Today in history
1703 – The ‘‘man in the iron mask’’, a political prisoner famous in French history and legend, dies in the Bastille. It is likely the mask was of black velvet. 1805 – An expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark reaches the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first European Americans to cross to the west. 1863 – US President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg address as he dedicates a national cemetery at the site of the Civil War battlefield. 1916 – Samuel Goldwyn and Edgar Selwyn establish Goldwyn Pictures, which becomes one of the most successful independent film-makers. 1942 – Soviet forces counterattack at Stalingrad, leading to the eventual capture of more than 250,000 German and Romanian troops. 1969 – Apollo 12 astronauts Charles Conrad and Alan Bean make second Moon landing; Brazilian footballer Pele scores his 1000th career goal. 1977 – Egyptian President Anwar Sadat makes a historic visit to Israel, where he offers a peace plan to its parliament. 1985 – US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet for the first time, in Geneva. 1990 – Pop duo Milli Vanilli become the first performers to be stripped of a Grammy Award after it was revealed that neither sang on the 1989 album Girl You Know It’s True. 1998 – Impeachment inquiry against US president Bill Clinton opens with testimony by independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who accuses Clinton of perjury and obstructing justice. 2007 – Amazon.com begins selling the Kindle, a wireless electronic reading device. 2010 – An underground explosion at 3.44pm at the Pike River coal mine in New Zealand’s West Coast region kills 29 men. Two men manage to escape. 2017 – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe refuses to resign in a TV speech after being ousted as leader of the ruling Zanu-PF party; US cult leader Charles Manson dies in prison, aged 83. 2020 – Election officials in Georgia release results of a hand tally of ballots that affirm Democrat Joe Biden’s narrow lead over President Donald Trump in the state. Birthdays Charles I, British king (1600-49); Ferdinand de Lesseps, French canal builder (1805-94); Elizabeth McCombs, above right, NZ politician (18731935); Indira Gandhi, Indian politician (1917-84); Larry King, US TV host (1933-2021); Ted Turner, US media mogul (1938-); Calvin Klein, US designer (1942-); Eddie Rayner, NZ musician (1952-); Meg Ryan, US actor (1961-); Jodie Foster, US actor (1962-); Tony Ryall, NZ politician (1964-); Jack Dorsey, US Twitter co-founder (1976-); Mahe Drysdale, NZ rower (1978-).