TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY is Friday, February 26, the 57th day of 2021. There are 308 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1844 — Wellington lawyers William Brewer and H. Ross face off in a duel that takes place in Sydney St, Thorndon over a quarrel regarding a case in the Wellington County Court. Brewer fired into the air but was hit in the groin by a shot fired by Ross and dies four days later.
1892 — Cargill’s Castle, situated on the hill overlooking St Clair, is gutted by fire. The property, with a value of £17,000, was insured for only £2200.
1909 — Kinemacolor, the first successful colour motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.
1938 — After construction lasting almost 30 years, the Summit Road over the Port Hills near Christchurch is officially opened.
1952 — Winston Churchill announces that Britain has produced its own atomic bomb.
1966 — AS201, the first flight of the Apollo spacecraft and Saturn IB launch vehicle, is launched by Nasa at Cape Kennedy.
1980 — New Zealand fast bowler Richard Hadlee scores 103 against a powerful West Indian attack for his maiden test century during the drawn second test in Christchurch. The match is most remembered for the sitdown strike of the West Indian side and its hostilities directed at umpire Fred Goodall; Egypt and Israel establish diplomatic relations, marking the end of 30 years of war between the two nations.
1986 — New Philippines president Corazon Aquino asks supporters of deposed leader Ferdinand Marcos for cooperation in rebuilding the country.
1991 — Coalition planes bomb Iraqi forces retreating from Kuwait during the Gulf War, killing hundreds and creating the socalled ‘‘Highway of Death’’.
1993 — Australian captain Allan Border becomes the highest runscorer in test cricket when he hits 88 during his side’s victory in the first test against New Zealand in Christchurch. Border overtook Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar’s tally of 10,122 test runs. Border ended his career with 11,174 runs from 156 tests; a bomb explosion at the World Trade Centre in New York City kills six and injures 1000.
1995 — Averting a major trade war, China and the United States sign an agreement mandating Chinese respect for copyrights, trademarks and patents; London finance house Barings collapses after losses run up in Singapore by trader Nick Leeson.
1998 — A Texas jury rejects a $US11 million lawsuit brought by Texas cattlemen who blamed Oprah Winfrey’s television talk show for a price fall after a segment on food safety that included a discussion about mad cow disease.
2012—Bret McKenzie, one half of the Flight of the Conchords, wins the best original song Oscar for Man or Muppet.
2018 — A cold frontal weather system nicknamed ‘‘the Beast from the East’’ hits Europe, leading to the deaths of seven people and covering Pompeii in snow; the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway, receives its one millionth seed to mark its 10year anniversary.
2019 — Britain records its highest winter temperature, 21.2degC being recorded in Kew Gardens, London; the city of Venice, in Italy, introduces a day visitors tax.
2020 — Saudi Arabia bars overseas pilgrims from accessing the religious sites of Mecca and Medina for the first time due to Covid19 concerns.
Victor Hugo, French author (180285); Levi Strauss, Germanborn clothing manufacturer (18291902); William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill), US frontier scout (18461917); Joseph Maddison, New Zealand architect (18501923); William Skinner, New Zealand land surveyor/ethnographer (18571946); Sir Frederick Widdowson Doidge, New Zealand politician/ambassador (18841954); Muriel Helen Deem, New Zealand doctor/medical officer/Plunket medical adviser (190055); Sir Leslie Munro, New Zealand lawyer/ politician (190174); Gervan McMillan, New Zealand politician (190451); Sir Lloyd George Geering, New Zealand theologian (1918); Johnny Cash, US singer (19322003); Peter Brock, Australian racing car driver (19452006); Ross Dykes, New Zealand cricketer/selector/administrator (19452020); Francis Small, New Zealand civil engineer (1946); Helen Clark, former New Zealand prime minister (1950); Michael Bolton, US singer/songwriter (1953); Greg Germann, US actor (1958); Mike Pero, New Zealand businessman (1960); Sonja Yelich, New Zealand poet (1965); Jennifer Grant, US actress (1966); Max Martin, Swedish songwriter (1971); Sebastien Loeb, French rally driver (1974); Teresa Palmer, Australian actress (1986); Charley Webb, English actress (1988).
Quote of the day:
‘‘Forty is the old age of youth; 50 the youth of old age.’’ — Victor Hugo, French novelist, who was born on this day in 1802. He died in 1885, aged 83.