Today in History

1520 – Martin Luther publicly burns the papal bull excommunicating him from the Catholic Church. 1799 – France formally adopts the metric system.

1868 – The world’s first traffic light begins operation off Parliament Square in central London.

1884 – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, byMark Twain, is first published.

1896 – Swedish industrialist Alfred

Nobel dies, leaving most of his wealth to found the Nobel prizes. The first are awarded in 1901, on the anniversary of his death.

1908 – Kiwi Ernest Rutherford, left, wins Nobel Prize for Chemistry. 1936 – Edward VIII signs the Instrument of Abdication, giving up the throne tomarryWallis Simpson. 1948 – United Nations General Assembly in Paris adopts Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Six members of the Soviet bloc, Saudi Arabia and South Africa abstain. 1962 – New Zealand-born Maurice

Wilkins wins the Nobel Prize for Physiology with colleagues James Watson and Francis Crick.

1967 – US singer Otis Redding is killed in a plane crash inWisconsin. 1999 – Georgina Beyer becomes the world’s first transgender woman to be elected an MP, winningWairarapa for Labour. 2015 – Volkswagen executives admit that cheating over diesel emissions was the result of failures within the company.

2016 – Joseph Parker becomes the second New Zealander to win a world heavyweight boxing title, beating Andy Ruiz in Auckland. 2019 – Holden announces an end to Commodore production after 41 years.

Birthdays

Ada King Lovelace, UK computer programmer (1815-52); Emily Dickinson, US poet (1830-86); Dorothy Lamour, US actor (191496); Kenneth Branagh, UK actor/ director (1960-); Chris Martin, NZ cricketer (1974-); Dane Coles, All Black (1986-).