Today in History

1525 – Cuauhtemoc, the last Aztec emperor, is tortured and executed by Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortes.

1825 – Britain and Russia sign a treaty settling the border between Canada and Alaska, then a Russian possession.

1933 – Nazi decree suppresses civil liberties in Germany.

1945 – Escaped Kiwi POW David Russell is captured and executed in

Italy. He is later awarded a posthumous George Cross.

1953 – Jameswatson and Francis Crick announce they have determined the structure of DNA.

1975 – An Underground train crashes into buffers at Moorgate station, London, killing 42 people.

1983 – The final episode of TV show M*A*S*H airs in the US, watched by 125 million viewers. 1986 – Swedish Prime Minister

Olof Palme, left, is assassinated on a street in Stockholm while walking home from a cinema.

1990 – The Royal New Zealand Navy abolishes the rum ration – the last navy to do so; Soviet legislature passes a landmark law allowing citizens to acquire land and bequeath it to their children.

1991 – First Gulfwar ends as Iraq accepts a ceasefire after its retreat from Kuwait.

1993 – Four federal agents and six members of the Branch Dravidian Christian sect are killed when authorities raid its headquarters in Waco, Texas. A 51-day standoff ensues.

1996 – Britain’s Princess Diana formally agrees to divorce Prince Charles.

2013 – Pope Benedict XVI resigns, aged 85.

Birthdays

Linus Pauling, US scientist (1901-94); Bugsy Siegel, US gangster (190647); Frank Gehry, Canadian-born architect (1929-); Mario Andretti, Italian-born racing driver (1940-); Brian Jones, Rolling Stones musician (1942-69); Ian Smith, NZ cricketer/commentator (1957-).