Today in History

1755 – Giacomo Casanova is sentenced without trial to five years’ imprisonment in Venice for affront to religion and common decency.

1792 – Court martial begins in England for the instigators of the mutiny on the Bounty.

1846 – Elizabeth Barrett elopes with fellow poet Robert Browning. They flee to Italy, where they lived for 15 years. 1914 – Forty-three miners are killed in an explosion at Huntly. 1940 – A collection of prehistoric cave paintings, left, are discovered in Lascaux, France, by four teenagers following their dog. 1953 – John F Kennedy marries Jacqueline Bouvier; Nikita Krushchev is elected Soviet leader. 1959 – Soviet Union launches Luna 2, the first spacecraft to reach the Moon. 1974 – A coup overthrows Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie on Ethiopia’s national day.

1970 – Palestinian guerrillas blow up three hijacked planes in Jordan.

1981 – Springbok tour protesters in a small plane drop flour bombs on Eden Park during the third test. The match continues, with the All Blacks winning 25-22.

2003 – Country singer Johnny Cash dies, aged 71.

2014 – Olympian Oscar Pistorius is found guilty of culpable homicide after the death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The ruling is later overturned and he is jailed for murder. 2015 – Jeremy Corbyn is elected leader of the British Labour Party.

Birthdays

H L Menken, US writer (1880-1956); Jesse Owens, US athlete (1913-80); Ian Holm, UK actor (1931-); Doug Kidd, NZ politician (1941-); Max Walker, Australian cricketer (19482016); Barry White, US singer (19442003); Andy Earl, All Black (1961-); Paul Walker, US actor (1973-2013); Belinda Colling, NZ netball player (1975-); Yao Ming, Chinese basketball player (1980-).