TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY is Tuesday, March 19, the 79th day of 2024. There are 287 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1563 — The Peace of Amboise ends the First War of Religion in France, with the Huguenots being granted limited freedom to practise their religion.
1571 — Spanish troops occupy Manila.
1808 — Spain’s King Charles IV abdicates.
1831 — The first recorded bank robbery in the US takes place in New York when a set of duplicate keys is used to loot the City Bank of $US245,000.
1839 — The first honey bees are introduced to New Zealand by Mary
Bumby and her missionary brother John Bumby, at Hokianga.
1861 — The First Taranaki War ends.
1882 — First stone laid for the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona, designed by Antoni Gaud´ı.
1890 — Dunedin, the first ship to successfully transport a cargo of refrigerated meat, leaves Oamaru bound for London, but disappears without a trace in the Southern Ocean; 34 lives are lost.
1898 — After a brief absence, Mary MacKillop returns to teach at St Patrick’s Church School, Arrowtown, before returning to Australia. The cottage in which she taught still stands in the churchyard. MacKillop was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995.
1918 — A bush fire begins at Raetihi that will destroy buildings at Raetihi, Ohakune, Horopito and Rangataua and cause one family to perish; the United States establishes daylightsaving time as a fuelsaving measure during WW1.
1920 — The US refuses to sign the Versailles Treaty and join the League of Nations, for fear of being drawn into a war if another member country is invaded.
1929 — Dunedin is affected by widespread flooding, forcing many to evacuate the North Dunedin area.
1930 — The Rt Hon Viscount Bledisloe assumes office as New Zealand GovernorGeneral, serving until 1935.
1931 — US state of Nevada legalises gambling.
1932 — The Sydney Harbour Bridge is officially opened by NSW premier Jack Lang.
1946 — About 4500 New Zealand servicemen form part of the main body of Jayforce personnel which arrives in Japan as part of a 40,000strong British Commonwealth Occupation Force to work alongside the US military forces that had occupied most of Japan since the end of the war.
1953 — The Academy Awards ceremony is televised for the first time. The Greatest Show on Earth is named best picture of 1952.
1964 — The Great St Bernard Tunnel under the Alps between Switzerland and Italy opens.
1976 — Buckingham Palace announces the separation of Princess Margaret and the Earl of Snowdon after 16 years of marriage.
1982 — An Argentine scrapmetal dealer lands on South Georgia and plants an Argentinian flag. Tensions between Britain and Argentina worsen and eventually lead to the Falklands War.
1986 — Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of Britain’s Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.
1996 — A discotheque fire kills at least 150 in Manila.
2003 — Airstrikes by an American and Britishled coalition signal the beginning of the invasion of Iraq.
2011 — Prince William leaves Wellington for Australia, where he will tour areas recently affected by flooding in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. The prince was a source of inspiration in the Canterbury and Westland districts following those areas’ earthquakes and coalmining disasters respectively.
2012 — An amount equivalent to two months of rain falls over a twoday period in Northland, with the township of Kaeo being completely flooded. The heavy rain and strong winds hamper most North Island areas, closing roads and causing the cancellation of domestic air travel; ‘‘Marmageddon’’ grips New Zealand when it is announced that the production of Marmite will cease while repairs are carried out at its Christchurch factory. It will be over a year before the spread returns to shop shelves.
2013 — George Taiaroa of Hamilton is shot and killed while directing traffic at roadworks 25km south of Tokoroa. Quinton Winders is found guilty of Taiaroa’s murder on September 8, 2016.
Today’s birthdays:
David Livingstone, Scottish explorermissionary (181373); Richard Francis Burton, English explorer and translator (18211890); Wyatt Earp, US lawman (18481929); Albert Speer, Nazi Germany architect and armaments minister (190581); Adolf Eichmann, Austrianborn Nazi head of Jewish extermination (190662); Jiang Qing, wife of Chinese ruler Mao Zedong (191491); Tommy Cooper, British comedian and magician (192184); Patrick McGoohan, Irish actor, writer, and director (19282009); Ursula Andress, Swissborn actress (1936); Peter Thorburn, New Zealand rugby coach (19392021); Ruth Pointer, US singer (1946); Warren Lees, New Zealand cricketer/coach (1952); Bruce Willis, US actor (1955); Paul Devenport, New Zealand golfer (1966); Luke Woodcock, New Zealand cricketer (1982).
Quote of the day:
‘‘When I hear that somebody's difficult, I think, Oh, I can't wait to work with them.’’ — Glenn Close, US actress, who was born this day in 1947.