TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY is Saturday, January 2, the second day of 2021. There are 363 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1879 — Australian fast bowler Fred Spofforth dismisses three English batsmen with consecutive deliveries during the third test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to record test cricket's first hattrick.
1882 — The Edendale cooperative dairy factory opens.
1937 — The English and Italians sign a ‘‘gentleman’s agreement’’ respecting each other’s rights in the Mediterranean, while maintaining the independence of Spain.
1938 — Using a Sikorsky S42 flying boat piloted by Captain Ed Musick, Pan American begins New Zealand’s first official airmail service, between Auckland and San Francisco. The service proved a success, and some 25,000 items were posted by New Zealanders on the first flight. Musick and his crew were lost nine days later when their craft, the
Samoan Clipper, crashed into the Pacific. 1950 — Bert Sutcliffe completes a New Zealand record cricket innings tally of 355 playing for Otago against Auckland at Carisbrook.
1954 — The first It’s In The Bag radio show airs, hosted by Selwyn Toogood. It continues to run for 11 years, later transforming into a popular television quiz show.
1978 — Acting on the orders of the president of Pakistan Muhammad ZiaulHaq, paramilitary forces open fire on peaceful protesting workers in Multan, resulting in 200 losing their lives and many others being injured. It becomes known as the massacre at Multan Colony Textile Mills.
1981 — One of the largest investigations by British police comes to an end when serial killer Peter Sutcliffe (the Yorkshire Ripper) is arrested in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. He is found responsible for the murder of at least 13 of his 22 victims.
1995 — The most distant galaxy yet discovered is found by scientists using the Keck telescope in Hawaii. It is estimated to be 15 billion light years away and is named 8C 1435+63.
2003 — Andrew Cooney (23) becomes the youngest person to trek to the South Pole.
2006 — The roof of an ice rink in Germany collapses after a heavy snowfall in a town in the Bavarian Alps, killing 15 people and injuring many others.
2012 — A Port Chalmers firefighter is taken to hospital after sustaining injuries when fire engulfs a former North Sea trawler at dock in Careys Bay; five people are taken to Timaru Hospital with moderate to serious injuries after two powerboats collide on Lake Middleton, beside Lake Ohau.
2013 — Wild weather and heavy rain cause a 40m section of the Wanganui River bridge in South Westland, near Harihari, to be washed away, forcing the closure of State Highway 6, and stranding tourists at Haast township. The Larrys Creek rail bridge at Inangahua is also washed away.
Today’s birthdays:
Mrs W.H. Foley, New Zealand actor/singer (182167); Charles Howorth, New Zealand artist (18561945); Archie Campbell, New Zealand unionist/politician (18741955); Richard Wallwork, New Zealand artist (18821955); Joe
McManemin, New Zealand athletics coach/ administrator (19232014); Sir William (Ian) Axford, New Zealand space scientist (19332010); Kim Newcombe, New Zealand GP motorcycle racer (194473); Terry McDavitt, New Zealand activist/local body politician (1948); Todd
Haynes, US director (1961); Gabrielle Carteris, US actress (1961); Cuba Gooding jun, US actor (1968); Emma Neale, New Zealand novelist/poet (1969); Christy Turlington, US model (1969); Taye Diggs, US actor (1971); Lucy Davis, English actress (1973); Kate Bosworth, US actress/singer and model (1983); Tania Dawson, New Zealand actress/model (1993).
Quote of the today:
‘‘I have always wanted to become a saint. Unfortunately, when I have compared myself with the saints, I have always found that there is the same difference between the saints and me as there is between a mountain whose summit is lost in the clouds and a humble grain of sand trodden underfoot by passersby. — Therese of Lisieux, French Catholic Discalced Carmelite nun, who was born on this day in 1873. She died of tuberculosis in 1897, aged 24.