Today in history
Today is Saturday, April 11, the 102nd day of 2020. There are 264 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1471 — In the Wars of the Roses King Edward IV
of England siezes London from Henry VI.
1512 — In one of the bloodiest battles of the 16th century, the French defeat Spanish and Papal forces at Ravenna.
1689 — William and Mary are crowned King and
Queen of England.
1713 — The Treaty of Utrecht is signed, ending the War of the Spanish Succession and redrawing the map of Europe.
1814 — Napoleon Bonaparte abdicates as emperor of France and is banished to Elba by the Treaty of Fontainebleau.
1842 — The distribution of land begins in Nelson.
1868 — The Shogunate is abolished in Japan.
1869 — Queen Victoria’s second son, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, arrives in Wellington — the first member of the British Royal Family to visit New Zealand.
1886 — The steamer Taiaroa strikes rocks and is wrecked near the mouth of the Clarence River, north of Kaikoura, with the loss of 34 lives.
1894 — Uganda is declared a British protectorate.
1899 — The Philippine islands are transferred from
Spain to the United States.
1900 — The first modern submarine, designed and built by John Philip Holland, is purchased by the United States Navy.
1913 — Pioneer British aviator Gustav Hamel
makes a recordsetting return flight across the
English Channel from Dunkirk to Dover and back in just 90 minutes.
1916 — The a troopship carrying the headquarters of the recently formed New Zealand Division, arrives in Marseilles, France.
1951 — US president Harry Truman relieves General Douglas MacArthur of his command in the Far East; the Stone of Scone, a symbol of Scottish independence stolen from Westminster Abbey by nationalist protesters, is recovered after a 107day hunt.
1957 — Singapore is granted selfgovernment by
the United Kingdom.
1960 — A riot by 200 prisoners at Mt Eden Prison, lasting for 17 hours, is the first of a series of such disruptions in New Zealand prisons that continue for two decades.
1968 — The first of nine meter maids goes on duty for the first time around Dunedin central city streets; US president Lyndon Johnson signs the 1968 Civil Rights Act.
1973 — Martin Bormann, a Nazi official pursued throughout the world, is officially declared dead and taken off West Germany’s ‘‘most wanted’’ list.
— is deposed as president of Uganda as rebels and exiles backed by Tanzanian forces seize control of the country.
1980 — The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issues regulations making sexual harassment of women in the workplace illegal.
1982 — Britons Ranulph Fiennes and Charles Burton become the first explorers to circumnavigate the earth via the poles when they reach the North Pole.
1991 — The UN Security Council announces a formal end to the Gulf War, accepting Iraq’s pledge that it will pay for war damages and scrap its weapons of mass destruction.
1995 — Jockey Jim Cassidy is banned for three years and Kevin Moses for one after an inquiry into racefixing allegations in Sydney.
2000 — Disgraced South African cricket captain
Hansie Cronje is sacked as captain after admitting taking money from an Indian bookmaker in one of the worst scandals in the sport’s history.
2015 — Barack Obama and Raul Castro meet in Panama, the first meeting of US and Cuban heads of state since the Cuban Revolution.
Today’s birthdays:
George Canning, English statesman (17701827); Manuel Quintana, Spanish poet (17721857); Ethel Kennedy, widow of US politician Robert F. Kennedy (1928); Joel Grey, US actor (1932); Louise Lasser, US actress (1939); David McPhail, New Zealand comedian (1945); Winston Peters, New Zealand politician (1945); Jeremy Clarkson, British television presenter (1960); Billy Bowden, New Zealand international cricket umpire (1963); Lisa Stansfield, British singer (1966); Mark Cooksley, All Black (1971);
Joss Stone, British singer/actress (1987);
Sarah Mason, New Zealandborn surfing champion (1995).
Quote of the day:
‘‘Why did God give me two ears and one mouth? So that I will hear more and talk less.’’ — Leo Rosten, US humorist, who was born on this day in 1908. He died in 1997 aged 88.