Today in History

1784 – A Russian fur trader founds Three Saints Bay, the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska.

1893 – France becomes the first country to introduce motor vehicle registration plates.

1933 – A logging accident in the Coast Range Mountains in northern Oregon sparks a devastating forest fire. 1947 – Pakistan is founded after British rule ends.

1949 – West Germans vote for the first time since the end of World War II.

1980 – Workers in Poland seize the Lenin Shipyard and demand pay raises and the right to form a union free from communist control.

1985 – Michael Jackson takes control of the Beatles’ publishing rights. 1994 – The terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal is captured in Sudan by French intelligence agents.

1997 – Timothy McVeigh is sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing.

2003 – A blackout knocks out power across the eastern United States and parts of Canada, affecting 50 million people.

2011 – A polar blast sweeps New Zealand, bringing heavy snow, closing airports and schools, and forcing the cancellation of buses and trains. Wellington had snow to sea level for the first time since 1976 and even Auckland’s central business district got a dusting – for the first time since the 1930s. Birthdays Richard von Krafft-Ebing, German physician (1840-1902); John Logie Baird, Scottish inventor of television

(1888-1946); Bryce Courtenay, Australian novelist (1933-2012); Steve Martin, US actor (1945-); Danielle Steel, US author (1947-); Gary Larson, US cartoonist (1950-); Magic Johnson, US basketballer

(1959-); Sarah Brightman, English singer, actress (1960-); Halle Berry, US actress (1966-); Kieren Perkins, Australian swimmer (1973-); Nick Evans, NZ rugby player (1980-).