Today in History

1566 – Nostradamus, French physician and reputed seer, dies.

1776 – The Continental Congress declares American independence.

1823 – Portuguese rule in Brazil ends, with the final defeat of crown loyalists in Bahia province.

1865 – William Booth and his wife Catherine found the Salvation Army as the East London Christian Mission.

1881 – US President James Garfield is shot in Washington DC. He dies 80 days later, of blood poisoning.

1937 – US aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan vanish while trying to cross the Pacific.

1938 – Electric trains come to Wellington as electrified line between the CBD and suburb of Johnsonville opens. US tennis player Helen Wills Moody wins her eighth Wimbledon singles title.

1961 – Death of author Ernest Hemingway, left.

1964 – US President Lyndon B Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act against racial discrimination.

1976 – North and South Vietnam are reunited officially after more than 20 years of war.

1990 – A stampede in a pedestrian tunnel linking Mecca and a tent city leaves 1400 pilgrims dead.

1993 – Floating shrine sinks in Bocaue, Philippines, killing 315 worshippers.

1994 – Colombian footballer Andres Escobar is killed in Medellin for accidentally scoring an own goal during a game against the US.

2012 – GlaxoSmithKline settles the largest healthcare fraud case in history for US$3 billion.