Today in History

1743 – George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah has its London premiere.

1848 – The ship John Wickliffe arrives at Port Chalmers, bringing the first Scottish settlers to Otago. 1919 – Benito Mussolini founds the fascist movement in Italy.

1933 – German Reichstag grants Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers until April 1937.

1956 – Under its new constitution,

Pakistan becomes an Islamic Republic. 1966 – The Archbishop of Canterbury meets the Pope in Rome, the first meeting between the heads of the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches for 400 years.

1970 – South Africa is banned from the Davis Cup tennis tournament because of its apartheid policies. 1981 – British ‘‘great train robber’’ Ronald Biggs, left, is taken into custody in Barbados after his abduction from Brazil.

1983 – Dr Barney Clark dies in the United States, 112 days after being the first person to receive an artificial heart.

1998 – The James Camerondirected Titanic wins 11 Oscars, equalling the record set by Ben-Hur in 1959.

2001 – The Mir space station returns to Earth in pieces, ending its 15-year odyssey with a fiery plunge into the South Pacific.

2010 – A jubilant US President Barack Obama signs the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a healthcare overhaul that for the first time cements insurance cover as the right of every US citizen.

Birthdays

Michael Joseph Savage, NZ prime minister (1872-1940); Leslie Andrew, NZ Victoria Cross recipient (18721969); Frank Sargeson, NZ author (1903-82); Joan Crawford, US actress (1908-77); Roger Bannister, UK athlete (1929-2018); Lloyd Jones, NZ author (1955-); Michael Atherton, UK cricketer (1968-); Mo Farah, UK athlete (1983-).