ON THIS DAY
1190
More than 150 Jews are massacred or commit suicide in York, England, after rumour-mongers blame them for a fire.
1521
Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan reaches what is today the Philippines. He enlists the ruler of one island as Spain’s first Pacific ally but is killed by natives on another isle. 1527
Mogul Emperor Barbar defeats the Hindu confederacy at Kanwanha, India.
1787
The First Fleet amasses off the Isle of Wight before sailing for the proposed colony of NSW on May 13.
1791
Two sailors from the First Fleet ship HMS Sirius receive the first land grants of NSW to free men.
1818
Australia’s first lighthouse is completed on South Head. It was ordered by Governor Lachlan Macquarie and designed by architect Francis Greenway.
1841
Jewish bushranger Edward Davis and five gang members hang in Sydney before a crowd. 1872
The first Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup) final takes place at Kennington Oval in London, with Wanderers beating Royal Engineers 1-0.
1907
The first first-class cricket game begins between NSW and Western Australia, in Perth. NSW win by two wickets.
1968
A company of US troops massacres about 500 Vietnamese civilians during an operation in My Lai in the Vietnam War.
1988
Iraqi planes drop chemical weapons on the Kurdish village of Halabja, killing 5000 people.
1990
Justice McInerney sentences Neddy Smith to life for the 1987 roadrage killing of Ronnie Flavell.
2008
Cricket great Bill Brown (pictured), 95, a member of the 1948 Invincibles side and a former Australian captain, dies in a Brisbane nursing home.