Today in History

1382 – Louis the Great’s daughter, Mary, is crowned ‘‘king’’ of Hungary. 1787 – The United States Constitution is signed by a majority of delegates attending the constitutional convention in Philadelphia.

1862 – Confederate and Union troops in the Civil War clash near Maryland’s Antietam Creek in the bloodiest single day in American military history.

1908 – The Wright Flyer flown by Orville Wright, with Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge as passenger, crashes, killing Selfridge, who becomes the first plane fatality.

1925 – Frida Kahlo, left, suffers near-fatal injuries in a bus accident in Mexico. She then abandons plans to study medicine and pursues art.

1939 – The Soviet Union invades Poland, more than two weeks after Nazi Germany launched its assault.

1941 – Punishment through flogging and whipping is abolished in New Zealand. The death penalty is also abolished but reinstated nine years later.

1954 – The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is published.

2009 – The Geographic Board rules Whanganui should be spelled with an ‘‘h’’.

Birthdays

Hank Williams, US singersongwriter (1923-1953); Dinah Sheridan, English actress (1920-2012); Stirling Moss, English racing driver (1929-); Anne Bancroft, US actress (1931-2005); Maureen

Catherine Connolly-Brinker, US tennis player (1934-1969); Ken Kesey, US author (One Flew Over

the Cuckoo’s Nest) (1935-2001); Phil Jackson, US basketball coach (1945-); Narenda Modi, 14th Indian prime minister (1950-); Damon Hill, English racing driver (1960-); Baz Luhrmann, Australian film director (1962-); Bryan Singer, US film director (1965-); Anastacia, US pop singer (1968-); Greg King, New Zealand lawyer (1969-2012); Ravichandran Ashwin, Indian cricketer (1986-).