TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY is Friday, February 19, the 50th day of 2021. There are 315 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1807 — The British fleet forces its way through the Dardanelles to support Russia in a war against Turkey; Aaron Burr becomes the first United States vicepresident to be arrested, when he is charged with treason. The subsequent trial resulted in acquittal.
1819 — British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands and claims them in the name of King George III.
1859 — In the United States, New York Congressman Daniel E. Sickles is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity.
1878 — Thomas Edison is granted a patent for his gramophone (phonograph).
1898 — The first petroldriven cars arrive in Wellington as MP William McLean attempts to import two Benz motor vehicles. They pose a problem for Customs Department staff, who can find no regulations in respect of their delivery.
1906 — Will Keith Kellogg founds the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, now the multinational food manufacturer Kellogg’s.
1913 — Pedro Lascurain becomes President of Mexico for 45 minutes — the shortest term to date of any person as president of any country.
1915 — A combined British and French fleet attacks the Dardanelles, in World War 1.
1918 — In Russia, a decree abolishing all private ownership of land, water and natural resources is issued by the Soviet Central Executive Committee.
1938 — A railway construction camp at Kopuawhara, north of Wairoa, is hit by a flash flood in the early hours; 21 lives are lost.
1942 — The first Japanese attack on the Australian mainland in World War 2 occurs when aircraft bomb Darwin and nearby military bases; at least 243 die, 30 aircraft are destroyed, 11 ships are sunk, 3 are grounded, and 25 are damaged. The death toll for the February 19 raids is much disputed. A former Darwin mayor estimated 900 killed, a man who rescued survivors and recovered bodies from the harbour estimated more than 1000, and some survivors estimated up to 1500.
1945 — The battle for Iwo Jima begins in the Pacific in World War 2.
1951 — New Zealand waterfronts are closed when employers sack all workers who refuse to work overtime; Jean Lee, Robert Clayton and Norman Andrews are hanged in Melbourne for murdering a 73yearold man. Lee is the last woman hanged in Australia.
1959 — An agreement is signed in London by Greece, Turkey and Britain guaranteeing the independence of Cyprus.
1960 — China successfully launches the T7, its first sounding rocket.
1970 — It is announced that the Maui field has a substantial quantity of gas and light oil reserves suitable for petrol.
1976 — Iceland breaks off diplomatic relations with Britain after the two countries fail to agree over fishing rights in disputed waters in what became known as the Cod War.
1978 — Egyptian forces raid Larnaca International Airport in an attempt to intervene in a hijacking, without authorisation from the Republic of Cyprus authorities. The Cypriot National Guard and Police forces kill 15 Egyptian commandos and destroy the Egyptian C130 transport plane in open combat.
1981 — Former Beatle George Harrison is ordered to pay ABKCO Music $587,000 for ‘‘subconscious plagiarism’’ of his song My Sweet Lord with Ronnie Mack’s song He’s So Fine.
1985 — Launched to rival ITV’s Coronation Street, some 13 million viewers tune in to watch the
first episode of British soap opera Eastenders on BBC One.
1986 — The Sri Lankan Army massacres 80 Tamil farm workers in eastern Sri Lanka.
1990 — About 500 protesters break into government headquarters in Bucharest, Romania, calling for the resignation of President Ion Iliescu.
1993 — The packed passenger ferry Neptune, carrying up to 1500 people, sinks in stormy seas off Haiti. Only 285 people are known to have survived.
2002 — Nasa’s Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.
2012 — Fortyfour people killed in prison brawl in Apocada, Mexico, between two rival drug cartels.
Today’s birthdays:
Samuel Duncan Parnell, early New Zealand settler often credited with the establishment of the eighthour working day in New Zealand (181090); Ellen Sarah Greenwood, New Zealand community leader (18371917); Walter Empson, New Zealand educationalist (18561934); Bob Deans, All Black (18841908); Sir Ernest Marsden, Englishborn New Zealand physicist (18891970); Jim Edwards, New Zealand political activist (18921952); Bruce Levy, New Zealand botanist (18921985); Francis Oswald Bennett, New Zealand doctor/military medical administrator/ writer (18981976); Sir Owen George Glenn, IndianNew Zealand businessman/philanthropist (1940); Smokey Robinson, US singer/songwriter (1940); Sir Tim Shadbolt, New Zealand politician (1947); Tony Iommi, British guitarist (1948); Gary Seear, All Black (19522018); Murray McCully, New Zealand politician (1953); Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Argentine lawyer/ politician (1953); Jeff Daniels, US actor (1955); Rick Dodson, New Zealand sailor (1959); England’s Prince Andrew (1960); Roy Gordon Grainger, New Zealand physicist (1962); Seal, British singer (1963); Justine Bateman, US actress (1966); Benicio Del Toro, actor (1967); Bellamy Young, US actress (1970).
Quote of the day:
‘‘As soon as people see my face on a movie screen, they know two things: first, I’m not going to get the girl, and second, I’ll get a cheap funeral before the picture is over.’’ — US actor Lee Marvin, who was born on this day in 1924. He died in 1987, aged 63.