Today in History

1493 – Christopher Columbus reports seeing three mermaids near the Dominican Republic, saying they are ‘‘not half as beautiful as they are painted’’. The creatures were in fact manatees, above.

1776 – Writer Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet Common Sense, setting forth his arguments for American independence.

1799 – The first income tax comes into effect, introduced by British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger to pay for war against Napoleon. It was levied at 1 per cent on annual incomes of above £60 and 10 per cent above £200.

1806 – About 7000 people attend the state funeral of Admiral Horatio Nelson at St Paul’s Cathedral, London. No women are invited, not even his estranged wife or mistress.

1861 – A Union merchant ship is fired upon as it tries to deliver supplies to Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbour, South Carolina. The incident was the first time shots were exchanged between North and South, and was a precursor to the Civil War.

1909 – Ernest Shackleton and companions Frank Wild, Eric Marshall and Jameson Adams reach a new farthest south latitude, only 180 kilometres from the South Pole. During the expedition, they also make the first ascent of Mt Erebus. 1923 – Katherine Mansfield, above, dies of tuberculosis, aged 34.

1945 – US forces invade Luzon in Philippines in World War II.

1951 – United Nations headquarters opens in New York.

1960 – Construction work starts on the Aswan High Dam in Egypt.

1972 – Fire destroys the ship Seawise University (formerly the Queen Elizabeth) off Hong Kong.

1992 – Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina proclaim their own state.

2001 – Apple launches iTunes.

2002 – Hamid Karzai, head of the interim Afghan government, announces a plan to disarm citizens and create a national army.

2007 – Apple’s Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone in San Francisco.

2010 – An Indian man is set alight in Melbourne, a week after an Indian student there was killed.

Birthdays

Dame Gracie Fields, UK entertainer (1898-1979); Simone de Beauvoir, French writer (1908-86); Richard Nixon, US president (1913-94); Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan, left, NZ politician (1932-2011); Wilbur Smith, Zambian-born writer (1933-); John Graham, All Black, headmaster (1935-2017); Joan Baez, US musician (1941-); Jimmy Page, UK musician (1944-); Philippa Gregory, UK writer (1954-); Joely Richardson, UK actor (1965-); Gary Stead, NZ cricket coach (1972-); Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (1982-); Paul Carnegie-Jones, NZ pianist (1985-); Joseph Parker, NZ boxer (1992-).