Today in History

1522 – Juan Sebastian Del Cano (or Elcano) completes the first circumnavigation of the world. His was the only one of Ferdinand Magellan’s five ships to make it back to Spain. 1620 – The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, southwest England, for the New World, carrying 102 pilgrims and about 30 crew.

1901 – United States President William McKinley, right, is shot in Buffalo, New York, by an anarchist. He dies eight days later.

1915 – A prototype tank nicknamed Little Willie rolls off the assembly line in England.

1916 – A Piggly Wiggly store opens in Memphis, Tennessee, as the first true self-service grocery, offering many features that became common to supermarkets.

1948 – New Zealand citizenship is established. The British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act gives citizenship to all current residents who had been either born British subjects or later naturalised.

1966 – South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, who oversaw the introduction and application of apartheid laws, is stabbed to death.

1994 – Irish prime minister Albert Reynolds and Gerry Adams, leader of the IRA-allied Sinn Fein, commit to peaceful settlement in Northern Ireland.

1997 – Some 2.5 billion people watch global television broadcasts of Princess Diana’s funeral.

2017 – Catalonia’s parliament passes a law to allow a referendum on independence from Spain.

Birthdays

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, French revolutionary general (1757-1834); Catharine Beecher, US educationist (1800-78); Joseph Kennedy, US diplomat (1888-1969); Roger Waters, UK musician, Pink Floyd (1943-), Carly Fiorina, US businesswoman (1954-); Macy Gray, US singer-songwriter (1967-); Idris Elba, UK actor (1972-); Tim Henman, UK tennis player (1974-).