sharemarket on “Black Friday’’ over an attempt by two speculators, James Fisk and Jay Gould, to corner the country’s gold market.

1890

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially renounces polygamy.

1903

Alfred Deakin becomes Australia’s second prime minister when his friend and fellow Protectionist Party member Edmund Barton quits the job to become a High Court judge.

1973

The Whitlam Labour government spents $1.3m on Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles. The controversial work is now one of the prized possessions of the National Gallery.

1991

Theodor Seuss Geisel, known to young fans as Dr Seuss, dies at 87 in California. The humorous writer and illustrator’s popular titles include The Cat In The Hat .

1993

Sydney hears International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch announce that it has won the 2000 Olympics at 4.20am, local time.

1993

A Philippine court sentences former first lady Imelda Marcos to nine to 12 years’ jail on each of two counts of corruption. She will later win an appeal.

2007

Rugby league player and commentator Frank Hyde dies, aged 91.

2019

Speaker of the House for the US Congress, Nancy Pelosi, announces a formal impeachment inquiry into allegations that President Donald Trump tried to get a foreign power to investigate a political rival.