ON THIS DAY

DECEMBER 29

1170 Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated in Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II. 1851 The YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) opens in Boston, Massachusetts.

1860 The launch of HMS Warrior, with her screw propeller, iron hull and iron armour, renders all previous warships obsolete. 1895 Dr Leander Starr Jameson begins a failed raid on Johannesburg.

1900 The Battle of Helvetia near Machadodorp takes place, with the British under Major Stapleton Cotton surrendering to General Ben Viljoen. 1923 The first private broadcasting station in South Africa is put up by the South African Railways in Johannesburg.

1926 The Victoria cricket team (with a total of 1 107 runs, including a triple century, a double century and two centuries) beat New South Wales by an innings and 656 runs.

1940 In the Second Great Fire of London, the Luftwaffe fire-bombs London, killing almost 200 civilians.

1947 The SA flag is hoisted on Marion Island after an agreement with Britain. 1981 Winnie Mandela is banned for a further five years to the town of Brandfort.

1983 Commodore Dieter Gerhardt, the former commanding officer of the Simon’s Town naval base, and his wife Ruth, are sentenced to life imprisonment and 10 years’ imprisonment respectively, being found guilty of high treason on charges of spying for the Soviet Union.

2013 Seven-time world F1 motor racing champion Michael Schumacher is seriously injured while skiing in the French Alps; his condition still remains unclear.

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