Today in History

301 – San Marino, the world’s oldest republic still in existence, is founded by St Marinus.

1189 – Richard I (the Lionheart), right, is crowned king of England.

1752 – Britain and its colonies adopt the Gregorian calendar, ‘‘losing’’ 11 days. People riot, thinking the government has stolen 11 days of their lives.

1783 – The American Revolution formally ends as the United States, Britain, Spain and France sign the Treaty of Paris.

1914 – Benedict XV is elected pope. An insistent voice for peace, he was ignored during World War I.

1930 – A hurricane in the Dominican Republic kills more than 8000 people.

1939 – Britain, France, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and South Africa declare war on Germany.

1943 – The Allies begin the invasion of the Italian mainland, crossing the Strait of Messina from Sicily and landing at Calabria.

1958 – The first open-heart surgery in New Zealand is carried out at Green Lane Hospital in Auckland by Brian Barratt-boyes, on an 11-yearold girl.

1996 – US fires cruise missiles at military targets in Iraq to punish Saddam Hussein for attacking Kurds in a designated safe zone.

2004 – A three-day siege at a school in Beslan, Russia, ends in a gun battle between hostage-takers and security forces. More than 300 people die, many of them children. 2017 – North Korea claims to have successfully tested a nuclear bomb.

Birthdays

Ferdinand Porsche, German engineer (1875-1951); Alan Ladd, US actor (1913-64); Steve Rickard, NZ wrestler (1929-2015); Brian Lochore, All Black (1940-2019); Shane Jones, NZ politician (1959-); Malcolm Gladwell, Canadian writer (1963-); Charlie Sheen, US actor (1965-); Gareth Southgate, England football coach (1970-); Ivan Vicelich, NZ footballer (1976-).