Today in History

1521 – Martin Luther is banned by Edict of Worms in Germany for his religious beliefs.

1805 – Napoleon is crowned king of Italy.

1868 – US President Andrew Johnson is finally acquitted in a Senate impeachment trial of charges of ‘‘high crimes and misdemeanours’’.

1896 – US financial reporters Charles Dow and Edward Jones begin an index of 12 industrial stocks.

1897 – The first copies of the vampire novel Dracula, by Irish writer Bram Stoker, appear in London bookshops.

1923 – The first Le Mans 24-hour motor race is held.

1926 – Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, left, dances in New Zealand for the first time. 1940 – Evacuation of British troops from France in the face of a German invasion begins at Dunkirk. 1994 – Michael Jackson and Lisa

Marie Presley marry in the Dominican Republic.

1998 – Japan’s Emperor Akihito expresses sorrow in London for the wartime suffering of British prisoners of war after hundreds of survivors boo and whistle him.

2015 – Bernie Sanders formally kicks off his Democratic presidential bid, with a pitch to liberals to join him in a ‘‘political revolution’’.

2019 – Nine climbers die in one week on Mt Everest after overcrowding leads to a huge queue to reach the summit.

Birthdays

Isadora Duncan, US dancer (1877-1927); John Wayne, US actor (1907-79); Miles Davis, US jazz trumpet player (1926-91); Glenn Turner, NZ cricketer (1947-); Stevie Nicks, US musician (1948-); Jeremy Corbyn, UK politician (1949-); Hank Williams Jr, US musician (1949-); Lenny Kravitz, US musician (1964-); Helena Bonham Carter, UK actor (1966-); Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark (1968-).