Today in History

1100 – King William II of England is killed by an arrow while hunting. 1865 – Alice’s Adventures in

Wonderland is published. 1934 – German President Paul von Hindenburg dies aged 87, opening the way for Adolf Hitler to become dictator. 1939 – Albert Einstein, right, writes to United States president Franklin Roosevelt about his concerns that the Nazis are working on an atomic bomb.

1940 – Hermann Goering, chief of the Luftwaffe, gives order to destroy British air power to pave the way for an invasion of Britain.

1943 – A Japanese destroyer rams a US torpedo boat led by John F Kennedy near the Solomon Islands. Two crew members die but 11 survive.

1945 – The Potsdam conference ends with Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin and Clement Attlee agreeing on the division of Germany.

1980 – A terrorist bomb attack on a railway station at Bologna, Italy, kills 85 people.

1990 – Iraq invades Kuwait. 1992 – American Jackie JoynerKersee wins her second consecutive gold medal in the heptathlon at the Barcelona Olympics.

2012 – US swimmer Michael Phelps wins a third consecutive gold medal in the 200-metre individual medley at the London Olympics.

2017 – Prince Philip, aged 96, makes his final solo public appearance before retiring from public engagements. Birthdays Jack Warner, Canadian-American film executive (1892-1978); Myrna Loy, US actress (1905-1993); Shimon Peres, Israeli prime minister

(1923-2016); Peter O’Toole, Irish actor (1932-2013); Ronald Brierley, New Zealand businessman (1937-); Wes Craven, US film director

(1939-2015); Joanna Cassidy, US actress (1945-); Lance Ito, US judge of OJ Simpson trial (1950-); Susie O’Neill, Australian swimmer (1973-); Sam Worthington, Australian actor

(1976-).