Today in History

1791 – The US Bill of Rights is ratified, becoming amendments 1-10 of the US constitution.

1915 – The evacuation of Allied troops begins at Gallipoli, with New Zealand leaving more than 2700 dead at the end of the disastrous eight-month campaign.

1939 – The film Gone With the Wind, right, premieres in Atlanta. 1944 – A plane carrying band leader Glenn Miller, a US Army major, disappears over the English Channel, probably the victim of bombs jettisoned from British bombers returning from an unsuccessful raid.

1944 – New Zealand’s Parliament abolishes a discriminatory poll tax against Chinese people, in place since 1881 and described by finance minister Walter Nash as ‘‘a blot on our legislation’’.

1961 – Former Nazi Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death in Jerusalem.

1992 – Chess genius Bobby Fischer is indicted in the US on charges of violating economic sanctions against Yugoslavia by playing a highly publicised match with old foe Boris Spassky.

1995 – Otara Millionaires Club (OMC) release How Bizarre, one of the most successful songs recorded in New Zealand.

2001 – The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after a team of experts spent 11 years and US$27 million to fortify it without eliminating its lean.

2011 – A ceremony in Baghdad marks the official end of the

American-led invasion of Iraq, which began in 2003.

Birthdays

Nero, Roman emperor (37-68); Gustave Eiffel, French engineer (1832-1923); J Paul Getty, US oil tycoon (1892-1976); Maurice Wilkins, NZ-born UK biophysicist (19162004); Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian-born NZ artist (1928-2000); Michael King, NZ historian (1945-2004); Alan Whetton, Gary Whetton, All Blacks (1959-); Brooke Fraser, NZ musician (1983-).