Today in History

1009 – The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is destroyed by forces under caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who hack its foundations down to bedrock.

1469 – Ferdinand of Aragon weds Isabella of Castile, uniting the dominions of Spain.

1767 – The boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania, the Mason-Dixon line, dividing the US south and north, is agreed upon.

1860 – British troops occupying Beijing loot and burn the

Yuanmingyuan, left, the fabulous summer residence built by the Manchu emperors in the 18th century.

1867 – US takes possession of Alaska, after buying it from Russia.

1922 – The British Broadcasting Company, as the BBC was originally called, is formed.

1924 – Otago sheep farmer and amateur radio enthusiast Frank Bell sends the first trans-global radio transmission, a Morse code message received in London.

1931 – Prolific inventor Thomas Edison dies, aged 84.

1962 – James Watson, Francis Crick and NZ-born Maurice Wilkins win the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work in determining the structure of DNA.

1968 – Beatle John Lennon and his partner Yoko Ono are arrested for drug possession at their London home. 2016 – The White House says it is ‘‘confident’’ Russia was behind recent email hacking, and attempts to influence the presidential election.

Birthdays

Sidney Holland, NZ prime minister (1893-1961); Pierre Trudeau, Canadian prime minister (1919-2000); Chuck Berry, US musician (19262017); Martina Navratilova, Czech/ US tennis player (1956-); JeanClaude Van Damme, Belgian actor (1960-); Waimarama Taumaunu, NZ netball player/coach (1962-); Lisa Chappell, NZ actress (1968-); Ryan Nelsen, NZ footballer (1977-).