Today in History

1216 – King John of England loses his crown jewels in an estuary. 1492 – Explorer Christopher Columbus, right, reaches the ‘‘New World’’, sighting a Bahamian island, believing he has reached East Asia. His expedition went ashore and claimed the land for Spain.

1609 – Three Blind Mice is published in London.

1810 – The first Oktoberfest takes place. The Bavarian royalty invites the citizens of Munich to join the marriage celebration for Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess There se von Sachs en hild burgh a us en.

1917 – More than 800 New Zealanders are killed in a disastrous day at Passchendaele during World War I. A failed attack on Bellevue Spur resulted in 843 deaths of New Zealand soldiers, though some would have been injured and died in the next day or two.

1918 – The liner Niagara arrives in Auckland after travelling from Vancouver and San Francisco. For decades, many people blamed the ship’s arrival for bringing a new flu virus. This is no longer thought to be the case.

1997 – Country music singer John Denver dies in an aircraft crash.

2000 – A motorised rubber dinghy loaded with explosives blows a hole in the side of a United States Navy destroyer that was refuelling in Yemen. Seventeen sailors were killed and 38 wounded.

2002 – Terrorists kill 202 people in Bali in three bombings. More than 200 people were also injured, many with severe burns, in the attack by Islamic terrorists.

Birthdays

Luciano Pavarotti, Italian singer (1935-2007); Trevor Chappell, Australian cricketer (1952-); Hugh Jackman, Australian actor (1968-); Paul Harragon, Australian rugby league player (1968-); Marion Jones, US sprinter (1975-); Cristie Kerr, US golfer (1977-); Conrad Smith, New Zealand rugby player (1981-); Sam Whitelock, NZ rugby player (1988-).