ON THIS day

1702

Anne becomes the last Stuart monarch of Britain, having earlier acquiesced to the Act of Settlement of 1701, which designated as her successors the Hanoverian descendants of King James I.

1917

Rioting in St Petersburg starts the February Revolution and the first stage of the Russian Revolution.

1921

Spain’s conservative prime minister Eduardo Dato is assassinated by anarchists in Madrid.

1940

Norman Gilroy, a former telegram delivery boy, becomes Catholic Archbishop of Sydney on the death of Michael Kelly at 90. In 1946 Gilroy will become the first Australian-born cardinal.

1942

Japanese army and naval forces occupy Lae and Salamaua in New Guinea and build a base at Lae. Australians recapture it in September.

1966

Prime minister Harold Holt announces that Australia will triple its troops serving in Vietnam, to 4500.

1971

American boxer Joe Frazier retains his world heavyweight championship by winning a 15-round decision over former champion Muhammad Ali.

1985

The National Gallery unveiled its new $1 million purchase: Cezanne’s An Afternoon In Naples (pictured above).

1990

The Zodiac Killer shoots his first victim in New York. Mario Orozco, who survives the shooting.

1995

The Pakistan Cricket Board sacks captain Salim Malik and coach Intikhab Alam over bribery allegations by Australian players Mark Waugh, Shane Warne and Tim May.

2006

Man Sun Song, captain of the North Korean freighter Pong Su, flies out of Australia with three other officers after being acquitted of helping bring heroin valued at $160 million into Australia.

2014

During a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappears, prompting a massive search effort that was finally called off in early 2017.