TODAY IN HISTORY

996

German King Otto III, 16, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. His efforts to build a Christian version of ancient Rome later fail when the Romans rebel and he withdraws to a monastery. 1471 Henry VI, a pious but inept king, is murdered in the Tower of London during the Wars of the Roses. His rival Edward IV resumes the throne. 1840

Consul William Hobson proclaims British sovereignty over all of New Zealand. He had negotiated only over the North Island.

1871

French troops trying to crush the Paris Commune enter the city and begin a slaughter of rebels. 1922 The Empire Settlement Act enables the intake of large numbers of British immigrants. More than 200,000 assisted settlers arrive in Australia between 1922 and 1929. 1927 Charles Lindbergh completes first transatlantic flight, to Paris. 1945 Humphrey Bogart, 45, marries Lauren Bacall, 21. The US screen stars met on the set of To Have And Have Not and will have two children. 1956

A US plane drops the first hydrogen (fusion) bomb to explode in the air, over Namu Atoll in the Bikini group. The fireball of “Operation Cherokee’’ is 6km wide.

1976

Aboriginal opera singer Harold Blair dies at 51 in Melbourne of a heart attack.

1991

Indian politician Rajiv Gandhi, who served as the country’s prime minister (1984–89), is assassinated in a suicide bombing attack.