Today in History
1535 – Henry VIII assumes title of Supreme Head of the Church in England.
1559 – Elizabeth I, right, is crowned in Westminster Abbey.
1649 – French court leaves Paris at outbreak of Fronde Rebellion.
1777 – ‘‘New Connecticut’’ declares its independence. The tiny republic later becomes Vermont.
1892 – The rules of basketball are published for the first time, in Springfield, Massachusetts, where the game originates.
1919 – Revolutionaries Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxembourg are murdered during a failed uprising in Germany.
1922 – Irish Free State is established under Michael Collins.
1967 – First Super Bowl, in which the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Los Angeles.
1970 – Start of a three-day visit to New Zealand by US vice-president Spiro Agnew, sparking violent antiVietnam War protests; Biafran rebels in Nigeria surrender after a two-year war.
2009 – ‘‘Miracle on the Hudson’’ as Captain Chesley Sullenberger safely lands the plane he was piloting on New York City’s Hudson River after a bird strike caused its engines to fail.
2010 – A French lawmaker submits a draft law that would ban Islamic veils, robes, and headscarves in public, a measure that would set a European precedent and trap thousands of women between their religious convictions and the law. Birthdays Jean Baptiste Moliere, French dramatist (1622-73); Mary MacKillop, Australian nun
(1842-1909); Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (1900-75); Ron Guthrey, Christchurch mayor
(1916-2008); Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian leader (1918-70); Martin Luther King, US civil rights leader
(1929-68); James Nesbitt, UK actor
(1965-); Mary Pierce, French tennis player (1975-); Greg Inglis, Australian rugby league player
(1987-).