Today in history
Today is Friday, September 22, the 265th day of 2017. There are 100 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1499 — The Swabian War between the Swiss League and Maximilian I ends with the signing of the Peace of Basle, by which the Swiss gained independence.
1735 — Sir Robert Walpole becomes the first British prime minister to occupy 10 Downing Street in London.
1792 — In France, the Convention declares that the country is a republic. All decisions taken by the Convention are dated ‘‘Year 1 of the French Republic’’.
1828 — Shaka, Zulu chieftain and founder of the Zulu empire, is killed by his two halfbrothers after he becomes insane.
1862 — United States president Abraham Lincoln declares all slaves in rebellious states will be free from January 1, 1863.
1875 — New Zealand’s first interprovincial rugby match is played at Dunedin between Auckland Clubs and Otago Clubs. The match is won by Otago 91⁄21⁄2 before a crowd of 3000 at the Southern Recreation Ground.
1882 —The Garden Palace, the large purposebuilt exhibition building constructed to house the Sydney International Exhibition in 1879, burns down. Housing a number of government departments, the fire destroyed many official documents, including papers relating to the convict system, census information, and a large number of valuable artworks.
1914 — The first contingent of the Otago Regiment leaves Port Chalmers for World War 1.
1925 — At Opapa, two people are killed and several others injured when the Wellington to Napier mail train derails as a result of excessive speed entering a curve. The driver is convicted of manslaughter.
1927 — Gene Tunney successfully defends his world heavyweight boxing title against Jack Dempsey in the famous ‘‘longcount’’ fight in Chicago.
1931 — New Zealand prime minister George Forbes heads a coalition of the United and Reform parties, to help overcome the effects of the Depression.
1934 — An explosion and fire at the Gresford Mine in Wales kills more than 260 miners.
1943 — The German battleship Tirpitz is disabled by British midget submarines in a Norwegian fjord.
1949 — The British, Canadian and American governments jointly announce they have recently detected an atomic explosion in the Soviet Union. The blast, initially denied by Moscow, is later revealed to be the first test of an atomic weapon by the Soviet Union. It occurred on August 29.
1955 — Commercial television begins in Britain in opposition to the British Broadcasting Corporation. The first advertisement screened is for toothpaste.
1958 — Sherman Adams, assistant to US president Dwight Eisenhower, resigns amid charges of improperly using his influence to help an industrialist.
1975 — An assassination attempt is made on US president Gerald Ford in San Francisco by Sara Jane Moore. It is the second attempt in 17 days.
1980 — The Gulf War breaks out when Iraq invades Iran in an attempt to control the Shatt alArab waterway.
1996 — In Australia, Bob Dent, a cancer sufferer, becomes the first man in the world to commit legally assisted suicide under a voluntary euthanasia law.
1999 — The US Justice Department files a massive lawsuit accusing the tobacco industry of fraud and seeking to recover much of the cost of smokingrelated illnesses.
2008 — The first excavation of Stonehenge in more than 40 years uncovers evidence that the stone circle drew ailing pilgrims from around Europe for what they believed to be its healing properties, archaeologists say.
Today’s birthdays
Anne of Cleves, Queen Consort of King Henry VIII (151557); Louis Botha, South African soldierstatesman (18621919); Shari Belafonte, US actress (1954); Debby Boone, US singer (1956); Joan Jett, US singermusician (1958); Scott Baio, US actor (1960); Bonnie Hunt, US actress (1961); Martin Crowe, New Zealand cricket captain (19622016); Rupert PenryJones, English actor (1970); Ashley Eckstein (nee Drane), US actress (1981); Laura Vandervoort, Canadian actress (1984); Tom Felton, English actor (1987).
Thought for today
If you are able to state a problem, it can be solved. — Edwin H. Land, American inventor (190991).
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