Today in History

1389 – Geoffrey Chaucer is appointed chief clerk of the king’s works by Richard II of England.

1543 – Henry VIII marries his sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr. 1843 – Mormon leader Joseph Smith, right, says God allows polygamy.

1863 – British troops invade Waikato by crossing the Mangatawhiri Stream, which the Kingitanga movement had declared a line not to be crossed.

1889 – The first women’s trade union in New Zealand, the Dunedin Tailoresses’ Union, is formed.

1910 – Charles Stewart Rolls, aviator and co-founder of RollsRoyce, dies when he crashes his Wright biplane in England.

1962 – The Rolling Stones perform their first show, billed as the Rollin’ Stones, at a club in London.

1977 – US President Jimmy Carter defends Supreme Court ruling limiting government payments for poor women’s abortions, saying ‘‘there are many things in life that are not fair’’.

1990 – Boris Yeltsin quits the Soviet Communist Party, undermining Mikhail Gorbachev.

1996 – Prince Charles and Princess Diana settle their divorce terms, ending 15 years of marriage.

1998 – France beat Brazil 3-0 to win the football World Cup.

2001 – Chris Jenner becomes the first Kiwi to win a stage of the Tour de France, with his Credit Agricole team-mates in the team time trial.

2010 – The International Criminal

Court charges Sudanese president Omar-al-Bashir with genocide.

Birthdays

Henry David Thoreau, US authornaturalist (1817-62); George Eastman, US inventor (1854-1932); Amedeo Modigliani, Italian artist (1884-1920); Oscar Hammerstein II, US librettist (1895-1960); Tony Fomison, NZ painter (1939-90); Christine McVie, musician (1943-); Bruce Taylor, NZ cricketer (1943-2021); Portia Woodman, NZ rugby player (1991-).