TO THE HISTORY

1939 – Germany invades Poland, leading to the start of World War II.

1943 – US first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, right, visits Auckland.

1946 – Greeks vote to recall their exiled king, George II, to the throne.

1951 – Anzus defence pact between NZ, Australia and the US is signed in San Francisco.

1969 – Army captain Muammar alQaddafi deposes King Idris in Libya. 1972 – Bobby Fischer defeats Russia’s Boris Spassky, in Reykjavik, Iceland, becoming the first American to win the World Chess Championship.

1983 – Soviet jet fighters intercept a Korean Airlines passenger flight in Russian airspace and shoot the plane down, killing 269 passengers and crew.

1985 – A Us-french expedition locates the wreckage of the Titanic about 900km off Newfoundland.

1987 – New Zealander Lorraine Cohen is sentenced to death by a Malaysian judge for heroin trafficking. On appeal, her sentence was commuted to life in prison. Cohen and her son Aaron were pardoned and released in 1996.

2004 – Armed Chechen rebels seize a school in southern Russia, taking 400 hostages – half of them children.

2011 – Notorious bushranger Ned Kelly’s bones are confirmed as the remains found in Melbourne’s former Pentridge prison.

2015 – Pope Francis asks priests to pardon women who have abortions.

Birthdays

Edgar Rice Burroughs, US writer (1875-1950); Dan Davin, NZ writer (1913-90); Rocky Marciano, US boxer (1923-69); Lily Tomlin, US actor (1939-); Keith Quinn, NZ broadcaster (1946-); Barry Gibb, US singer-songwriter (1946-); Phil Mcgraw (Dr Phil), US TV personality (1950-); Gloria Estefan, US singersongwriter (1957-); Nathan Mccullum, NZ cricketer (1980-); Gael Monfils, French tennis player (1986-); Sophie Devine, NZ cricketer (1989-);