Today in History

1496 – England’s King Henry VII commissions John and Sebastian Cabot to discover new lands.

1558 – Smoking tobacco is introduced into Europe by Spanish physician Francisco Fernandes.

1836 – Samuel Colt manufactures the first pistol, a 34-calibre ‘‘Texas’’ model.

1908 – First ascent of Mt Erebus, Antarctica, by five members of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s expedition.

1946 – Former British prime minister Winston Churchill delivers his famous ‘‘Iron Curtain’’ speech at Fulton, Missouri.

1949 – Don Bradman, left, plays his last innings in first-class cricket, scoring 30 for South Australia against Victoria.

1953 – Soviet dictator Josef Stalin dies. About 2000 people are crushed to death in the crowd during the funeral.

1970 – Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty goes into effect after 43 nations confirm its ratification.

1983 – Bob Hawke leads Labor to victory in the Australian general election, defeating the Liberals, led by Malcolm Fraser.

2001 – A stampede at the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, kills 35 people.

2005 – A team of US and Ethiopian scientists discovers the fossilised remains of what they believe is humankind’s first walking ancestor, who lived nearly 4 million years ago.

2015 – Actor Harrison Ford is hurt while crash-landing his 1942 Ryan Aeronautical plane in California.

2019 – Forbes magazine declares model and businesswoman Kylie Jenner to be the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, at 21.

Birthdays

King Henry II of England (1133-89); Gerardus Mercator, Flemish geographer (1512-94); Rosa Luxemburg, German revolutionary (1871-1919); Sir Rex Harrison, UK actor (1908-90); Jack Marshall, NZ politician (1912-88); Daniel Carter, All Black (1982-).