TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY is Tuesday, November 24, the 329th day of 2020. There are 37 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1642 — Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sights the southwest coast of what is now Tasmania, and names the island Van Diemen’s Land.
1859 — British naturalist Charles Darwin publishes
On the Origin of Species, explaining his theory of evolution.
1864 — Frederick Weld takes office as New Zealand’s premier under the proviso that the seat of government become centralised and that British troops be withdrawn. His term in office lasts a week short of 11 months.
1877 — Anna Sewell’s novel Black Beauty is published.
1912 — The fourth Maori king, Te Rata Te Wherowhero, is crowned.
1935 — Fearing outspoken broadcaster Colin Scrimgeour (Uncle Scrim) would influence listeners to his popular radio programme to vote for the opposition Labour Party in the upcoming election, the New Zealand Government is believed to have jammed the signal from the station.
1942 — During World War 2, all premises between Port Chalmers and Mosgiel come under new blackout regulations, with drills called at unspecified times and for various durations. Wardens patrol the streets, with noncomplying offenders risking prosecution.
1944 — The US launches its first attack on Tokyo from the Northern Mariana Islands during World War 2.
1956 — Selfproclaimed ‘‘PommieKiwi’’ Norman Read wins the 50km road walk at the Melbourne Olympic Games. For this achievement he was voted New Zealand’s sportsman of the year.
1959 — MV Holmglen sinks near Timaru with the loss of all 15 crew members. The cause of the tragedy is never established.
1963 — Lee Harvey Oswald, accused assassin of US President John F. Kennedy, is shot dead by Jack Ruby in Dallas, Texas.
1965 — Commercial air services begin from Auckland International Airport at Mangere.
1969 — The Apollo 12 command module splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean, ending the second manned mission to the moon.
1977 — An archaeologist says a tomb uncovered near Salonika, Greece, is that of Macedonia’s King Philip II, father of Alexander the Great.
1987 — The US and Soviet Union agree to scrap shorter and mediumrange missiles in the first superpower treaty to eliminate an entire class of nuclear weapons.
1991 — Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the rock group Queen, dies of Aids.
1995 — Irish voters decide to legalise divorce, passing a referendum by a narrow margin.
1997 — Winnie MadikizelaMandela begins her examination by South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, with testimony by five witnesses who accuse her of murder.
2003 — The High Court in Glasgow rules that Abdelbaset Ali alMegrahi, a Libyan intelligence agent convicted in 2001 for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, will serve 27 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. He is released eight years later.
2012 — A fire at a clothing factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, kills an estimated 112 people.
2013 — Iran signs an interim agreement with the P5+1 countries, limiting its nuclear programme in exchange for reduced sanctions.
Today’s birthdays:
James (Jimmy) Jackson, New Zealand mariner/ whaler/trader (180077); John Hyde Harris, New Zealand politician (182686); Scott Joplin, US pianist and composer (18681917); David Henry, New Zealand businessman (18881963); Helen
Crabb (aka Helen Barc), New Zealand artist (18911972); Pansy Helen Auld Chapman, New Zealand nursing administrator (18921973); Vincent Gerard, New Zealand serviceman WW1 and WW2 and New Zealand Anglican bishop (18981984); Geoff Baylis, New Zealand botanist (19132003); Avinash Deobhakta, New Zealand lawyer/jurist (19362015); Sir Bob Jones, New Zealand businessman (1939); Sir Robert (Bob) Harvey, New Zealand politician (1940); Pete Best, original drummer for The Beatles (1941); Billy Connolly, Scottish comedian (1942); Barry Milburn, New Zealand cricketer (1943); Martin Banwell, New Zealandborn organic chemist (1954); Alan Cotter, New Zealand rower/administrator (1956); Arundhati Roy, Indian novelist (1961); Colin Hanks, US actor (1977); Katherine Heigl, US actress (1978);Scott Becker, New Zealand curler/coach (1984); Charlotte CleverleyBisman, quadruple amputee and face of New Zealand meningococcal campaign (2003).
Quote of the day:
‘‘To me, it doesn’t matter how good you are. Sport is all about playing and competing. Whatever you do in cricket and in sport, enjoy it, be positive and try to win.’’ — Sir Ian Botham, English cricketer, who was born on this day in 1955.
ODT and agencies