ON THIS DAY
1483
Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, is beheaded in Wiltshire for his rebellion against King Richard III.
1830
Ten men in the socalled Ribbon Gang (including Ralph Entwistle) are hanged in public at Bathurst, NSW, for bushranging, murder and horse thieving.
1841
In Afghanistan, following the British occupation of Kabul, Afghans revolt and murder Sir Alexander Burnes and 23 others, starting the second Afghan War.
1917
Britain issues the Balfour Declaration, a statement of support for the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. It is a letter from British foreign secretary Arthur Balfour to a leading British Jew.
1922
The first regular Qantas flight carries mail and passengers between Charleville and Cloncurry.
1928
Four men are injured when police fire revolvers at 2000 striking wharfies and other unionists after attacks on non-union labour at Port Melbourne.
1942
Kokoda and its airstrip are recaptured, enabling the Australian advance across the Owen Stanley Range to continue.
1963
South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is executed.
1971
At a White House dinner with President Nixon and his wife, Australian Prime Minister William Mcmahon’s wife, Sonia Mcmahon, attracts global coverage for her split dress.
1976
Jimmy Carter (above) is elected the 39th US president.
1988
Computer science student Robert Morris releases the first computer worm on the internet. Meant as an experiment, it brought some 6000 computers to a halt.
2000
The first resident crew – including one American and two Russians – arrives at the International Space Station.