TODAY IN HISTORY

March 8

1531 Henry VIII recognised as supreme head of Church in England by the Convocation of Canterbury.

1658 Peace of Roskilde between Sweden and Denmark.

1702 James II’s daughter Anne Stuart becomes Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland following the death of William III.

1722 Afghan Monarch Mir Mahmud occupies Persia.

1799 Napoleon Bonaparte’s forces capture the city of Jaffa from the Ottoman Empire in Palestine, after a five day siege.

1801 British drive French forces from Abukir, Egypt.

1817 The New York Stock Exchange is founded.

1844 King Oscar I ascends to the throne of Sweden-Norway.

1855 First train crosses first US railway suspension bridge, Niagara Falls.

1916 US invades Cuba for third time, this to end corrupt Menocal regime.

1942 Japanese forces capture Rangoon, Burma.

1945 International Women’s Day is first observed.

1958 Three Fijian youths from Nairai who disappeared at sea in a small punt called the Atu have drown. The boat was found capsized on Nasilai Reef about 20 miles from Suva.

1973 Eisenhower Tunnel, the world’s highest and US longest opens 60km west of Denver, Colorado.

1976 A Saudi Arabian company has acquired a substantial interest in Southern Pacific Properties, the parent company of the Pacific Hotels and Developments Ltd.

1977 Princess Anne announces she’s expecting her first child (Peter).

1979 China withdraws invasion troops from Vietnam.

1984 Air Pacific has sold its two BAC 1-11 aircraft to the British Ministry of Defence for $4.5 million.

1992 Cyclone Fran moved away from Fiji and posed no more threat to the group. The cyclone was located about 220 miles West-North West of Nadi and 360 miles East-North East of Vanuatu.

2001 Former Fiji Military Forces commander and Cakaudrove chief Ratu Epeli Ganilau appointed the new chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs. He replaced then former Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka.

2009 Eleven Mataqali from Natewa agreed to protect over 6000 hectares of their forest following a workshop on conservation by Birdlife International.

2012 Toyota recalls 700,000 vehicles over safety concerns.

2017 Aboriginal DNA study by University of Adelaide shows Aboriginal population dates back 50,000 years from one migration.