Today in history
Today is Wednesday, December 4, the 338th day of 2019. There are 27 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
963 — Holy Roman Emperor Otto deposes
Pope John XII for depravity and for plotting an armed rebellion. Leo VIII succeeds as Pope.
1154 — Nicolas Breakspear, the first and only Englishman to be elected Pope, is crowned as
Adrian IV.
1586 — England’s Queen Elizabeth I confirms the
death sentence against Mary, Queen of Scots.
1619 — Thirtyeight colonists from Berkeley Parish, England, disembark in Virginia and give thanks to God. Considered by many the first Thanksgiving in the Americas.
1791 — Britain’s Observer newspaper, the oldest Sunday newspaper in the world, appears for the first time.
1816 — James Monroe is elected fifth president of the United States. He is the first president to have been a senator.
1829 — Britain outlaws ‘‘suttee’’ in India (a widow burning herself to death on her husband’s funeral pyre).
1842 — Spanish soldierpolitician Baldomero
Espartero bombards Barcelona crushing a revolt. 1851 — Louis Napoleon crushes a workers’
rebellion in France.
1861 — Sir George Grey takes office as New Zealand governor for a second time. Serving until February 1868, his recall had been prompted in the hope his influence with Maori would resolve land disputes.
1876 — The SS Otago is wrecked at Chaslands
Mistake.
1884 — William Christie, of Warepa, becomes the first medical student to pass professional examinations in New Zealand. Earlier he was also the first to proceed in medical studies at the University of Otago Medical School.
1905 — The British Government of Arthur Balfour
resigns.
1908 — A new reinforced concrete bridge over the Kaikorai Stream, near the tram terminus, is opened by the Roslyn Borough Council; a London naval conference fails to regulate conditions of warfare.
1912 — Alfred Wegener, geophysicist and meteorologist, presents his controversial theory of continental drift in a lecture at a the SenckenbergMuseum, Frankfurt.
1962 — Hundreds of Muslim and European opponents of Ahmed Ben Bella’s government in Algeria are arrested.
1966 — Pirate station Radio Hauraki begins broadcasting from Tiri, a 27m coastal trader moored in the Hauraki Gulf.
1977 — Iraq walks out on an Arab meeting in
Tripoli, breaking the united front against Egypt’s peace moves with Israel.
1980 — Portugal’s Social Democratic prime minister, Francisco Sa Carneiro, is killed in a light plane crash, which might have been caused by sabotage.
1985 — New Zealand secures its first cricket testseries victory over Australia when it wins the third test in Perth by six wickets. Richard Hadlee featured with match figures of 11 wickets for 0ql155 runs.
1993 — Farmers from Europe, India and Japan demonstrate in Geneva against ‘‘American imperialism’’ and the Gatt trade accord they fear will ruin millions of farmers and uproot centuriesold traditions.
1996 — Nasa launches a spacecraft to Mars
carrying the first planetary rover.
2007 — Syrian archaeologists announce they have unearthed two bronzeera cemeteries dating from the 18th century BC, the third set of ancient graveyards found in less than a month.
2011 — Wellington is shaken by a second earthquake in 16 hours when a 3.2magnitude quake centred 30km southeast of the city causes minor damage. Other earthquakes are felt in Wanaka and Taupo during the day.
Today’s birthdays:
John Christopher Rolleston, New Zealand politician (18771956); William (Blair) Tennent, New Zealand politician (18981976); The Wizard of New Zealand (Ian Brackenbury Channell), Englishborn New Zealand educator/magician (1932); Sir Mason
Durie, New Zealand research academic (1938); Pamela Stephenson, New Zealandborn actress/writer (1949); Jeff Bridges, US actor (1949); Jonathan Goldstein, US actor (1964); Gary Freeman, New Zealand rugby league player and coach (1962); Marisa Tomei, US actress (1964); Tyra Banks, US model/ actress (1973); Jacob Tomuri, New Zealand actor/ stuntman (1979); Lindsay Felton, US actress (1984).
Quote of the day:
‘‘When writing the story of your life, don’t let anyone else hold the pen.’’ — Origin unknown, but used in HarleyDavidson advertising.