Today in history
Today is Thursday, June 14, the 165th day of 2018. There are 200 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1777 — The United States Congress adopts the
Stars and Stripes as the nation’s official flag.
1789 — Captain William Bligh and 18 others are cast adrift from HMS Bounty; they eventually reached Timor in the East Indies after a voyage of almost 6500km in an open boat.
1843 — Approximately 100 German settlers arrive at
Nelson with the German Colonisation Company. 1862 — The Betsy Douglas, the first steamer built in
Otago, is launched.
1873 — Sir James Fergusson assumes office as New Zealand Governor, serving until December 1874. His son, Sir Charles Fergusson, served as GovernorGeneral from 192430; and his grandson, Sir Bernard Fergusson, was GovernorGeneral from 196267. Sir Charles’ fatherinlaw, the Earl of Glasgow, also served as governor, from June
1892 to February 1897.
1905 — The newly created role of high commissioner for New Zealand in London is filled by William Pember Reeves. The role replaced that of agentgeneral.
1940 — The Swastika is hoisted on the Eiffel Tower as the German army occupies Paris; the Nazis open the concentration camp at Auschwitz, Poland.
1942 — The first wave of US marines arrives at Wellington. Over the next two years, more than 100,000 servicemen will be based in New
Zealand.
1949 — Bao Dai is installed as president of the new state of Vietnam.
1951 — The first electronic computer for commercial use is demonstrated at the Bureau of the Census in Philadelphia.
1967 — The US Mariner spacecraft is launched towards Venus, to try to discover if that planet can support life.
1976 — A waterlogged Eden Park, Auckland, is the venue for the memorable ‘‘water polo’’ rugby test match between New Zealand and Scotland. New Zealand won 24nil.
1982 — Argentine forces surrender to British troops
on the disputed Falkland Islands.
1984 — New Zealand prime minister Robert
Muldoon calls a snap election when government MP Marilyn Waring announces she will not necessarily vote with the Government on rape and nuclear disarmament issues.
1989 — Former US president Ronald Reagan is made
an honorary knight by Queen Elizabeth.
1990 — The New Zealand Government sells Telecom to Bell Atlantic and Ameritech for $NZ4250 million, making it one of the earliest telecommunications companies in the world to fall into private ownership. Shares are sold on to reduce foreign holdings to less than 50%.
1993 — Turkey gets a female prime minister after President Suleyman Demirel asks True Path leader Tansu Ciller to form a government.
1997 — A 1939 comic book featuring the first appearance by Batman is auctioned for
$US68,500 at Sotheby’s in New York.
1998 — Queen Margrethe opens Europe’s longest suspension bridge, linking eastern and western Denmark by road.
2004 — British entrepreneur Richard Branson sets a world record by driving across the English Channel in a James Bondstyle amphibious sports car in under two hours.
2006 — More than 1000 Indonesian villagers are forced to flee Mount Merapis after searinghot gas and debris erupt from the volcano.
2011 — There is still no respite for Christchurch residents as the city is disrupted by a series of aftershocks.
2013 — Popular student pub the Captain Cook
Tavern closes after more than 150 years of trading. Extensive renovations see it reopen in May 2016.
2014 — Otago’s Ben Smith puts in a manofthematch performance at fullback, when the All Blacks defeat England 2827, in the second of a threetest series held in Dunedin.
Today’s birthdays:
Harriet Beecher Stowe, US writer (18111896); James Allen Ward, New Zealand recipient of the Victoria Cross in World War 2 (19191941); Ernesto ‘‘Che’’ Guevara, Argentinian revolutionary (19281967); Donald Trump, US president (1946); Janet Mackey, New Zealand politician (1953); Boy George (born George Alan O’Dowd), English pop singer (1961); Steffi Graf, German tennis star (1969);
Duncan Oughton, New Zealand international football player (1977); Emma Humphries, New Zealand international football player (1986); Lucy Hale, US actress/singer (1989).