ON THIS DAY

1770:

The Boston Massacre takes place, as British soldiers taunted by a crowd of colonists open fire, killing five people.

NSW colony’s first newspaper, The Sydney Gazette and NSW Advertiser, is published. Count Alessandro Giuseppe Volta, Italian inventor of the first electric battery, dies. Britain’s new Spitfire fighter plane goes on show for the first time.

Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin dies at 73. US comedian John Belushi, 33, is found dead of a drug overdose in Hollywood. Seoul Olympics, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson is banned for life for failing a second dope test.

1803: 1827: 1936: 1953: 1982: 1988: Birthdays:

Mem Fox, Australian children’s author (1946-); Andy Gibb, English-born Australian singer (1958-1988); Nicole Pratt, Australian tennis player (1973-).