Today in history
Today is Monday, April 2, the 92nd day of 2018. There are 273 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1513 — In searching for the Fountain of Youth, Spaniard Juan Ponce de Leon discovers Florida, but does not realise it is part of mainland North America.
1801 — A British fleet under Horatio Nelson is sent to Denmark because of Danish action on the Elbe River, and is victorious in the
Battle of Copenhagen.
1864 — Having run out of supplies, the defenders of Orakau Pa escape through a cordon of imperial troops, only to be ruthlessly pursued. Many, including women, are slaughtered.
1877 — The Tokomairiro and Lawrence railway
line is opened.
1905 — The Simplon Rail Tunnel under the Alps
linking Switzerland with Italy, officially opens.
1916 — The Maori prophet Rua Kenana is arrested following a shootout in which his uncle and son are killed on the marae at Maungapohatu.
1917 — US president Woodrow Wilson summons a special session of Congress to declare war upon Germany.
1932 — US aviator Charles Lindbergh turns over a $US50,000 ransom to an unidentified man in a New York cemetery in exchange for his kidnapped son; the infant is found dead a month later.
1938 — Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage
unveils plans for a free universal health service, national superannuation and increased pensions, in what is seen as the beginning of New Zealand’s welfare state.
1947 — The UN Security Council appoints the US as trustee for Pacific islands formerly under Japanese mandate.
1951 — US general Dwight Eisenhower assumes command of all Allied armies in the western Mediterranean and Europe.
1959 — US Christian evangelist Billy Graham arrives in Auckland for a tour of the North Island, attracting large crowds at all the venues where he preached.
1966 — South Vietnamese troops join demonstrations at Hue and Da Nang for an end to military rule.
1976 — Portugal adopts its present constitution, which embraces a Western Europeanstyle democracy.
1977 — Charlotte Brew becomes the first woman to ride in Britain’s Grand National steeplechase when she rides her own horse, Barony Fort.
— Kokiri Pukeatua, the first kohanga reo, opens in Wainuiomata; Argentina invades the British Falkland Islands and overthrows the British administration.
— Mafia boss John Gotti, nicknamed the Teflon Don after emerging unscathed from previous trials, is convicted in New York City of murder and racketeering.
1998 — Maurice Papon, a Vichy official and later cabinet minister in postwar France, is sentenced to 10 years in prison for deporting Jews during World War 2.
2000 — French archaeologists announce they have discovered the remains of a 4000yearold queen’s pyramid south of Cairo, complete with texts of special prayers previously found only with kings.
2005 — Pope John Paul II, who helped topple communism in Europe and left a deeply conservative stamp on the church that he led for 26 years, dies in his Vatican apartment.
2006 — Nina Schenk von Stauffenberg, the widow of the man who tried to kill Hitler with a briefcase bomb, dies aged 92.
2007 — A tsunami up to five metres high washes villages away following a massive underwater earthquake in the Solomon Islands.
Today’s birthdays:
Giacomo Casanova, reputedly the world’s greatest lover (17251798); Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer (18051875); Emile Zola, French author (18401902); Lauris Edmond, New Zealand poet/writer (19242000); Jack Brabham, Australian motorracing champion (19262014); Marvin Gaye, US singer (19391984); Penelope Keith, British actress (1940); Richard Collinge, New Zealand cricketer (1946); Emmylou Harris, US singer (1947); Steve Sumner, Englishborn New Zealand football player and captain (19552017); Linford Christie, British athlete (1960); Christopher Meloni, US actor (1961); Stephen Bachop, All Black (1966);
Meryl Cassie, New Zealand actress/singer (1984).
Quote from history:
‘‘General de Gaulle is dead. France is a widow’’. — French president Georges Pompidou, announcing his predecessor’s death. Pompidou died while in office on April 2, 1974.