Today in History

1192 – Richard I the Lionheart, king of England, is captured in Vienna.

1830 – The London conference of Britain, France, Austria, Prussia and Russia agrees with Belgium on separation from Holland.

1832 – New Zealand’s first recorded cricket match, between pupils of Henry Williams’ mission school in Paihia.

1860 – South Carolina becomes the first state of the United States to secede from the union.

1879 – Inventor Thomas Edison privately demonstrates his incandescent light in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

1880 – Electric lights are installed throughout Broadway’s theatre section.

1913 – New Zealand’s Great Strike, involving thousands of unionists, comes to an end after two months, with the United Federation of Labour conceding defeat.

1957 – Elvis Presley, left, receives army draft notice.

1960 – The Viet Cong, the armed wing of the National Liberation Front, is founded in South Vietnam.

1963 – The Berlin Wall opens for the first time to West Berliners, who are allowed one-day visits to relatives in the east.

1998 – Nkem Chukwu of Houston, Texas, becomes the first woman to give birth to eight live babies.

2002 – The police start an inquiry into ACT MP Donna Awatere Huata, after allegations in The Dominion

Post that she misspent money intended for an educational trust. 2007 – A 6.8 earthquake causes widespread damage in Gisborne and the Poverty Bay area.

Birthdays

Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, Australian statesman (1894-1978); Sir Geoffrey Howe, UK politician (1926-2015); Uri Geller, Israeli magician (1946-); Paul Swain, NZ politician (1951-); Jenny Agutter, UK actress (1952-); Billy Bragg, UK musician (1957-); Leo Bertos, NZ footballer (1981-); Jonah Hill, US actor (1983-).