ON THIS DAY

Kublai Khan renames his empire “Yuan”, marking the start of the Yuan dynasty of Mongolia and China.

The Pilgrims first land in Plymouth, and begin to lay the foundation of the US.

Portuguese forces score a military victory over the Kingdom of Kongo at the Battle of Mbumbi in present-day Angola.

William of Orange makes a triumphant march into London as James II flees.

The first land speed record (63km/h) is set in an electric car.

Field Marshal Lord Roberts is appointed British supreme commander in South Africa.

Antonio Stradivari, the most renowned violin maker in history, dies in Cremona, Italy.

The Battle of Verdun ends when German forces are defeated by the French, and suffer 337 000 casualties.

The battleship Graf Spee is scuttled in the mouth of the River Plate, after the British had tricked the Germans into believing that a large British fleet had them trapped.

Seventy-seven B-29 Superfortress and 200 other aircraft bomb Hankow, China, a Japanese supply base.

The Israeli flag is hoisted on Mount Sinai.

Three members of the Irish Republican Army die when the bomb they were transporting explodes prematurely in King Street, Magherafelt, County Derry.

IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi withdraws from negotiations on ending apartheid.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth asks Prince Charles and Princess Diana to divorce.

After living atop an ancient redwood in Humboldt County, California, for two years, environmental activist Julia “Butterfly” Hill sets foot on terra firma, ending her anti-logging protest.

The last US troops withdraw from Iraq, formally ending the Iraq War.

Cyril Ramaphosa chosen to succeed President Jacob Zuma. |