Today in History

1534 – Elizabeth Barton, ‘‘the Maid of Kent’’, is executed in England for criticising the matrimonial practices of Henry VIII.

1689 – The deposed James II begins a siege of Londonderry, a Protestant stronghold in Northern Ireland. The city holds out for 105 days till British forces lift the siege.

1792 – France declares war on Austria, marking the start of the French Revolutionary wars.

1841 – Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue, widely considered to be the first detective story, is published in Graham’s Lady’s and Gentleman’s Magazine.

1902 – Marie Curie, left, and husband Pierre isolate the radioactive element radium.

1943 – The massacre of Jews in the Warsaw ghetto begins.

1949 – Scientists at the Mayo Clinic announce they have synthesised a compound called cortisone, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

1972 – US Apollo 16 astronauts land on Moon in the fifth and penultimate Nasa Moon landing.

1981 – New Zealand runner Allison Roe wins the Boston Marathon, running the 42.2 kilometres in 2hr,

26m and 46s, nearly eight minutes ahead of her closest rival.

1999 – Two teenage pupils at Columbine High School in Denver, Colorado, shoot dead 13 people before taking their own lives.

2008 – Danica Patrick becomes the first woman to win an IndyCar race, at Motegi, Japan.

2010 – An explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico kills 11 people and triggers the largest offshore oil spill in US history.

Birthdays

Napoleon III, French emperor (1808-1873); Adolf Hitler, German politician (1889-1945); Joan Miro, Spanish artist (1893-1983); Sebastian Faulks, UK novelist (1953-); Andy Serkis, UK actor (1964-); Carmen Electra, US actor (1972-); Miranda Kerr, Australian model (1983-).