ON THIS DAY

1791

The convict ship Mary Ann leaves England with 150 women prisoners for a 143-day voyage to Sydney.

1804

US Marines slip into Tripoli harbour and burn the US Navy frigate Philadelphia, which had been captured by pirates.

1914

Court of Industrial Arbitration determines the first NSW basic wage. Justice Charles Gilbert Heydon finds that a living wage for a family of four would be 48 shillings a week, but that more should be paid. He recommends a minimum wage for a six-day week of 8s 6d a day for unskilled workers and 9s a day for heavy work.

1923

English archaeologist Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of the pharaoh Tutankhamun.

1931

The New Guard, a quasi-fascist group organised on military lines, is formed at the Imperial Services Club, Sydney, under the leadership of Eric Campbell.

1937

Chemist Wallace Hume Carothers receives a patent for nylon.

1942

Survivors of the sinking of the SS Vyner Brooke, including 22 members of the Australian Army Nursing Service, are massacred on Banka Island, now in Indonesia. The only Australian nurse who survives is Sister Vivian Bullwinkel (above).

1959

Fidel Castro is sworn in as Cuba’s prime minister, six weeks after his guerillas forced dictator Fulgencio Batista into exile.

1959

American tennis player John McEnroe is born in West Germany.

2001

Building materials maker James Hardie Industries says it is setting up a trust to pay those injured by its asbestos products.

2005

The Kyoto Protocol on curbing heattrapping gases comes into force, but without participation of the US or Australia.

2006

Federal Parliament votes to strip health minister Tony Abbott of the power to veto the use of abortion pill RU486.