Today in History

1603 – Queen Elizabeth I, right, dies after ruling England for more than 40 years. James VI of Scotland succeeds her as James I.

1770 – Nga¯ti Kahu chief Ranginui, from Northland, who was kidnapped by Jean Franc¸ois Marie de Surville, dies of scurvy on the French explorer’s ship.

1882 – German bacteriologist Robert Koch announces isolation of tuberculosis germs.

1929 – Fascists ‘‘win’’ single-party elections in Italy.

1972 – Britain takes over direct control of Northern Ireland in an effort to restore peace.

1974 – Uganda crushes a coup attempt against President Idi Amin..

1976 – Argentinian President Isabel Peron is deposed in a bloodless coup; World War II British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery dies.

1989 – America’s worst oil spill occurs as supertanker Exxon Valdez runs aground on a reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound.

1999 – In the first Nato attack against a sovereign country, cruise missiles and jets strike Yugoslavia in an attempt to force Serbs to allow Nato troops into Kosovo. 2015 – A Germanwings Airbus flying from Barcelona to Dusseldorf crashes in the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board. It later emerges that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately caused the crash. 2018 – Australian cricketer Cameron Bancroft is caught on camera rubbing the ball with sandpaper during a test match against South Africa in Cape Town.

Birthdays

Harry Houdini, US escapologist (1874-1926); Robert Frost, US poet (1874-1963); Steve McQueen, US actor (1930-80); Mary Berry, UK food writer/TV presenter (1935-); Tommy Hilfiger, US fashion designer (1951-); Dean Jones, Australian cricketer (1961-); Jessica Chastain, American actor (1977-); Matt Todd, All Black (1988-); Keisha Castle-Hughes, NZ actor (1990-).