Today in history
Today is Saturday, September 21, the 264th day of 2019. There are 101 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1327 — King Edward II of England is murdered in Berkeley Castle; he is succeeded by his son, Edward III.
1435 — Signing of the Treaty of Arras, by which Philip of Burgundy makes peace with Charles VII of France and receives Macon, Auxerre and part of Picardy.
1529 — Turks under Suleiman lay siege to Vienna; the Defensive League of the Powers in Italy is formed by the Pope, Venice, Florence, Mantua and Savoy.
1745 — In the Battle of Prestonpans in Scotland, a Jacobite army of just over 3000 under Bonnie Prince Charlie defeats English royal forces led by Sir John Cope.
1792 — In its first public sitting, France’s National Convention, acting on a proposal by JeanMarie Collot d’Herbois, abolishes the monarchy.
1848 — The Blundell arrives at Port Chalmers with the fourth group of Otago settlers.
1898 — Tzuhsi, dowager Empress of China, seizes power and revokes reforms.
1914 — Following the declaration of war six weeks earlier, the Infantry Battalion of the Otago Force parades through the Octagon in front of a large crowd.
1915 — Cecil Chubb buys the English prehistoric monument Stonehenge for £6600.
1933 — Elizabeth McCombs is sworn in as New Zealand’s first female MP following her victory in a Lyttelton byelection.
1935 — Otago defeats Canterbury 156 to win rugby’s prized Ranfurly Shield for the first time. 1937 — J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is published by George Allen and Unwin in London.
1939 — Premier Armand Calinescu of Romania is assassinated by the Iron Guard.
1948 — An Avenger aircraft is used in aerial topdressing trials by the RNZAF. The results prove encouraging and the first commercial drop is undertaken within a year.
1949 — West Germany comes into existence as US, British and French occupation zones are transferred to German control; the People’s Republic of China is proclaimed by its communist leaders.
1956 — Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza is shot by a liberal poet. He dies eight days later and is succeeded by his son.
1972 — Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos declares martial law in Philippines, but it is not publicly announced until September 23.
1974 — US film actor Walter Brennan dies. He was the first actor to win three Academy Awards and was best known for his roles in Westerns such as My Darling Clementine.
1985 — French prime minister Laurent Fabius admits that French secret agents acting under orders sank the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in New Zealand. Meanwhile, in the High Court at Auckland, Chief Justice Sir Ronald Davison sentences agents Major Alain Marfart and Captain Dominique Prieur to 10year prison terms.
1993 — Russian president Boris Yeltsin dissolves Parliament. Hardline politicians subsequently vote to impeach him and hole up in the parliament building.
1997 — A volcanic avalanche buries Montserrat’s airport and flows into the Atlantic Ocean, 5.5km away.
2001 — The Dow Jones industrial index of 30 bluechip companies loses 140 points, bringing its loss for the week to 14.2%, second only to a 15.5% drop in 1933.
2003 — Nasa directs the unmanned space probe Galileo to plunge into the atmosphere of the planet Jupiter, after it ran out of fuel, destroying the craft after a 14year mission to observe the planet and its satellites.