Today in history
1842 - Ether is used as anaesthetic for first time, by Dr Crawford Long in United States.
1858 - The eraser-topped pencil is patented by HL Lipman of Philadelphia.
1867 - US Secretary of State William H Seward reaches an agreement with Russia to purchase the territory of Alaska for US$7.2 million, a deal roundly ridiculed as ‘‘Seward’s Folly’’.
1870 - The 15th amendment to the US Constitution, giving black men the right to vote, is declared in effect.
1905 - Greeks in Crete revolt against Turkish rule.
1909 - Queensboro Bridge, linking the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Queens, opens.
1912 - Sultan of Morocco signs treaty making Morocco a French protectorate.
1940 - The funeral procession around the streets of Wellington for Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage, who died in office on March 27, is perhaps New Zealand’s biggest public outpouring of grief.
1945 - Soviet Union invades Austria during World War II.
1974 - Chinese jetliner arrives in New York in what is described as first civilian flight from Chinese mainland to US.
1981 - John W Hinckley Jr shoots US President Ronald Reagan, who is wounded. Three others are wounded in the incident outside a Washington DC, hotel.
1993 - After the worst wave of violence in years, Israel closes the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The closure lasts for months.
1994 - Irish Republican Army announces a three-day cease-fire and calls for direct talks with the British government.
1997 - A grenade attack at a political rally in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, kills 10 people and wounds 101 others.
1998 - Rolls-royce is purchased by German automaker BMW for US$570 million.
2008 - A group of 200 Tibetan exiles and monks try to storm the Chinese Embassy visa office in Nepal’s capital, but police beat them back with bamboo batons. At least 130 protesters are arrested.
2010 - The world’s largest atom smasher at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland throws together minuscule particles racing at unheard of speeds in conditions simulating those just after the Big Bang – a success that kick-starts a megabilliondollar experiment that could one day explain how the universe began.
Today’s Birthdays: Francisco Goya, Spanish artist (1746-1828); Warren Beatty, US actor (1937-); Eric Clapton, British guitarist/singer (1945-), Tracy Chapman, US singer (1964-); Celine Dion, Canadian singer (1968-); Norah Jones, US singer (1979-).