Today in History

1527 – The Duke of Bourbon, left by the Holy Roman emperor without money for his troops, attacks Rome for the plunder, but dies in the first wave of assault.

1626 – Dutch colonist Peter Minuit organises purchase of Manhattan Island from Native Americans for 60 guilders worth of goods.

1682 – Louis XIV of France formally moves his court to Versailles. 1960 – Britain’s Princess

Margaret, left, weds Antony Armstrong-Jones, a commoner. (They divorce in 1978.)

1995 – Presidents, prime ministers, and kings from 54 nations attend a service of reconciliation at St Paul’s Cathedral in London marking the 50th anniversary of VE Day.

2001 – John Paul II, visiting Syria, becomes the first pope to enter a mosque as he calls for brotherhood between Christians and Muslims; American businessman Dennis Tito ends the world’s first paid space vacation as he returns to Earth.

2004 – TV sitcom Friends airs season finale in 10th and final season in the US.

2005 – British Prime Minister Tony Blair celebrates a historic third straight victory, having survived public anger over the Iraq war.

2017 – France bans unhealthily thin fashion models, and makes labelling of digitally enhanced photos mandatory.

Birthdays

Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, first president of UAE (1918-2004): Cliff Whiting, NZ artist (1936-2017); Alan Dale, NZ actor (1947-); Eric Murray, NZ rower (1982-).

Yesterday’s Today in History contained entries for May 6. We apologise for the error.