TODAY IN HISTORY

331BC Alexander the Great of Macedonia defeats Darius III of Persia at the Battle of Gaugamela, marking the end of the Persian empire.

1850 Sydney University, Australia’s first such academy, is founded by the signing of an act of incorporation.

1857 Royal Aquarium and Pleasure Grounds opens at Tamarama, Sydney.

1883 Sydney High School, first of the state-run high schools established under the Education Act of 1880, enrols its first students.

1908 The T-model Ford goes on sale in the US. The two-seat “tin Lizzy’’ costs $850.

1918 Australian Light Horsemen enter Damascus, having cut off the enemy’s retreat and taken 4000 prisoners. 1946 Verdicts are handed down to 22 Nazis of the original 24 defendants in the Nuremberg trials which prosecuted World War II crimes. Twelve of the defendants are sentenced to hang.

1971 Compulsory wearing of seat belts comes into force in NSW.

1982 The first compact disc player to be sold commercially, CDP-101, is launched by Sony.

1985 The Melbourne synod of the Anglican Church votes to become the first in Australia to allow the ordination of women as deacons. 1988

Mikhail Gorbachev becomes chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, effectively head of the Soviet Union.