ON THIS DAY
1606
Catholic conspirator Guy Fawkes is executed in London after trying to blow up the Palace of Westminster.
1788
Bonnie Prince Charlie, aka Charles Edward Stuart, 67, son of uncrowned Scottish Stuart King James III, dies in Rome. He became a drunk after his failed tilt at the British throne.
1838
Builder George Robinson is appointed the first chief protector of mainland Aborigines, after a similar job in Tasmania. He achieved little for Aborigines in either place.
1880
The Bulletin magazine is published in Sydney with a spread on the execution of bushranger Captain Moonlite. The magazine becomes a literary icon.
1909
The steamship Clan Ranald, loaded with grain, founders suddenly in the Gulf of St Vincent with no sign of the reason, killing 40.
1943
German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to the Soviet Red Army at Stalingrad (now Volgograd), his troops surrendering two days later.
1956
Death of A.A. Milne, British children’s writer and author of the Winnie the Pooh stories.
1961
The US launches Ham the chimp (above) into space aboard a Project Mercury test vehicle. He returns safely in 16.5 minutes.
1966
The Soviets launched Luna 9, the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon.
1968
Tet offensive: A 19man Vietcong suicide squad seizes the US embassy in Saigon.
2006
Disabled taxi driver Youbert Hormozi, 53, dies of a heart attack after being bashed by two 14-yearold girls at Canley Vale who refuse to pay a fare. The girls are later jailed for manslaughter.
2020
The United Kingdom formally leaves the European Union, more than three years after the country voted for “Brexit.”