Today in History

1389 – Geoffrey Chaucer is appointed chief clerk of the king’s works by Richard II of England. 1543 – Henry VIII marries his sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace.

1679 – Britain’s King Charles II ratifies the Habeas Corpus Act, granting prisoners the right to be examined by a court.

1843 – Mormon leader Joseph Smith says God allows polygamy.

1863 – British troops invade Waikato by crossing the Mangatawhiri Stream, which the Kingitanga movement had declared a line not to be crossed.

1910 – Charles Stewart Rolls, aviator and co-founder of RollsRoyce, dies when he crashes his Wright biplane in England. 1977 – US President Jimmy Carter, left, defends Supreme Court ruling limiting government payments for poor women’s abortions, saying, ‘‘there are many things in life that are not fair’’.

1990 – Boris Yeltsin quits the Soviet Communist Party, undermining Mikhail Gorbachev.

1996 – Prince Charles and Princess Diana agree on the terms of their divorce, ending their 15-year marriage.

1998 – France beat Brazil 3-0 to win the football World Cup.

2001 – Chris Jenner becomes the first Kiwi to win a stage of the Tour de France, with his Credit Agricole team-mates in the team time trial.

2010 – The International Criminal Court charges Sudanese president Omar-al-Bashir with genocide.

Birthdays

Henry David Thoreau, US authornaturalist (1817-62); George Eastman, US inventor (1854-1932); Amedeo Modigliani, Italian artist (1884-1920); Oscar Hammerstein II, US librettist (1895-1960); Bill Cosby, comedian and convicted sex offender (1937-); Christine McVie, Fleetwood Mac musician (1943-); Bruce Taylor, NZ cricketer (1943-); Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani-born activist (1997-).