Today in History

1548 – Catherine Parr, sixth and last wife of Henry VIII, dies soon after giving birth to a daughter.

1813 – The United States gets its nickname, Uncle Sam, right. The name is linked to Samuel Wilson, a meat packer from Troy, New York, who supplied barrels of beef to the US army.

1868 – Prussian soldier Gustavus von Tempsky is killed during an assault on a south Taranaki pa¯. He had been a folk hero for many settlers.

1892 – First heavyweight boxing match under Marquess of Queensberry rules, with the combatants wearing gloves: Jim Corbett beats John L Sullivan.

1909 – New Zealand’s heaviest gold nugget is discovered on the West Coast, weighing 3.09 kilograms.

1921 – South Africa beat New Zealand Ma¯ori 9-8 in the first rugby match between the teams, at Napier.

1940 – Three hundred German bombers raid London, in the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing known as The Blitz.

1977 – US President Jimmy Carter signs a treaty to give Panama control over the Panama Canal from the year 2000.

1986 – Bishop Desmond Tutu becomes the archbishop of Cape Town, two years after winning the Nobel peace prize for his opposition to apartheid in South Africa. 1999 – An earthquake strikes outside Athens, Greece, killing 143 people.

Birthdays

Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603); Buddy Holly, US singer-songwriter (1936-1959); John Paul Getty Jr, Usborn British oil magnate (1932-2003); Gloria Gaynor, US singer (1949-); Peggy Noonan, US author (1950-); Chrissie Hynde, US musician (1951-); Toby Jones, English actor (1966-); Piri Weepu, NZ rugby player (1983-); Evan Rachel Wood, US actress (1987-).