Today in history
1519 – Artist Leonardo da Vinci dies at Cloux, France.
1526 – Protestant League of Germany is formed.
1536 – England’s Queen Anne Boleyn is sent to Tower of London, where she eventually is beheaded.
1813 – Napoleon Bonaparte defeats Prussian and Russian armies at Lutzen, Germany.
1895 – British South Africa Company territory south of Zambesi is organised as Rhodesia.
1933 – Adolf Hitler abolishes trade unions in Germany.
1957 – Death of controversial US Senator Joseph Mccarthy.
1960 – Convicted sex offender and best-selling author Caryl Chessman is executed at San Quentin Prison in California.
1964 – New Zealand’s last electric tram trip is made in Wellington, driven by mayor Frank Kitts between Thorndon and the Wellington Zoo. Large crowds watched on.
1965 – The first satellite television programme links nine countries and more than 300 million viewers.
1969 – Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth II sails on maiden voyage.
1972 – Death of J Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI for 48 years.
1982 – Argentine cruiser General Belgrano is sunk by a British submarine, killing 368 Argentine sailors in the war over possession of the Falkland Islands.
1994 – Nelson Mandela and the ANC claim victory in the first democratic election in South Africa.
1997 – Tony Blair becomes Britain’s youngest prime minister in 185 years after his Labour Party crushes John Major’s Conservatives in a landslide.
2008 – Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai wins 47.9 per cent of the vote in Zimbabwe’s presidential elections, not enough to avoid a runoff against Robertmugabe.
2010 – European governments and the International Monetary Fund commit to pull Greece back from the brink of default, agreeing on €110 billion in emergency loans on the condition Athens makes painful budget cuts and tax increases.
2011 – Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11 terror attacks, is killed in his hideout in Pakistan in a firefight with US forces.
2015 – The Duchess of Cambridge, Princewilliam’s wife, gives birth to the couple’s second child, Princess Charlotte.
Today’s birthdays:
Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia (1729-1796); Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer (1955-); Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock), US actor and former wrestler (1972-); David Beckham, English footballer (1975-); Lily Allen, English singer and songwriter (1985-).