Today in History

1439 – Kissing is banned in England to stop the Black Death from spreading.

1918 – Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his family are executed by the Bolsheviks.

1935 – The world’s first parking meter is installed in Oklahoma City.

1945 – The first atomic bomb is successfully tested in New Mexico. 1951 – JD Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye is published.

1965 – Gunners from 161 Field Battery fire New Zealand’s first shots in the Vietnam War.

1969 – Apollo 11 is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to land the first men on the moon.

1979 – Saddam Hussein, left, takes over as president of Iraq.

1980 – The Republican Party nominates Ronald Reagan for president of the United States.

1986 – Twelve miners die when an explosion and cave-in trap them in Queensland’s Moura coalmine.

1990 – More than 1000 people are killed when a magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes the Philippines.

1999 – John F Kennedy Jr, his wife and her sister are killed when the plane he was piloting crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

2017 – Roger Federer beats Marin Cilic for a record eighth Wimbledon.

Birthdays

Clare of Assisi, Italian nun and saint (1194-1253); Roald Amundsen, Norwegian explorer (1872-1928); Ginger Rogers, US actress (1911-1995); Margaret Court, Australian tennis champion (1942-); Michael Flatley, Irish dancer (1958-); Will Ferrell, US actor (1967-); Kathryn Harby-williams, Australian netballer (1969-); Shaun Pollock, South African cricketer (1973-); Wendell Sailor, Australian rugby and league player (1974-); Adam Scott, Australian golfer (1980-); Laura Carmichael, English actress in Downton Abbey (1986-); Gareth Bale, Welsh footballer (1989-); Sam Webster, NZ cyclist (1991-).