ON THIS DAY

1519: Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I dies.

1872: Tin discovered at Tenterfield, NSW.

1897: Death of Sir Isaac Pitman, British educator and inventor of the shorthand system.

1915: The US House of Representatives rejects a proposal to give women the vote.

1976: Death of British crime writer Dame Agatha Christie.

1986: Brisbane’s Gateway Bridge opens, with 5000 cars passing every hour.

1998: Nineteen European nations sign an agreement to prohibit cloning of humans beings.

2000: Britain lifts its ban on homosexuals serving in the military, accepting a landmark European court ruling.

Birthdays: Hermann Goering, German Nazi leader (1893-1946); Joe Frazier, US boxer (19442011); Kirstie Alley, US actress (1951-); Melanie Chisholm (Mel C), English pop singer (1974-).