ON THIS DAY

1421:

The sea breaks through the dikes at Dort, in the Netherlands, drowning more than 100,000. Christopher Columbus commissioned by Spain’s King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to seek a westward ocean passage to Asia.

US rock star Eddie Cochran dies in a car crash while on tour in Britain.

Attempt to invade Cuba by 1500 CIAtrained Cuban exiles fails at the Bay of Pigs. Khmer Rouge guerillas seize Phnom Penh and begin a reign of terror in which more than a million people die.

Linda McCartney, photographer and wife of former Beatle Paul, dies from cancer. Xanana Gusmao is declared the landslide winner of East Timor’s first presidential election. William Holden, US actor (1918-1981); Greg Evans, Australian TV personality (1953-); Nick Hornby, English author (1957-).

1492: 1960: 1961: 1975: 1998: 2002: Birthdays: