TODAY IN HISTORY

202BC The army of Carthage under the leadership of Hannibal is defeated by a Roman army at the Battle of Zama, ending the Second Punic War.

1216 King John of England dies at the age of 49, just 16 months after signing the Magna Carta and a week after losing the crown jewels.

1781 British troops under General Lord Cornwallis surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, to the Continental Army, commanded by George Washington.

1812 The first convicts from England arrive in Van Diemen’s Land aboard the Indefatigable.

1880 Bushranger Edward “Ned” Kelly is arraigned on the charge of murdering Constable Thomas Lonigan and Michael Scanlan. His trial is postponed due to his inability to raise money to pay for counsel.

1945 The War Widow’s Guild of Australia is formed. Its first president is Mrs Jessie Vasey, widow of Major General George Vasey who was killed in March 1945 in an aircraft crash.

1950 The Liberal government, under prime minister Robert Menzies, passes a bill to dissolve the Communist Party. It is later overturned after a legal challenge in the High Court.

1964 Simon and Garfunkel release their first LP, titled Wednesday Morning 3 A.M. which flops so the pair split. They later reform when Sounds Of Silence is a hit.

2003 Mother Teresa of Calcutta, founder of the Missionaries of Charity, is beatified by Pope John Paul II.