TODAY IN history

In 1191, the armies of the Third Crusade (1189-92), led by England’s King Richard I (The Lionhearted), captured the Syrian seaport of Acre, now located in northern Israel.

In 1543, England’s King Henry VIII married his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, who outlived him.

In 1987, a group of 174 illegal refugees, most of them Sikhs, landed in a Nova Scotia cove. The Spanish skipper of the ship was sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $2,500. Most were allowed to stay in Canada, but the others were considered security risks. The previous year, in August 1986, 155 Tamils were found drifting in lifeboats near Newfoundland and sought refuge in Canada.

In 1996, Prince Charles and Princess Diana agreed on terms of a divorce ending their 15year marriage. Diana received a financial settlement worth about $32 million and kept her title of Princess of Wales, but lost the designation of Her Royal Highness. The divorce became final on Aug. 28.

In 2010, award-winning director Roman Polanski was freed after the Swiss government rejected a U.S. extradition request. He was arrested in Zurich on Sept. 26, 2009 and was later put under house arrest at his chalet in Gstsad. He had fled the U.S. in 1978, a year after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.

In 2011, Neptune completed its first orbit of the sun since its discovery in 1846.