ON THIS DAY

1718: English pirate Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard, killed during a sea battle.

1906: The SOS distress signal is adopted at the International Radio Telegraphic Convention.

1956: Runner Ron Clarke lights the flame for the Olympic Games in Melbourne.

1963: US President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

1997: Rock star Michael Hutchence, 37, is found dead in a Sydney hotel room.

2005: Angela Merkel takes power as Germany’s first female chancellor.

2012: Billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer quits Queensland’s Liberal National Party.

2014: Ecuador guarantees political asylum to Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Birthdays: French leader Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970); German tennis player Boris Becker (1967-); US actress Scarlett Johansson (1984-).