Today in History

49BC– Roman dictator Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon and moves his troops into an offensive position in the war against Pompey.

1569 – First lottery in England is drawn in St Paul’s Cathedral under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth I.

1919 – Romania annexes Transylvania.

1922 – A 14-year-old Canadian, Leonard Thompson, becomes the first person to have his diabetes successfully treated with insulin.

1935 – US aviator Amelia Earhart, left, sets off from Honolulu for Oakland, California, becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Pacific.

1943 – Britain and US relinquish extraterritorial rights in China.

1945 – Truce is declared in Greek civil war.

1962 – Avalanche buries village in the Peruvian Andes, and 3000 people are reported killed.

1964 – US Surgeon-General Luther Terry issues the first government report saying smoking may be hazardous to health.

1974 – The first sextuplets to survive are born to Sue Rosenkowitz in Cape Town, South Africa.

1993 – The United Nations Security Council meets to warn Iraqi President Saddam Hussein that he is violating Gulf War ceasefire terms by his unauthorised seizure of weapons in Kuwaiti territory.

1994 – The Irish government announces the end of a 20-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Fein.

2002 – The first 20 Taliban and al Qaeda detainees from the US campaign in Afghanistan arrive at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

2008 – Eleven US soldiers are convicted and five officers disciplined in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.

Birthdays

William James, US philosopher (1842-1910); Les Mills, NZ Olympic athlete and gym chain founder (1934-); Clarence Clemons, US saxophonist with rock group Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (1942-2011); Rahul Dravid, Indian cricketer (1973-).