Today in history

641 AD – Chinese Princess Wen Cheng goes to Tibet to marry the Tibetan ruler. The marriage becomes the basis for China’s claim to sovereignty over the region. 1642 – Abel Tasman becomes the first European to sight New Zealand, viewing the northwest coast of the South Island.

1864 – Arthur Dobson and his brothers become the first Europeans to ‘‘discover’’ Arthur’s

Pass, though it had long been known to Ma¯ori.

1894 – Coca-Cola is sold in bottles for the first time.

1930 – Mahatma Gandhi, left, opens civil disobedience campaign in India against the British.

1938 – German troops annex Austria for the Nazis.

1988 – South African government bans church-led opposition group headed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu as ‘‘threat to public safety’’.

1993 – At least 200 people are killed and 1100 injured in a series of bomb explosions in Mumbai, India.

2000 – Pope John Paul II asks forgiveness for past sins of his Church, including its treatment of Jews, heretics and women.

2001 – A US Navy jet mistakenly drops a bomb on a group of military personnel at a bombing range in Kuwait, killing five Americans and one New Zealander.

2011 – First reactor at Fukushima nuclear power plant melts and explodes, a day after a large earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

2013 – Curiosity rover answers a key question about Mars: the red planet long ago harboured some of the ingredients needed for primitive life to thrive.

Birthdays

George Forbes, NZ prime minister (1869-1947); Rita Angus, NZ artist (1908-70); Jack Kerouac, US writer (1922-69); Edward Albee, US playwright (1928-2016); Liza Minnelli, US singer-actress (1946-); Mitt Romney, US politician (1947-); James Taylor, US singer (1948-); Paul Ego, NZ comedian (1966-).