TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY is Friday, June 11, the 162nd day of 2021. There are 203 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1488 — James III of Scotland is murdered after his defeat at the Battle of Sauchieburn, Stirling, and is succeeded by his son, James IV.
1509 — King Henry VIII of England marries the first of his six wives, Catherine of Aragon.
1685 — The Duke of Monmouth’s rebellion breaks out in England.
1727 — King George I, the first Hanoverian king of Great Britain (171427), dies and is succeeded by his son, George II.
1859 — London’s The Standard newspaper publishes an evening edition for the first time. It became the Evening
Standard the following year.
1898 — Emperor Guangxu of China begins 100 days of reform in an effort to modernise China, but conservative forces soon squelch the attempt.
1901 — New Zealand’s boundaries are extended to include the Cook Islands and Niue, among other small Pacific islands; John Logan Campbell hands over the deed for the land around Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill) to the people of Auckland, requesting the area be known as Cornwall Park in honour of the royal visit.
1902 — The telegraph cable between Bluff and Stewart Island is laid.
1907 — In England’s cricket county championship, Northamptonshire equals the record lowest score of 12, playing Gloucestershire at the Spa Ground, Gloucester.
1917 — King Alexander assumes the throne of Greece after his father, Constantine I, abdicates.
1936 — The arrest, secret trial, conviction and execution of eight top Soviet military leaders, including Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky, is announced, heralding the start of a massive purge of the military top brass.
1942 — A New Zealand Air Force Tiger Moth clips a stay wire attached to a power pole and crashes in the main street of Gore, fatally injuring the 20yearold pilot and injuring four local people in the area at the time of the 10.40am accident.
1945 — A further reduction in meat and butter rations in New Zealand begins.
1951 — Between 170 and 180 Port Chalmers waterside workers return to work after voting in favour of forming a new union.
1955 — Eighty people are killed and more than 100 injured when three cars crash on the Le Mans racetrack in France and plough into a grandstand.
1963 — Greek premier Constantine Karamanlis resigns in protest against King Paul’s state visit to Britain; State Governor George Wallace allows the enrolment of two black students at the University of Alabama after he first blocked their entry by standing in front of the door.
1975 — The first testpumping of oil from Britain’s North Sea oilfields begins.
1985 — Karen Ann Quinlan, a comatose patient whose case prompted a historic righttodie court decision, dies in New Jersey, aged 31.
1987 — Margaret Thatcher becomes the first British prime minister in 160 years to win a third consecutive term of office as her Conservatives hold on to a reduced majority.
1998 — Mitsubishi Motors in the US agrees to pay $US34 million to settle allegations that women on the assembly line at its Illinois factory were groped and insulted and that managers did nothing to stop it.
2008 — Michael Swann, of Dunedin, and business associate Kerry Harford, of Queenstown, are found guilty of defrauding the Otago District Health Board of almost
$17 million over six years until late 2006.
2009 — The World Health Organisation declares H1N1 swine flu to be a global pandemic, the first such incident in more than 40 years.
Today’s birthdays:
Henry James Nicholas, New Zealand recipient of Victoria Cross in World War 1 (18911918); Richard (Tiny) White, All Black (19252012); Jazz Muller, All Black (19422019); Adrienne Barbeau, US actress (1945); Frank Beard, US musician (1949); Hugh Laurie, English actor (1959); Graeme Bachop, All Black (1967); Peter Dinklage, US actor (1969); Mark Richardson, New Zealand cricketer/media commentator (1971); Stephen Kearney, New Zealand rugby league player and coach (1972); Joshua Jackson, Canadian actor (1978).
Quote of the day:
‘‘We were racing at circuits where there were no crash barriers in front of the pits, and fuel was lying about in churns in the pit lane. A car could easily crash into the pits at any time. It was ridiculous.’’ — Jackie Stewart, former Formula One racing driver (196573) from Scotland, who was born on this day in 1939. Nicknamed the ‘‘Flying Scot’’, he won three World Drivers’ Championships, and twice finished runnerup.