ON THIS DAY

1829: Sir Robert Peel introduces an act of Parliament which establishes the London Metropolitan police.

1862: US Congress prohibits slavery in US territories.

1937: Sir James Matthew Barrie, Scottish novelist and creator of Peter Pan, dies.

1961: The first evidence proving the existence of Pontius Pilate is found when a slab with his name on it is discovered at Caesarea in Israel.

2000: British customs officers find the bodies of 58 illegal Chinese migrants crammed into a truck at Dover.

2014: US President Barack Obama says he is sending 300 military advisers to Iraq to help quell the rising insurgency.

Birthdays: Russ Hinze, Queensland politician (1919-1991); Gena Rowlands, US actor (1930-); Richard Wilkins, Australian TV presenter (1954-)