ON THIS day

1789

311

Roman Emperor Galerius, in agony on his deathbed, calls off persecution of Christians.

1789

George Washington is inaugurated as the first US president.

1804

Shrapnel, named after British soldier Henry Shrapnel, is first used in warfare by Britain against the Dutch who surrender at Surinam, Suriname.

1827

Botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham departs the Upper Hunter to explore north of the Hunter River and discover the Darling Downs.

1900

Railway engineer Casey Jones, later made famous in song, died in a train wreck but saves Cannonball Express passengers at Mississippi.

1911

The first Indianapolis 500 car race is won by Ray Harroun as new high-speed vehicles circuit the track at average speeds of almost 120km/h.

1911

The Department of Home Affairs issues information about a competition to design a capital city in Australia. Walter Burley Griffin of the US will win. 1915

The Australian submarine AE2 is spotted from a Turkish torpedo boat after entering the Sea of Marmara submerged. The AE2 captain scuttles his sub; the crew are captured.

1945

German dictator Adolf Hitler, with his country in ruins, commits suicide in his Berlin bunker with his wife Eva Braun.

1982

Entrepreneur Harry M. Miller is found guilty of fraud leading to the collapse of Computicket.

1999

The body of British mountaineer George Mallory was discovered on Mount Everest, some 75 years after he and Andrew Irvine disappeared while attempting to become the first to summit. 2002

Scallop diver Paul Buckland, 22, is killed by a shark near Ceduna in the Great Australian Bight. 2019

Naruhito becomes Emperor of Japan after te abdication of his father.