Today in History

1504 – Michelangelo’s statue of David is unveiled in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence.

1664 – The Dutch surrender New Amsterdam to the British, who rename it New York.

1855 – British and French troops capture Sevastopol from the Russians, effectively ending the Crimean War.

1900 – A hurricane kills more than 6000 people in Galveston, Texas. 1906 – Janet Meikle becomes the first person in New Zealand killed in a crash caused directly by a car when her 8hp De Dion Bouton goes over a bank on the family farm, 5km from Timaru.

1941 – The German army begins an 872-day siege of Leningrad, Russia.

1943 – Allied Commander Dwight D Eisenhower announces Italy’s surrender in World War II.

1957 – Althea Gibson becomes the first African American to win the US Open tennis title, beating Louise Brough, 6-3, 6-2.

1966 – First episode of the sci-fi series Star Trek airs on US TV.

1968 – Arthur Ashe, left, wins the first men’s US tennis title of the Open era, beating Tom Okker in five sets. Ashe was still an amateur so Okker takes the US$14,000 winner’s cheque.

1974 – US President Gerald Ford pardons his predecessor, Richard Nixon.

1999 – The United Nations delays its withdrawal from East Timor.

2006 – Australian motorsport legend Peter Brock dies in a crash during a rally near Perth.

2008 – Swimmer Sophie Pascoe wins her first Paralympic medal, a silver, at the Beijing Paralympics.

Birthdays

Richard the Lionheart/richard I (1157-99); Peter Sellers, UK actor, comedian (1925-80); Patsy Cline, US singer (1932-63); Bernie Sanders, US politician (1941-); Graham Mourie, All Black (1952-); Rachel Hunter, NZ model (1969-); Martin Freeman, UK actor (1971-); Pink (Alecia Beth Moore), US musician (1979-); Bruno Fernandes, Portuguese footballer (1994-).