Today in history

Highlights in history on this date:

1066 - William, duke of Normandy, invades England and claims the English throne.

1781 - American forces, backed by a French fleet, begin the siege of Yorktown Heights, Virginia, during the Revolutionary War.

1850 - Flogging is abolished as a form of punishment in the US Navy.

1924 - Two US Army planes land in Seattle, Washington, completing the first round-the-world flight in 175 days.

1939 - Germany and Soviet Union agree on a plan to partition Poland.

1941 - Nazi German terror campaign begins in Czechoslovakia.

1950 - Indonesia is admitted to United Nations.

1965 - A volcano 55 kilometres south of Manila in Philippines erupts, killing at least 184 people.

1972 - Japan and Communist China agree to re-establish diplomatic relations.

1977 - Japanese terrorists hold 156 hostages on hijacked Japanese airliner at Dhaka, Bangladesh.

1980 - Iran rejects UN Security Council resolution to end the war with Iraq, stating Iraq was violating its territorial sovereignty and fomenting rebellion among Iran’s minority population in the Khuzistan and Kurdistan provinces.

1987 - India and Sri Lanka’s Tamil guerrilla group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, agree to an accord that gives the Tigers a council majority to administer the semiautonomous northern and eastern provinces in Sri Lanka.

1994 - The ferry Estonia sinks in a storm in the Baltic Sea, killing more than 900 people.

1995 - Israel and Palestinians sign a historic accord at the White House, in Washington, to extend Palestinian rule on the strife-ridden West Bank.

2001 - The UN Security Council ends sanctions against Sudan.

2003 - Pope John Paul II appoints 31 Roman Catholic prelates to the College of Cardinals, entitling most of those selected to vote for the next pope.

2010 - The youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is elected to his first prominent posts in the ruling Workers’ Party, putting him well on the path to succeed his father as leader of the nuclear-armed, reclusive nation. Today’s Birthdays: Prosper Merimee, French author (1803-1870); Georges Clemenceau, French premier (1841-1929); Robert Stout, Scottish-born NZ prime minister (1844-1930); Peter Finch, Australian actor (1916-1977); Marcello Mastroianni, Italian actor (1924-1996); Brigitte Bardot, French actress (1934-); Ben E. King, US singer (1938-- ); John Sayles, US film director/writer (1950-); Janeane Garofalo, actress (1964-- ); Mira Sorvino, actress (1967-- ); Naomi Watts, actress (1968-- ).