Today in history
Today is Tuesday, September 18, the 261st day of 2018. There are 104 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1502 — Christopher Columbus lands in what is now Costa Rica on his fourth and last voyage to the New World.
1544 — Sweden’s King Gustavus I forms an alliance with France to counter Denmark’s alliance with the Holy Roman Empire.
1739 — The Peace of Belgrade is signed by the Holy Roman Emperor and Turkey, whereby Austria cedes Orsova, Belgrade and Serbia to Turkey.
1840 — The British flag is raised at the fort on Point Britomart on the southern shore of Waitemata Harbour, marking the foundation of Auckland, and LieutenantGovernor William Hobson claims Auckland as a government settlement following his purchase of land from Ngati Whatua. The transfer of government from Russell will be achieved within six months.
1860 — Italian troops under Camillo Benso, the Count of Cavour, defeat papal forces at Castelfidardo.
1872 — Three hogsheads of beer are the first freight to be carried on the Port Chalmers to Dunedin railway. One of the first trains to service the railway was headed by a doubleended Fairlietype locomotive called Rose.
1913 — The Norwegian barque Okta is wrecked at
the entrance to Bluff Harbour.
1916 — The Greek army surrenders to the Germans
at Kavalla, Greece, in World War 1.
1917 — A mine laid by the German raider Wolf, off Farewell Spit, sinks the Port Kembla. The crew of
60 escape in lifeboats.
1931 — Japan begins the siege of Mukden, using bomber seaplanes, and occupies other strategic points in Manchuria.
1932 — King Ibn Saud unifies the dual kingdoms of the Hejaz and Najd under the name Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
1937 — In the Wellington suburb of Miramar the first state house is officially opened by Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage.
1957 — Sir Leslie Munro is elected to the presidency of the United Nations General Assembly.
1961 — Swedish UN Secretarygeneral Dag Hammarskjold (56) is killed in an air crash in northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), while on a peace mission to Congo.
1978 — Egypt’s foreign minister, Ibrahim Kamel, and its ambassador to the US, Ashraf Ghorbal, resign in protest against Egypt’s Camp David agreement with Israel.
1995 — Mt Ruapehu awakens with a moderate eruption, lahars and a 3.6magnitude earthquake.
1997 — For the first time in cricket history, three pairs of brothers play in the same test team when Andy and Grant Flower, Bryan and Paul Strang and Gavin and John Rennie play for Zimbabwe against New Zealand at Harare. Also in the Zimbabwe team was Guy Whittall, whose cousin Andy was 12th man. The match was drawn.
2001 — Letters postmarked in Trenton, New Jersey, which test positive for anthrax, are sent to the New York Post and US NBC broadcasting network anchor Tom Brokaw.
2010 — A heavy snowstorm wreaks havoc throughout the Southland area, isolating farms and forcing dairy farmers to dump milk. The heavy snow also caused the roof of Stadium Southland to collapse, requiring a rebuild of the stadium amid questions over the original design and building process, for which the building designer is later held responsible.
2011 — A 9sec video clip uploaded to YouTube turns skateboarder Levi Hawken into an internet sensation. Nothing will engrave itself deeper on New Zealand’s psyche than its soundtrack: ‘‘Left my scooter outside the dairy. Nek minnit . . .’’
Today’s birthdays:
Thomas (Tom) Sullivan, New Zealand rowing and sculling champion (18681949); John (Billy) Stead, All Black player and coach (18771958); Lawrence (Larry) Wogan, New Zealandborn Australian rugby union international (18901979); Greta Garbo, Swedishborn actress (19051990); Jack Warden, US actor (19202006); Sir Basil Arthur, New Zealand politician (19281985); Frankie Avalon, US singer (1940); Michael Franks, US musician (1944); Hugh (Lloyd) Morrison, New Zealand investment banker and entrepreneur (19572012); Mark Romanek, US film director (1959); James Gandolfini, US actor (19612013); Declan Edge, New Zealand football international (1965); Tara Fitzgerald, English actress (1967); James Marsden, US actor (1973); Andrew Boyens, New Zealand football international (1983).
Quote of the day:
‘‘All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed’’. — Sean O’Casey, Irish playwright. He died on September 18, 1961.
ODT and agencies