Today in History

1377 – Pope Gregory XI moves the papacy back to Rome from Avignon.

1853 – New Zealand gets a system of representative government with the creation of six provincial councils and a general assembly.

1893 – Queen Lili’uokalani, right, of Hawaii is deposed by a US coup. Hawaii becomes a republic.

1904 – Anton Chekhov’s play The Cherry Orchard debuts in Moscow.

1912 – Robert Scott’s expedition arrives at the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen.

1916 – Professional and amateur golfers gather in New York, in a meeting that leads to the founding of the Professional Golfers Association (PGA).

1945 – Red Army enters Warsaw in World War II.

1946 – United Nations Security Council holds its first meeting.

1987 – US President Ronald Reagan signs secret order allowing covert sale of arms to Iran.

1992 – Israel begins enforcing a curfew on Palestinians from the

West Bank to the Gaza Strip.

1994 – Paula Jones files a sex harassment suit against President Bill Clinton; magnitude 6.7 quake in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, kills at least 57 people.

1995 – Magnitude 7.2 earthquake destroys Kobe, Japan, killing 5372.

1997 – Ireland grants a divorce for the first time in its history.

1999 – The body of Ashburton teenager Kirsty Bentley is found in a Mid-Canterbury farm paddock. The case remains unsolved.

2017 – US President Barack Obama commutes WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning’s prison sentence from 35 to seven years.

Birthdays

Benjamin Franklin, US statesman/ scientist (1706-90); Anne Bronte, UK author (1820-49); Al Capone, US gangster (1899-1947); Betty White, US actress (1922-); Muhammad Ali, US boxer (1942-2016); Jeanette Fitzsimons, NZ politician (1945-); Billy T James, NZ comedian (194891); Jim Carrey, Canadian actor (1962-); Michelle Obama, US first lady (1964-); Mark Robinson, NZ Rugby chief (1974-).