ON THIS DAY

1639:

America’s famous Harvard University is named for clergyman John Harvard.

Sir William Herschel discovers Uranus. Familiar symbol of the United States, Uncle Sam, makes his debut as a cartoon character in the New York Lantern.

Australian soap opera Number 96 is broadcast for the first time. on the Ten Network. A gunman in Dunblane, Scotland, kills 16 children and a teacher before shooting himself. The estimated death toll from Japan’s earthquake and tsunami climbs past 10,000. Brett Peter Cowan is found guilty of the 2003 abduction and murder of 13-year-old Sunshine Coast schoolboy Daniel Morcombe. Neil Sedaka, US singer (1939-); George Negus, Australian journalist (1942-); Joe Bugner, Australian boxing champion (1950-); Mark Colvin, Australian journalist (1952-2017).

1781: 1852: 1972: 1996: 2011: 2014: Birthdays: