ON THIS DAY
1525
Forces of the Habsburg emperor Charles V annihilate the army of Francis I of France and capture him at the Battle of Pavia.
1848
After two days of rioting in Paris, King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates to live in England and a republic is proclaimed.
1875
More than 100 people drown as steamer Gothenberg, travelling from Darwin to Adelaide, hits a reef near Townsville.
1924
Johnny Weissmuller breaks the world 100m freestyle swimming record in 57.4 sec at Florida.
1942
The Voice of America makes its first broadcast, in German, to counter the propaganda of Nazi leaders.
1945
Egyptian prime minister Ahmad Mahir declares war on Nazi Germany and Japan and is assassinated in parliament minutes later.
1946
Juan Peron is elected for the first of three presidential terms in Argentina.
1951
Eleven people die when a train and a bus collide at a level crossing in Horsham, Victoria.
1981
Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of Prince Charles, 32, and Lady Diana Spencer, 19.
1989
A cargo door of a United Airlines jumbo jet, Flight 811, blows out on a flight from Los Angeles to Sydney; nine passengers die.
1991
Ground combat begins in the Gulf War with a US-led night attack.
2008
Cunard liner Queen Victoria and its replacement, Queen Elizabeth 2, pass on Sydney Harbour, the Victoria on its maiden visit and QE2 on its final global cruise.
2022
Some eight years after illegally annexing Crimea, Russia invades Ukraine; Russian President Vladimir Putin cited several reasons for the war, including the false claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other government officials were neo-Nazis.