ON THIS DAY

771 Austrasian king Carloman I dies, leaving his brother, Charlemagne, king of the Frankish Kingdom.

1154 The only Englishman to become a pope, Nicholas Breakspear, is elected Pope Adrian IV.

1619 Thirty-eight English colonists disembark in Virginia and give thanks to God. Considered by many the first Thanksgiving in the Americas.

1642 Death of the highly influential Cardinal Richelieu, the true power behind the French throne and who more than lived up to the prediction by Pope Paul V that “he will prove a great rascal”.

1829 Britain outlaws the practice of “suttee” in India, in which a new widow burns herself to death on her husband’s funeral pyre.

1851 The 158-ton ship, Diadem is stranded near Plettenberg Bay, but all on board are saved.

1872 The crewless American ship, Mary Celeste, is found by the Canadian brig Dei Gratia. The ship had been abandoned for nine days but was only slightly damaged. 1893 A patrol of 34 British South Africa Company soldiers is ambushed and annihilated by more than 3 000 Matabele warriors on the Shangani River in Matabeleland.

1954 The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida.

1977 Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire.

1981 South Africa grants independence to the Ciskei “homeland”, which is not recognized by any other government. 1982 The People’s Republic of China adopts its current constitution.

1992 Somali Civil War: Recently deceased US President George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 U.S. troops to Somalia in Northeast Africa.

2017 The Lamborghini Urus becomes the world’s fastest SUV, reaching speeds of 190 miles per hour.

2017 The Winklevoss twins become the first Bitcoin billionaires. They are known for suing Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their idea from their social website ConnectU, which is now social media site Facebook, in 2004. | The Historian