Today in History

1533 – Spanish conquistadors win the battle for Cusco, capital of the Incan empire.

1882 – Gunslinger Franklin ‘‘Buckskin’’ Leslie shoots Billy ‘‘The Kid’’ Claiborne dead in the streets of Tombstone, Arizona.

1914 – Turkish religious leader Sheikh-ul-Islam declares a holy war on behalf of the Ottoman government, urging Muslims to take up arms against Britain,

France, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro in World War I. 1947 – United Nations recognises Korea’s claim to independence. 1969 – Apollo 12 blasts off for the

Moon.

1973 – The Social Security Amendment Act is passed, providing for the introduction of the domestic purposes benefit for New Zealand’s solo mothers.

1990 – British Cabinet minister Michael Heseltine announces he will challenge Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher, left, for the

leadership of the Conservative Party.

1998 – Iraq sends a letter to the UN Security Council stating that weapons inspections can continue. An hour before the launch of an airstrike, US President Bill Clinton calls it off.

2008 – The eurozone officially slips into recession for the first time since its creation in 1999; a lunar probe from India lands successfully on the Moon.

2016 – A magnitude 7.8 quake near Kaiko¯ura kills two people, and closes roads and the main trunk line in the upper South Island.

Birthdays

Claude Monet, French painter (1840-1926); Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian politician (1889-1964); Astrid Lindgren, Swedish author (19072002); Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egyptian diplomat (1922-2016); King Hussein, of Jordan (1935-99); Prince Charles (1948-); Sir Jerry Mateparae, NZ governor-general (1954-); Condoleezza Rice, US diplomat (1954-).