Today in history
1559 - Queen Elizabeth I sends aid to Scottish lords to drive French from Scotland.
1642 - Abel Tasman’s expedition sails around Farewell Spit and into Golden Bay, sighting local Ma¯ori in New Zealand for the first time.
1644 - Queen Christina begins reign in Sweden.
1865 - Slavery is abolished in the United States.
1892 - Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite premieres in St Petersburg, Russia.
1916 - In World War I, 10-month Battle of Verdun ends after huge loss of life: 543,000 French and 434,000 German troops were killed in the battle.
1927 - Chiang Kai-shek overthrows Hankow government in China.
1940 - Secret plan issued by Adolf Hitler orders German general staff to prepare for the invasion of Russia under the codename Operation Barbarossa.
1956 - Japan is admitted to the United Nations.
1961- Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scores 78 points in an NBA game against the Los Angeles Lakers. He would go on to score an extraordinary 100-point game a few months later against the New York Knicks.
1971 - Three members of the IRA die when the bomb they were transporting explodes prematurely.
1972 - The US begins its heaviest bombing of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
1973 - Syria refuses to attend Middle East peace talks in Geneva.
1992 - Ruling party leader Kim Young-sam accepts victory as South Korea’s first civilian president after 32 years of military rule.
1997 - Former dissident Kim Daejung of South Korea is elected the country’s president.
2005 - Forty-three homeless people are trampled to death in a stampede in southern Indian city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras, during the distribution of flood relief supplies.
2011 - The Northern Territory government confirms a new inquest will be held into the death of baby Azaria Chamberlain, more than three decades after she disappeared at Uluru. It will be the final legal chapter in the case.
2014 - Islamic extremist group Boko Haram kidnaps at least 185 people, including women and children, in northeast Nigeria.
Today’s Birthdays:
Elizabeth Petrovina, Empress of Russia (1709-1762); Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria (1863-1914); Willy Brandt, German politician (1913-1983); Keith Richards, English rock musician (1943-); Steven Spielberg, US film director (1947-); Brad Pitt, US actor (1963-); Katie Holmes, American actress (1978-); Christina Aguilera, US singer (1980-).