Today in history
Today is Wednesday, February 21, the 52nd day of 2018. There are 313 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1613 — Michael Romanov, son of the patriarch of Moscow, is elected tsar of Russia, thus founding the House of Romanov.
1815 — Although he does not survive early childhood, Thomas Holloway King, son of John and Hannah King, is the first recorded European to be born in New Zealand.
1822 — A building later to be named Kemp House is completed at Kerikeri. The house remains the oldest building still standing in New Zealand. 1838 — American Samuel Morse gives the first public demonstration of the telegram in New York.
1848 — A peace treaty is ratified with Maori chiefs
at Wanganui.
1866 — The first 12 Chinese miners invited by the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce to work the goldfields arrive at Lawrence. Within four years they will be joined by another 2000 of their countrymen.
1879 — An explosion in the coal mine at
Kaitangata causes the deaths of 34 men. The disaster prompts improvements to safety in mines.
1885 — Dunedin’s Joe Scott defeats the English walking champion for the second time in a month, this time in a 12hour match for £200. He covered 693⁄4 miles; US president Chester Arthur dedicates the Washington Monument.
1916 — The Battle of Verdun in France begins with a massive German artillery bombardment. It is the longest and bloodiest battle of World War 1, with more than one million killed.
1919 — Bavarian premier Kurt Risner is
assassinated in Munich.
1921 — Brigadier Reza Shah Pahlavi overthrows the Iranian Government in a military coup and later becomes shah.
1922 — The British protectorate in Egypt ends.
1945 — The Taieri River bursts its banks, causing
extensive flooding.
1951 — The first meeting to dicuss the prospects of a ‘‘Greater Dunedin’’ incorporating the councils of St Kilda, Green Island, Port Chalmers, Mosgiel, West Harbour, Taieri and the Peninsula is held at the Municipal Chambers; the Government declares a national state of emergency due to the escalation of the waterfront dispute.
1952 — Coull Somerville Wilkie Ltd’s paper division in Cumberland St is extensively damaged by fire.
1965 — The Interdominion Pacing Championships are held in Dunedin for the first time. The series, held at Forbury Park Raceway, continued on February 24 and February 27, with the grand final on March 3 resulting in a sensational deadheat between Robin Dundee and Jay Ar.
1972 — United States president Richard Nixon arrives in Beijing for a weeklong visit that paves the way for normalised USChina relations.
1975 — A jury in the Wellington Supreme Court
acquits Dr Bill Sutch on a charge of spying.
1986 — The South African Government opens ‘‘whites only’’ downtown districts of Johannesburg and Durban to all races in the first break with the apartheid policy of segregated business areas.
1992 — Annelise Coberger wins the silver medal in the slalom to become the first New Zealander to win a medal at the Winter Olympics.
1997 — Belgrade’s first noncommunist
government in 50 years takes office and elects Opposition leader Zoran Djindjic as mayor of the Yugoslav capital.
1998 — Australian polevaulter Emma George breaks the world record of 14ft 11in and becomes the first woman to clear 15ft (4.57m), when she sets the mark at the Robin Tait Classic meeting in Auckland.
Today’s birthdays:
Douglas Bader, British pilot (WW2) (191082); Kelvin Tremain, All Black (193892); Jim McLay, New Zealand politician (1945); Anthony Daniels, British actor (1946); John Parker, New Zealand cricketer and commentator (1951); Kelsey Grammer, US actor (1955); Jack Coleman, US actor (1958); Christopher Atkins, US actor (1961); Yobes Ondieki, Kenyan middledistance athlete (1961); Greg Turner, New Zealand golfer (1963); Jennifer Love Hewitt, US actresssinger (1979); Rosara Joseph, New Zealand cyclist (1982); Andrew Ellis, All Black (1984).
Thought for today:
‘‘You can’t separate peace from freedom because noone can be at peace unless he has his freedom.’’ — Malcolm X (192565). The former Black Muslim leader was shot and killed by assassins identified as Black Muslims as he prepared to address a rally in New York, on February 21, 1965.