Today in history
Today is Thursday, July 26, the 207th day of 2018. There are 158 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1847 — Liberia becomes the first African colony to
declare independence.
1863 — A natural dam at Maori Point on the Shotover River bursts, drowning 13 men. In the coming weeks, hundreds of people die in harsh winter weather that grips the Otago region.
1865 — Parliament sits for the first time in Wellington, at the old Provincial Council chamber. The capital has been moved from Auckland in order to be more central. Other sites considered included Dunedin, Nelson, Havelock and Picton.
1879 — Following a match between North and South Canterbury rugby teams, the Canterbury Rugby Union is formed at a meeting in Timaru. It is New Zealand’s first rugby union.
1908 — The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
is established in the United States.
1911 — From the tower of the Wellington Post Office, the first governmentcontrolled wireless telegraphy station begins broadcasting to ships as far away as 1000km in good conditions. Starting 10 years before broadcasting as we know it began, New Zealand’s first radio station, ZLW, provided a communication lifeline for shipping for the next 82 years, until the digital and satellite era made it redundant in 1993. 1928 — New Zealand boxer Tom Heeney fights
Gene Tunney for the heavyweight championship of the world at Yankee Stadium, New York, losing by a technical knockout in the 11th round.
1941 — President Franklin Roosevelt appoints General Douglas MacArthur commander of United States forces in the Far East; he also freezes all Japanese assets in the US, virtually halting JapaneseAmerican trade.
1945 — Britain, the US and China demand Japan’s unconditional surrender as terms for peace in World War 2; Winston Churchill resigns as Britain’s prime minister after his Conservatives are defeated by the Labour Party.
1950 — New Zealand offers a combat unit to the
United Nations for service in the Korean conflict.
1952 — Eva Peron, popular leader and wife of Argentine president Juan Peron, dies of cancer aged 33; Egypt’s King Farouk abdicates in favour of his infant son after a military coup led by Gamal Abdel Nasser.
1953 — Four women and two men are killed attempting to climb Mt Taranaki. A week later two more climbers are killed and the mountain gains the reputation of being New Zealand’s most dangerous; Fidel Castro leads an attack on army barracks in Santiago, Cuba, in the hope of sparking a popular uprising. Most of the 160 revolutionaries are killed and Castro is captured but later receives an amnesty.
1956 — Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalises the Suez Canal, and Britain, France and the US announce financial retaliation.
1965 — The Maldive Islands in the Indian Ocean become independent, having been a British protectorate since 1887.
1974 — Konstantinos Karamanlis, the new Greek prime minister, forms a civilian cabinet after seven years of military rule in Greece.
1984 — Almost two weeks after Labour’s election victory, David Lange assumes office as prime minister.
1991 — Communist leaders overwhelmingly approve Mikhail Gorbachev’s new party platform, abandoning decades of Marxist dogma. 1999 — In New York, the 30th anniversary of the legendary Woodstock musical festival ends violently with fires, looting and vandalism.
Today’s birthdays:
George Bernard Shaw, Irish writer (18561950); George Leslie Adkin, New Zealand environmentalist (18881964); Sir Charles (Bill) William Feilden Hamilton, New Zealand developer of modern jetboat (18991978); Mick Jagger, British rock singer (1943); Helen Mirren, English actress (1945); Roger Taylor, English rockband drummer (1949); Susan George, British actress (1950); Nana Visitor, US actress (1957);
Kevin Spacey, US actor (1959); Sandra Bullock, US actress (1964); Kuripitone (Tony) Tatupu, New Zealand rugby league international (1969);
Syd Eru, New Zealand rugby league international (1971); Kate Beckinsale, British actress (1973); Kees Meeuws, All Black (1974); Tim Wilkinson, New Zealand professional golfer (1978);
Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand Prime Minister (1980); Steven Yates, New Zealand rugby sevens representative (1983).