ON THIS DAY

1905:

An earthquake strikes the province of Lahore, then part of India, killing 19,000 people. US researcher Professor CG King of Pittsburgh isolates vitamin C for the first time. NATO is founded when the North Atlantic Treaty is signed in Washington.

The Beatles set a record by having all of the top five US singles at the same time.

US civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

The US space shuttle Challenger roars into orbit on its maiden flight.

Women make history in Kuwait by voting and running for office for the first time in a local by-election.

Max Dupain, Australian photographer (1911-1992); Muddy Waters, US musician (19131983); Hugo Weaving, Australian actor (1960-); Heath Ledger, Australian actor (1979-2008).

1932: 1949: 1964: 1968: 1983: 2006: Birthdays: