TODAY IN HISTORY

1861

Explorers Robert Burke and William Wills reach mangroves, which they take to be the coast, on their journey from Melbourne to Gulf of Carpentaria.

1945

US President Franklin D Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin sign the Yalta Agreement during World War II.

1968

Communist troops execute 300 civilians in South Vietnam and bury them in a mass grave during fighting for city of Hue.

1975

Margaret Thatcher becomes the first woman to head a British political party when she is elected leader of the Conservatives.

1979

Followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seize power in Iran, nine days after the religious leader returned to his home country following 15 years of exile.

1990

African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela is released after 27 years in South African prisons.