Today in History

1897 – A 25-year-old London taxi driver named George Smith becomes the first person arrested for drink-driving after slamming his cab into a building.

1898 – Empress Elizabeth of Austria-Hungary is assassinated by an Italian anarchist in Geneva.

1914 – An eruption on White Island kills 10 people. 1962 – Rod Laver, right, defeats fellow Australian Roy Emerson in four sets to win the United States Open, thus becoming the first man to win the tennis ‘‘Grand Slam’’ since 1938.

1976 – Two jets collide in midair over Zagreb, Yugoslavia, killing 176 people.

1977 – In France, Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian immigrant convicted of murder, becomes the last person executed by guillotine.

1984 – The Te Ma¯ori exhibition opens in New York. A milestone in the Ma¯ori cultural renaissance, featuring traditional artwork, it toured the US from 1984 to 1986, before returning to New Zealand for a nationwide tour in 1987.

1989 – Hungary permits East German refugees to leave Hungary for West Germany.

1991 – Nirvana release Smells Like Teen Spirit.

2010 – A special commission finds pervasive abuse of children in the Belgium Catholic Church.

Birthdays

Elsa Schiaparelli, Italian fashion designer (1890-1973); Arnold Palmer, US golfer (1929-2016); Karl Lagerfeld, German fashion designer

(1933-); Cynthia Lennon, first wife of John Lennon (1939-2015); Margaret Trudeau, Canadian author (1948-); Colin Firth, English actor (1960-); Jay Laga’aia, New Zealand actor

(1963-); Guy Ritchie, English film director (1968-); Craig Innes, NZ rugby and rugby league player

(1969-); Ryan Phillippe, US actor

(1974-); Greg Henderson, NZ cyclist

(1976-); Caleb Ralph, NZ rugby player (1977-); Misty Copeland, US ballerina (1982-).