ON THIS DAY

19BC: Death of Virgil, epic Roman poet.

1745: In Battle of Prestonpans in Scotland, Jacobite army of just over 3000 under Bonnie Prince Charlie defeats the English Royal forces led by Sir John Cope.

1898: Tzu-Hsi, dowager Empress of China, seizes power and revokes reforms.

1922: United States establishes a protectionist tariff.

1964: Malta becomes independent state within British Commonwealth.

1997: A volcanic avalanche buries Montserrat’s airport and flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

2015: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull drops Joe Hockey from the ministry.

Birthdays: Don Dunstan, former South Australian premier (1926-1999); Leonard Cohen, Canadian poet-songwriter (1934-2016); Stephen King, US author (1947-); Bill Murray, US actor (1950-).