Today in History

1863 - HMS Orpheus is wrecked near NZ, killing 190 people.

1959 – Daniel Francois Malan, right, South African politician and creator of the apartheid policy, dies. 1962 – Coalmine explosion in Saarbruecken, Germany, kills 298 miners.

1990 – Central Committee approves end of Soviet Communist Party’s constitutional guarantee of power.

1991 – Irish republican guerrillas fire a mortar bomb at No 10 Downing Street, official residence of Prime Minister John Major.

1992 – Maastricht Treaty signed by 12 countries from the European Community (EC) to create the European Union (EU); Pakistan for the first time acknowledges its ability to make nuclear weapons.

1997 – The Swiss government offers to set up a fund to compensate victims of the Nazi Holocaust with money from unclaimed bank accounts.

2005 – Britain’s Ellen MacArthur becomes the fastest person to sail solo around the world, in 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes, 33 seconds.

2006 – Summer Day, a canvas by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, fetches $US10.8m at a London auction, a record for the artist.

2009 – ‘‘Black Saturday’’ bushfires sweep Victoria, killing 173 people and destroying 2000 homes.

2013 – An Australian Crime Commission investigation finds widespread use of banned drugs in sport, including links with organised crime.

2016 – Two people are killed and 10 others are injured in a shooting outside an Orlando, Florida nightclub.

Birthdays

Sir Thomas More, English Lord Chancellor and writer (1478-1535); James Busby, co-author of Treaty of Waitangi (1802-1871); Charles Dickens, English novelist (1812-1870); Witi Ihimaera, NZ writer (1944-); Richard Prebble, NZ politician (1948-); Simon Upton, NZ politician (1958-); James Spader, US actor (1960-); Chris Rock, US comedian and actor (1966-); Ashton Kutcher, US actor (1978-).