TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY is Monday, July 13, the 195th day of 2020. There are 171 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1772 — Captain James Cook begins his second voyage, aboard Resolution, to the South Seas to search for Terra Australis (the Southern continent).
1787 — The Northwest Ordinance is enacted by the United States Congress. It outlines how the territory north of the Ohio River will be governed and evolve into states.
1832 — The source of the Mississippi River is discovered by American geographer and ethnologist Henry Schoolcraft.
1841 — In a bid to strengthen the Ottoman Empire, the London Straits Convention is concluded, reestablishing an ancient rule of the Ottoman Empire by closing the Turkish Straits (the Bosporus and Dardanelles) to all warships except those of the Sultan’s allies.
1861 — The first guarded coach, the Escort, arrives in Dunedin from Lawrence with 500 ounces of gold.
1863 — Rioting against US Civil War military conscription breaks out in New York City. About 1000 people are killed in three days of disorder.
1882 — News reaches Dunedin from London of the success of the first frozen meat shipment from Otago.
1909 — Mysterious bright objects appear in the night skies over New Zealand. A ‘‘phantom ship’’ phenomenon intensifies, notably in southern districts, where several residents in Stirling report witnessing what they think was an airship moving in the sky.
1916 — Vivian Walsh becomes the first person in New Zealand to obtain an aviator’s certificate.
1919 — The British airship R34 lands back in Norfolk, England, after making the first Atlantic aerial round trip. It set out from Scotland for the US on July 2.
1922 — France II, the world’s largest sailing vessel, is wrecked off the coast of New Caledonia.
1930 — The first Soccer World Cup competition begins in Montevideo, Uruguay, with 13 teams taking part.
1943 — HMNZS Leander is torpedoed during an assault on the Japaneseheld Solomon Islands.
1955 — Ruth Ellis becomes the last woman to be hanged in Britain (for the murder of her lover).
1960 — John F. Kennedy wins the Democratic presidential nomination at his party’s convention in Los Angeles.
1963 — New Zealand golfer Bob Charles wins a playoff to take the British Open championship at Lytham. He is the first lefthander and first New Zealander to win the prestigious title.
1966 — A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada founds the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Hare Krishna movement) in New York City.
1977 — A massive power failure causes a huge blackout over New York City. Looting and rioting break out and police arrest at least 3000 looters.
1985 — A Live Aid concert watched by 1.5 billion around the world raises $US100 million for African famine relief.
1990 — The mayors of Moscow and Leningrad show solidarity with populist Boris Yeltsin by resigning from the Communist Party on the last day of the party congress.
2000 — Vietnam signs a landmark trade deal with the US which clears the way for normal trade relations between the former enemies for the first time since the Vietnam War.
2005 — Bernard Ebbers, the folksy entrepreneur who built WorldCom Inc into a telecommunications giant, is sentenced to 25 years in prison for the business fraud that led to the largest US corporate bankruptcy.
Today’s birthdays
Mary McQueen, New Zealand social worker (18601945); Charles Speight, All Black (18701935); J.H. Haslam, New Zealand writer/ poet/editor (18741969); Harry Siedeberg, New Zealand cricketer and national billiards champion (18771945); John Forrester, New Zealand cricket umpire (18871946); Bert Cooksley, New Zealand soldier WW1 and politician (18921980); Mark Nicholls, All Black (19011972); James Burrows, All Black and military leader WW2 (19041991); Neville RamsbottomIsherwood, New Zealand born Royal Air Force test pilot and commanding officer during WW2 and the postwar period (19051950); Garfield Todd, New Zealandborn prime minister of Southern
Rhodesia (19082002); Len Newell, New Zealand swimmer (19131994); Patrick Stewart, British actor (1940); Harrison Ford, US actor (1942); Roger McGuinn, US musician (1942); Erno Rubik, Hungarian inventor (1944); Cheech Marin, US comedian/actor (1946); Rod Dixon, New Zealand middledistance and marathon runner (1950); Mark Hammett, All Black (1972); Deborah Cox, Canadian singer (1973); Xavier Rush, All Black (1977); Ladyhawke (Phillipa Margaret Brown), New Zealand singer/songwriter (1979); Ali Lauiti’iti, New Zealand rugby league international (1979); Scott TalbotCameron, New Zealand swimmer (1981); Rachel Priest, New Zealand cricketer (1985); Kieran Foran, New Zealand rugby league international (1990).
Quote of the day:
‘‘I would say take any work you can get. Don’t pass on something if it’s a commercial. Take it. Work really does lead to other work. Especially if you’re just starting out, work begets work.’’ — Allison Jones, US casting director, who was born on this day in 1955.