Today in History

1615 – Second Civil War breaks out in France.

1898 – Rudolf Diesel of Germany patents the diesel internal combustion engine.

1930 – George Nepia, right, plays his final test for the All Blacks.

1942 – Britain arrests Indian nationalist Mohandas Gandhi.

1945 – The United States drops its second atomic bomb, on Nagasaki, Japan. More than 60,000 people are killed, bringing an end to World War II as Japan finally surrenders.

1965 – Singapore separates from the Federation of Malaysia and gains its independence.

1969 – Pregnant US actress Sharon Tate and four other people are murdered by a group known as the Manson Family.

1974 – Richard Nixon becomes the first US president to resign from office. Gerald Ford succeeds him.

1975 – Two river boats collide near Canton, China, and 500 people are reported drowned.

1990 – The United Nations Security Council unanimously declares Iraq’s annexation of Kuwait null and void, and Iraq seals its borders.

1999 – Russian President Boris Yeltsin fires his Cabinet, naming Vladimir Putin as prime minister.

2000 – Bridgestone/Firestone announces it is recalling 6.5 million tyres after three models were linked with hundreds of accidents in the US.

2016 – Millions of Australians are prevented from filling in the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ online form after the website crashes.

Birthdays

Rod Laver, Australian tennis player (1938-); Melanie Griffith, US actress (1957-); John Key, 38th New Zealand prime minister (1961-); Whitney Houston, US singer (1963-2012); Gillian Anderson, US actress (1968-); Eric Bana, Australian actor (1968-); Jon Toogood, NZ rock musician (Shihad) (1971-); Tyson Gay, US athlete (1982-); Willian, Brazilian footballer (1988-).