Today in History

1783 – Big earthquake in Calabria, southern Italy, lays about 100 villages to waste. The event, along with a second quake, tsunami, aftershocks and starvation, kills an estimated 80,000 people.

1811 – British Regency Act passed, whereby the Prince of Wales becomes Prince Regent during George III’s temporary insanity. 1867 – The 27-kilometre Invercargill-Bluff railway line opens.

It is New Zealand’s third public railway.

1885 – Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo as a personal colonial possession.

1911 – Vivian Walsh makes the first recorded controlled powered flight in NZ, travelling for 350 metres at a height of 20m in South Auckland. 1922 – First Reader’s Digest magazine published.

1924 – The Royal Greenwich Observatory begins broadcasting the hourly time signals known as the ‘‘BBC pips’’.

1936 – Modern Times, silent film directed by, written by and starring Charlie Chaplin, is released. 1945 – US troops under General Douglas MacArthur, left, enter

Manila.

1962 – French President de Gaulle calls for Algerian independence.

1976 – Earthquake in Guatemala kills almost 23,000 people.

1994 – First Big Day Out festival, at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium.

2013 – Britain’s House of Commons votes in favour of same-sex marriage.

Birthdays

Robert Peel, British statesman, father of modern policing (1788-1850); William Burroughs, US writer (1914-97); Sir Michael Cullen, NZ politician (1945-); Deborah Coddington, NZ politician (1953-); Jennifer JasonLeigh, US actress (1962-); Jo Edwards, NZ bowls player (1970-); Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese footballer (1985-); Mitchell Santner, NZ cricketer (1992-); Neymar da Silva, Brazilian footballer (1992-).