Today in History

1100 – King William II of England is killed by an arrow while hunting.

1876 – Notorious gunfighter ‘‘Wild Bill’’ Hickok is murdered in Deadwood, South Dakota.

1934 – German President Paul von Hindenburg dies, aged 87, opening the way for Adolf Hitler to become dictator.

1939 – Albert Einstein signs a letter to US President Franklin Roosevelt about 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 and sinks US torpedo boat PT-109 commanded 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.

1973 – American Graffiti, directed by George Lucas, premieres at the Locarno film festival, Switzerland.

1980 – Bomb attack on a railway station in Bologna, Italy, kills 85.

1983 – The nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser USS Texas arrives in Auckland, sparking anti-nuclear rallies on land and sea.

1990 – Iraq invades Kuwait.

1992 – Windsurfer Barbara Kendall, left, wins NZ’s only gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics.

2017 – Prince Philip, aged 96, makes final solo public appearance before retiring from public engagements.

Birthdays

‘‘Billy’’ Wallace, member of 1905 Original All Blacks (1878-1972); Jack L Warner, Canadian-American film executive (1892-1978); Myrna Loy, US actress (1905-93); Shimon Peres, Israeli politician (1923-2016); Peter O’Toole, Irish actor (1932-2013); Pat Hanley, NZ artist (1932-2004); Ron Brierley, NZ businessman (1937-); Wes Craven, US film director (1939-2015); John Anderson, NZ businessman/ sports administrator (1945-2018); Leon Narbey, NZ cinematographer (1947-); Charli XCX, UK singer (1992-).