ON THIS DAY

1781

Peruvian revolutionary Tupac Amaru II, a descendant of the last Inca ruler, is executed by the Spanish in the main plaza in Cusco. After watching the execution of his wife and sons, he is mutilated and beheaded.

1794

Yemmerrawannie dies in London, aged about 19. Governor Arthur Philip had taken him to England with another Aboriginal man, Bennelong, to meet King George III but the cold troubled him.

1803

Britain declares war on France after little more than a year’s peace as Napoleon Bonaparte (pictured) strengthens his power in continental Europe.

1804

The French senate declares Napoleon Bonaparte emperor.

1812

Madman John Bellingham is hanged in front of Newgate Prison, seven days after he shot dead British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval in the House of Commons lobby.

1927

In the worst school massacre in the US, farmer Andrew Kehoe plants dynamite in the basement of Bath Consolidated School, Michigan, killing 45.

1940

Brussels falls to the invading German army in World War II and is subjected to harsh terms of occupation.

1944

Allied troops led by Poland’s General Wladyslaw Anders recapture Monte Cassino Monastery in Italy from the Germans after bitter fighting in World War II.

1980

Following an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 on the Richter scale, Mount St. Helens in Washington state, US, erupts in one of the greatest volcanic explosions ever recorded in the US.

2011

Armidale in NSW becomes the first mainland town to be connected to the $36bn national broadband network after prime minister at the time, Julia Gillard, flicks the switch.