Today in History
– Official founding date of San Marino, the world’s oldest republic still in existence.
– Richard I (the Lionheart) is crowned king of England.
– Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, dies aged 59 and is succeeded by his son Richard, who renounces power nine months later.
– The American Revolution formally ends as the United States, Britain, Spain and France sign the Treaty of Paris.
– Benedict XV is elected pope. An insistent voice for peace, he was ignored during World War I. 1930 – A hurricane in the Dominican Republic kills more than 8000 people.
1939 – Britain, France, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and South Africa declare war on Germany, two days after the Nazi invasion of Poland; in a radio address, King George VI says, ‘‘With God’s help, we shall prevail.’’
– The Allies begin the invasion of the Italian mainland, crossing the Strait of Messina from Sicily and landing at Calabria, on the ‘‘toe’’ of Italy.
– The first open-heart surgery in New Zealand is carried out at Green Lane Hospital in Auckland by Brian Barratt-Boyes on an 11-year-old girl.
1976 – After a nearly year-long journey, Nasa’s robotic spacecraft Viking 2 lands on Mars and begins sending information about the planet’s atmosphere and soil as well as colour photographs of the rocky surface.
1995 – Online auction site eBay is founded in California, under the name AuctionWeb, by French-born Iranian-American computer programmer Pierre Omidyar.
1999 – A French judge closes a two-year inquiry into the car crash that killed
left, dismissing all charges against nine photographers and a press motorcyclist, concluding the accident was caused by a drunk driver.
– Influential American film critic Pauline Kael, an outspoken reviewer for The New Yorker magazine, dies aged 82.
– A three-day siege at a school in Beslan, Russia, ends in a gun battle between hostage-takers and security forces. More than 300 people die, many of them children.
– Jacob Chansley, who wore face paint, no shirt and a furry hat with horns when he joined the mob that stormed the US Capitol on January 6, pleads guilty to a felony charge; he is later jailed for 41 months.
Ferdinand Porsche, German engineer (1875-1951); Steve Rickard, NZ wrestler (1929-2015); Whitey Bulger, US organised crime boss (1929-2018); Sir Brian Lochore, NZ, All Blacks player and coach (1940-2019); Al Jardine, Beach Boys co-founder (1942-); Shane Jones, NZ politician (1959-); Malcolm Gladwell, UK/Canadian writer (1963-); Charlie Sheen, US actor (1965-); Gareth Southgate, England football coach (1970-); Ivan Vicelich, NZ footballer (1976-).