Today in History

1792 – King Louis XVI, right, of France is arrested after a mob storms the Tuileries in Paris and massacres the Swiss Guard.

1793 – The Louvre opens as a public museum in Paris.

1840 – HMS Britomart arrives at Akaroa, making it clear to French colonists that New Zealand is a British colony.

1842 – Lord Ashley’s Mine Act prevents women and children under 10 from working underground in Britain.

1846 – The Smithsonian Institution, ‘‘an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge’’, is created in the United States.

1885 – The first commercially operated electrical tram begins operation in Baltimore.

1937 – The first electric guitar patent is awarded to the Electro String Corporation.

1945 – Japan agrees to unconditional surrender, ending World War II.

1993 – Three ships collide in Tampa Bay, Florida, resulting in a spill of 336,000 gallons of fuel.

1995 – Jeff Wilson and Josh Kronfeld sign with the New Zealand Rugby Union amid a battle over television rights for professional rugby in the southern hemisphere.

2016 – At least 12 premature babies are killed in Iraq, when a fire sparked by an electricity fault tears through a Baghdad maternity ward.

Birthdays

Henri Nestle, German-Swiss industrialist and founder of Nestle

(1814-1890); Herbert Hoover, 31st US president (1874-1964); Arthur Porritt, New Zealand athlete and governor-general (1900-1994); Eddie Fisher, US singer (1928-2010); Rosanna Arquette, US actress

(1959-); Antonio Banderas, Spanish actor (1960-); Suzanne Collins, US author (The Hunger Games) (1962-); Riddick Bowe, US boxer (1967-); Roy Keane, Irish footballer (1971-); Lawrence Dallaglio, English rugby player (1972-); Kylie Jenner, US model (1997-).