Today in History

1492 - A contract is signed with representatives of Spain’s King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, giving Christopher Columbus a commission to seek a westward ocean passage to Asia.

1969 - A jury in Los Angeles convicts Sirhan Sirhan of assassinating Senator Robert F Kennedy.

1970 - Apollo 13 astronauts James Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert splash down safely in the Pacific, four days after a ruptured oxygen tank crippled their spacecraft while en route to the Moon.

1972 - The Boston Marathon allows women to compete for the first time; Nina Kuscsik is the first officially recognised women’s champion, with a time of 3hr 10min 26sec.

1975 - Cambodia’s five-year war ends as the capital, Phnom Penh, falls to the Khmer Rouge, which institutes brutal policies that claim an estimated 1.7 million lives until the regime’s overthrow in 1979.

1993 - A federal jury in Los Angeles convicts two former police officers of violating the civil rights of beaten motorist Rodney King; two other officers are acquitted.

2009 - Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark is appointed administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, the first woman to lead the organisation.

2011 - Fantasy series Game of Thrones premieres on HBO in the United States.

2013 - New Zealand’s Parliament passes the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, allowing same-sex marriage.

Birthdays

JP Morgan, US financier (1837-1913); Nick Hornby, UK writer (1957-); Sean Bean, UK actor (1959-); Ian Jones, NZ rugby union player (1967-); Jennifer Garner, US actor (1972-); Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lankan cricketer (1972-); Victoria Beckham, UK singer/designer (1974-); Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, French tennis player (1985-).