Today in history
Today is Saturday, July 28, the 209th day of 2018. There are 156 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1540 — Henry VIII of England marries Catherine Howard; Thomas Cromwell is beheaded on Tower Hill in England.
1586 — The first potatoes arrive in England from
Colombia, brought in by Sir Thomas Harriot. 1588 — Lord High Admiral Charles Howard of Effingham sends British fire ships to destroy the Spanish Armada off Calais, France.
1643 — An English parliamentarian force under
Oliver Cromwell takes Gainsborough.
1742 — The Peace of Berlin between Austria and Prussia ends the first Silesian War. Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mainly in Poland.
1750 — Death of Johann Sebastian Bach, German
composer and organist.
1794 — French revolutionary leader Maximilien de Robespierre and 22 of his supporters are executed by guillotine before a cheering crowd in Paris.
1809 — British forces under Sir Arthur Wellesley (subsequently Duke of Wellington) defeat the French under Marshal Victor at the Battle of Talavera, southwest of Madrid.
1842 — Anglican bishop George Selwyn begins a fivemonth journey around his diocese in New Zealand. During this time he will travel 3700km, more than 1000km of it on foot.
1858 — The first use of fingerprints as a means of
identification is made by William Herschel of the Indian Civil Service at Jangipur in India; he put the handprint of Rajyadhar Konai on the back of a contract.
1868 — The 14th amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, granting citizenship to blacks.
1893 — After being unsuccessful with 9000 signatures in 1891 and 20,000 signatures in 1892, a third women’s suffrage petition, containing 32,000 signatures, is presented to Parliament.
1904 — Russia’s Minister of the Interior, Vyacheslav Plehve, is assassinated by a socialist.
1914 — World War 1 begins when Austria
Hungary declares war on Serbia.
1937 — The Japanese seize Beijing in China and
subsequently occupy it until 1945.
1940 — British forces repulse German attacks on the Mediterranean island group of Malta. The islands’ civilian population is later honoured with the George Cross for bravery. 1945 — A US army bomber crashes into the Empire State Building in New York City, killing 13 people.
1957 — Power and telephone services are disrupted as Dunedin becomes isolated during its worst snowstorm in almost 20 years.
1976 — An earthquake kills more than 240,000 people and almost completely destroys the city of Tangshan in northeastern China.
1979 — Australia wins its first rugby test against the All Blacks at home in 45 years, with a 126 victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
1990 — Alberto Fujimori takes over as Peru’s
president.
1999 — Parliament votes 5955 to lower the legal
drinking age in New Zealand from 20 to 18.
2001 — Alejandro Toledo, of the centrist Peru
Possible Party, is sworn in as president of Peru.
2005 — The Irish Republican Army guerrilla group formally announces an end to its armed campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland. 2006 — A federal appeals court in New York affirms the conviction and 255year prison sentence of former WorldCom Inc chief executive Bernard Ebbers for orchestrating an $11billion accounting fraud that led to the largest US bankruptcy.
Today’s birthdays:
Beatrix Potter, British author and illustrator (18661943); Bernard (Joey) Sadler, All Black (19142007); Fred Fisher, New Zealand cricketer (192496); Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, former US first lady (192994); Sir Garfield Sobers, West Indies cricketer (1936); Jim Davis, US cartoonist (1945); Jonathan Edwards, US musician (1946); Sally Struthers, US actress (1947); Simon Kirke, British musician (1949); David Shearer, New Zealand politician (1957); Lori Loughlin, US actress (1964); Steven Alker, New Zealand professional golfer (1971); Jacob Oram, New Zealand cricketer (1978).
Thought for today:
Verily, when the day of judgement comes, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done. — Thomas Kempis, German theologian (13801471).