ON THIS DAY

1586: First potatoes arrive in England from Colombia, brought by Sir Thomas Harriot.

1858: First time fingerprints are taken as a means of identification in India.

1868: Third Maori War breaks out in New Zealand.

1914: World War I begins when Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.

1937: Japanese seize Beijing in China and subsequently occupy it until 1945.

1973: US launches Skylab-2. The three astronauts returned to Earth after 59 days.

2005: The Irish Republican Army announces an end to its armed campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland.

British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866-1943); Australian artist Albert Namatjira (1902-1959); West Indies cricketer Sir Garfield Sobers (1936-); Australian GovernorGeneral Sir Peter Cosgrove (1947-).