ON THIS DAY

1498: Christopher Columbus lands on mainland America, mistakenly thinking it was an island.

1778: World’s first savings bank is opened in Hamburg, Germany.

1793: France becomes the first country to use the metric system of weights and measures.

1798: British navy under Admiral Horatio Nelson destroys French fleet in Battle of the Nile.

1834: Slavery abolished in British Empire; an estimated 770,280 slaves become free.

1914: Germany declares war on Russia at the start of World War I.

1936: The Olympic Games open in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.

1981: Rock music video channel MTV makes its first broadcast.

Birthdays: Roman Emperor Claudius (10BC54AD); US author Herman Melville (1819-1891); US rock musician Jerry Garcia (1942-1995).