Today in history
Today is Thursday, May 3, the 123rd day of 2018. There are 242 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1791 — The Polish Parliament approves Europe’s
first modern constitution.
1814 — French king Louis XVIII returns to Paris
after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte.
1820 — At Kerikeri, a Europeanstyle plough drawn by six bullocks is used for the first time in New Zealand, by John Butler.
1840 — Auckland is declared the capital of New
Zealand.
1841 — Having served as Lieutenantgovernor, William Hobson takes the oath as crown colony governor, a position he holds until his death (aged 49), in September 1842, after a stroke.
1887 — A new bridge across the Molyneux (Clutha) at Roxburgh is formally opened to traffic. The old bridge was washed away in 1878.
1896 — The first consecration in New Zealand of a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church takes place in Dunedin’s St Joseph’s Cathedral.
1898 — Bread riots erupt in Milan, Italy, and are
crushed with a heavy loss of life.
1916 — Irish nationalist Padraic Pearse and two others are executed by the British for their roles in the Easter Rising.
1933 — Nellie Tayloe Ross is sworn in as the first
female director of the US Mint.
1937 — Margaret Mitchell wins a Pulitzer Prize for
her novel Gone with the Wind.
1946 — The first jet aircraft flight over Dunedin
occurs. 1951 — While the waterfront dispute remains deadlocked, strikebreaking workers at the port of Auckland return to work with the support of the Federation of Labour and the protection of military and police personnel.
1971 — Antiwar protesters calling themselves the Mayday Tribe begin four days of demonstrations in Washington, aimed at shutting down the nation’s capital.
1979 — Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain’s first female prime minister as the Tories oust the incumbent Labour government in parliamentary elections.
1986 — In Nasa’s first postChallenger launch, an unmanned Delta rocket loses power in its main engine shortly after liftoff, forcing safety officers to destroy it by remote control.
1988 — The White House acknowledges that First Lady Nancy Reagan used astrological advice to help schedule her husband’s activities.
1993 — Thousands of workers drop their tools and
leave factories around eastern Germany to demand the 26% wage rise they were promised after German reunification.
1995 — The Armed Islamic Group in Algeria expands its terrorist threat against women by vowing to kill every mother, sister or daughter of government officials.
1997 — The rebels of the Guatemalan Revolutionary Unit surrender the last of their weapons to the Government, marking the end of one of Latin America’s most drawnout wars.
2001 — Ronnie Biggs, the fugitive robber famous for his role in Britain’s 1963 Great Train Robbery, says he is ready to return home to face justice after three decades of exile in Brazil.
2002 — A ferry carrying hundreds of people sinks in a storm on the Meghna River, about 65km south of Dhaka, Bangladesh. More than 300 perish.
2003 — James Miller, British freelance journalist and producer of international awardwinning documentaries Beneath the Veil and Innocents Lost, is shot and killed by an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip, while holding a white flag. 2008 — Cyclone Nargis strikes Burma, killing at least
78,000 and leaving 56,000 others missing.
2011 — A tornado hits the North Shore suburb of Albany, north of Auckland, causing substantial damage. One person is killed and a number of others are injured.
Today’s birthdays:
Golda Meir, Israeli politician (18981978); Ronald Bush, All Black player and coach (19091996); Sugar Ray Robinson, US boxer (19201989); Frankie Valli, US singer (1934); Chris Mulkey, US actor (1948); Mary Hopkin, Welsh singer (1950); Christopher Cross, US singer (1951); Kevin Kilner, US actor (1958); Chris Zoricich, New Zealand football player (1969); Christina Hendricks, US actress (1975); Casey Laulala, All Black (1982); Jesse Bromwich, New Zealand rugby league player (1989); Hannah Wall, New Zealand women’s football player (1991); Zoe Belkin, Canadian actress (1993).
Thought for today:
Any doctrine that will not bear investigation is not a fit tenant for the mind of an honest man. —
Robert G. Ingersoll, American lawyer and politician (18331899).