ON THIS DAY
The first school is founded six years after Jan van Riebeeck’s arrival at the Cape.
Paul Revere and others ride to warn the colonists of advancing British troops during the American Revolution.
David Livingstone, the explorer and missionary who died of malaria on the shore of Lake Bangweulu (“where the water meets the sky”), Zambia, is buried in Westminster Abbey.
Death of Enoch Sontonga, the author of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika.
An earthquake and fire kills nearly 4 000 people and destroys 75% of San Francisco, US.
The Cunard liner Carpathia lands survivors from the Titanic in New York.
The first crossword puzzle book is published by Simon & Schuster.
The BBC announces that “there is no news” and plays music instead.
In response to the raid on Pearl Harbour, the audacious Doolittle Raid sees five Japanese cities attacked by bombers brought close enough by an aircraft carrier.
Primed with the knowledge of his whereabouts, US P-38 fighters shoot down Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s plane, in Operation Vengeance, over Bougainville Island.
The International Court of Justice holds its inaugural meeting in The Hague.
Gamal Abdel Nasser seizes power in Egypt.
The Republic of Zimbabwe comes into being, with Canaan Banana its first president.
Zimbabwe renames its capital, Salisbury, Harare.
A suicide bomber in Lebanon destroys the US embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people.
The US launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian naval forces in the largest naval battle since World War II.
South Africa’s first Test cricket match since 1970 (versus the West Indies).
Ken Oosterbroek, chief photographer for The Star, is killed when he and several other journalists are caught in the crossfire peacekeepers and hostel dwellers in Thokoza.
In Lebanon, at least 106 civilians are killed when the Israeli Defence Force shells the UN compound at Quana where more than 800 civilians are seeking refuge.
A series of bombings in Baghdad, Iraq, kills 198 people, injuring 251.
Twelve Nepalese climbers are killed by an avalanche on Mt Everest. |