Today in History

1540 – Marriage of King Henry VIII to Anne of Cleves is annulled. 1816 – The United Provinces of La Plata – now Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and part of Bolivia – declare themselves independent from Spain.

1877 – First Wimbledon tennis championships held.

1887 – The first paper napkins are introduced at a dinner at a British hotel by John Dickenson, a stationery manufacturer. 1917 – British battleship HMS Vanguard explodes, killing more than 800 people.

1922 – Johnny Weissmuller, swimmer and later Tarzan actor, becomes the first man to swim 100 metres in under a minute. 1947 – Engagement of Princess Elizabeth, left, to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten is

announced.

1966 – By winning the British Open, Jack Nicklaus becomes the fourth man to win all four golf majors.

1986 – New Zealand’s Parliament votes to decriminalise consensual homosexual practices between men.

2001 – Chilean court rules that General Augusto Pinochet cannot be tried on human rights charges because of the former dictator’s deteriorating health.

2011 – South Sudan becomes the world’s newest nation.

2016 – Serena Williams wins Wimbledon, bringing her level with Steffi Graf’s 22 grand slam singles titles. Birthdays Elias Howe, US inventor of sewing machine (1819-1867); Barbara Cartland, British writer (1901-2000); Edward Heath, British prime minister (1916-2005); Donald Rumsfeld, former US defence secretary (1932-); Bon Scott, AC/DC frontman (1946-1980); Orenthal James (OJ) Simpson, US footballer and criminal (1947-); Tom Hanks, US actor (1956-); Courtney Love, US singer (1964-); Jack White, US musician (1975-); BJ Watling, New Zealand cricketer (1985-).