ON THIS DAY
Geoffrey Chaucer first recites the Canterbury Tales, which would become enormously popular in medieval Europe, for the first time at the court of Richard II.
The first two apples are picked in the Company’s Garden in Cape Town. They are small and rather tart.
The so-called “Grand Army of Natal”, led by Robert Bigger, John Cane and John Stubbs, reaches the Tugela River and runs into Zulu warriors who overwhelm the 18 Englishmen, 400 auxiliaries and 3 000 accompanying men, killing most of them.
A British delegation proposes that 30 representatives from each of the two Boer republics meet at Vereeniging to decide on their future.
General Jan Smuts, in charge of British, South African and Indian troops in Kenya, finally has the Germans, led by Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, on the run.
Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B Mayer merge to form Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM).
Syria declares independence from France.
At midnight 26 Irish counties become the Republic of Ireland.
A group of 1 400 CIA-backed Cuban exiles land in Cuba’s Bay of Pigs to overthrow Fidel Castro.
Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of the assassination of Robert Kennedy, which is believed to be the first major incident of political violence in the US stemming from the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The ill-fated Apollo 13 spacecraft returns safely to Earth.
The Union Jack is lowered for the last time in Africa as Rhodesia becomes Zimbabwe.
Police officer Yvonne Fletcher is killed outside the Libyan embassy in London as gunmen take cover inside.
The Netherlands and the tiny Scilly Islands (off Cornwall) sign a peace treaty, ending a 335-year war, the world’s longest – albeit a bloodless one – which began in 1651.
The Pulitzer prize is awarded to Larry McMurtry for Lonesome Dove.
Two Los Angeles police officers are convicted of violating the civil rights of Larry King, whose filmed beating sparked deadly riots that only ended when the Marines were brought in.
Game of Thrones, based on George RR Martin’s books, premieres on HBO.
Jazz composer and musician John Coltrane is awarded a posthumous Special Citation by the Pulitzer Prize board.