ON THIS DAY

1860: Abraham Lincoln is elected president of the United States.

1893: Death of Russian composer Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky.

1928: Jacob Schick obtains a patent for his “shaving implement”, the first electric razor.

1962: UN General Assembly calls for economic sanctions against South Africa because of its racial policies.

1999: Australians vote by 55 to 45 per cent to reject a constitutional referendum to set up a constitutional republic.

2014: AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd is arrested in New Zealand and charged with attempting to hire a hitman to kill two people.

Birthdays: Adolphe Sax, Belgian inventor of the saxophone (1814-1894); Jean Shrimpton, English model (1942-); Ian Turpie, Australian actor and TV host (1943-2012).