Today in History

1498 – Tomas de Torquemada, first Grand Inquisitor of Spain, dies. 1620 – English colonists set sail for America on the Mayflower.

1630 – Massachusetts village of Shawmut changes name to Boston. 1847 – Shakespeare Birthplace Trust buys the English playwright’s birthplace, right, in Stratford-uponAvon.

1857 – The song Jingle Bells is copyrighted by James Lord

Pierpont of Boston.

1905 – The Original All Blacks – the first fully representative NZ national rugby team to tour the northern hemisphere – kick off their tour with a 55-4 win over Devon.

1908 – Buick Motor Company head William Crapo Durant creates General Motors.

1932 – Mohandas Gandhi begins a hunger strike in protest at Britain’s decision to separate India’s electoral system by caste.

1945 – Japan surrenders Hong Kong at the end of World War II. 1956 – Australian TV launches, with Bruce Gyngell announcing on TCN9 Sydney: ‘‘Good evening and welcome to television.’’ 1974 – US President Gerald Ford announces a conditional amnesty programme for Vietnam war deserters and draft-evaders.

1975 – Papua New Guinea gains full independence from Australia. 1977 – US-born Greek soprano Maria Callas dies at 53.

1996 – Romania and Hungary sign treaty to end a centuries-old rift and help them join Nato and EU. 2013 – A 34-year-old man goes on a rampage at the Navy Yard in Washington, DC, killing 12 people. He is fatally shot by police. 2015 – An 8.3-magnitude quake hits Chile. Five are killed; a million are forced to evacuate their homes.

Birthdays

Henry V, English King (1386-1422); Karl Do¨nitz, German creator of WWII U-boat fleet (1891-1980); Lee Kuan Yew, prime minister of Singapore (1923-2015); Lauren Bacall, US actor (1924-2014); BB King, US musician (1925-2015); Mickey Rourke, US actor (1952-); Annelise Coberger, NZ Olympic skier (1971-); Suzie Bates, NZ cricketer (1987-).