Today in History

1894 – John Harvey Kellogg, right, and his brother Will Keith Kellogg invent corn flakes.

1915 – The Wellington Battalion captures Chunuk Bair, the high point of New Zealand’s effort at Gallipoli in World War I.

1940 – Germany begins more intensive bombing of Britain in World War II.

1942 – Six German saboteurs who secretly entered the United States on a mission to attack its civil infrastructure are executed by the United States for spying.

1956 – A coal-mine fire kills 262 workers in Marcinelle, Belgium. 1963 – The 15 thieves involved in the Great Train Robbery in Britain escape in a truck and stolen Land Rovers.

1967 – Foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand sign a declaration leading to the formation of the Association of South East Asian Nations.

1974 – US President Richard Nixon announces he will resign at 12pm the next day.

1988 – Iran and Iraq agree to a ceasefire after eight years of war. 1992 – Metallica band member James Hetfield suffers burns during a pyrotechnics explosion on stage in Montreal.

2001 – Actor Tom Cruise and actress Nicole Kidman divorce after 10 years of marriage.

2015 – Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke announces he will retire from international cricket. Birthdays Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary (1879-1919); Dustin Hoffman, US actor (1937-); Connie Stevens, US actress (1938-); Louis van Gaal, Dutch football coach (1951-); Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian politician (1951-); The Edge (Dave Howell Evans), Irish guitarist of U2 (1961-); Angus Fraser, English cricketer (1965-); Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player (1981-); Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary (1988-); Kane Williamson, New Zealand cricketer (1990-).