Today in History

1861 – US President Abraham Lincoln prohibits Union states from trading with the Confederacy. 1896 – A gold rush starts in Canada’s Yukon Territory when nuggets are found in a creek bed. 1946 – Widespread riots erupt in Calcutta between Muslims and Hindus over whether Pakistan should be a separate state, killing more than 4000 and leaving 100,000 homeless.

1948 – Baseball legend Babe Ruth dies, aged 53.

1949 – Death of Margaret Mitchell, United States journalist and author of Gone with the Wind.

1962 – Ringo Starr, left, replaces Pete Best as the Beatles’ drummer.

1972 – Morocco’s King Hassan II escapes an assassination attempt by Moroccan Air Force jets in a military coup attempt.

1977 – Elvis Presley dies in Memphis, aged 42, of a heart attack brought on by his addiction to prescription drugs.

1981 – New Zealand set a Fifa record for the biggest winning margin in a World Cup qualifying match, beating Fiji 13-0.

2001 – Paul Burrell, butler to Princess Diana for many years, is charged with the theft of hundreds of royal family items. A subsequent trial was abandoned.

2005 – A chartered jet returning to the French Caribbean island of Martinique crashes in western Venezuela, killing all 160 on board.

2008 – New Zealand twins Caroline and Georgina EversSwindell defend their double sculls Olympic title, winning a tight finish in Beijing.

2012 – Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is granted political asylum by Ecuador.

Birthdays

T E Lawrence, UK archaeologist/ soldier (1888-1935); Jeff Thomson, Australian cricketer (1950-); James Cameron, Canadian film director (1954-); Madonna, US singer (1958-); Steve Carell, US actor (1962-); Taika Waititi, NZ film director (1975-).