ON THIS day

1543

Portuguese troops at Wayna Daga, Ethiopia, restore its Christian empire by helping to defeat a Muslim army.

1613

Michael Romanov, son of the patriarch of Moscow, is elected tsar of Russia, thus founding the House of Romanov.

1741

Jethro Tull dies on

his farm in Berkshire, England. He invented the horsedrawn seed drill and pioneered the planting of seeds in rows. 1907

Bondi Surf Bathers’ Life Saving Club is established at a meeting at the Royal Hotel at Bondi Beach. 1916

The World War I battle of Verdun in France begins. More than a million soldiers will die in the massive artillery onslaught that follows. 1921

Brigadier Reza Khan, 42, overthrows the corrupt Iranian government in a military coup and later becomes first shah in the Pahlavi dynasty.

1929

Bronze statues by Bertram Mackennal at the Cenotaph in Martin Place are unveiled on the anniversary of the Australian Light Horse entering Jericho in 1918. 1945

Opposition leader Robert Menzies (pictured) informs the House of Representatives in Canberra that the Liberal Party of Australia has been founded. 1951

The Pensioner Medical Service begins, providing free medical care for the elderly and invalids. Doctors bill the federal government. 1955

The first power from the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, from Guthega dam, is fed into the grid.

1998

Australian Emma George, 23, sets a world record in the women’s pole vault when she clears 4.57m.

2002

Sir Roden Cutler, the World War II hero who lost a leg but became the longest serving governor of NSW, dies at 85.

2022

After two years of Covid-19 restrictions Australia reopens international border to vaccinated tourists.