Today in History

1787 – Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the US Constitution.

1815 – France’s Marshal Ney is shot after a treason trial for aiding Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo.

1915 – Evacuation of Anzac forces from Gallipoli begins.

1941 – Japanese planes attack the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour, right, precipitating the US declaration of war on Japan.

1949 – Nationalist government of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, fleeing the Communist takeover of mainland China, establishes its seat of government in Taiwan.

1963 – The bodies of Frederick Walker and Kevin Speight are found in a house in Remuera, Auckland. Ron Jorgensen and John Gillies are later jailed for life for what became known as the Bassett Rd machinegun murders.

1975 – Indonesia invades East Timor.

1992 – The Indian Government announces a ban on fundamentalist groups after more than 200 Muslims and Hindus are killed and a Muslim shrine in Ayodhya is demolished.

2004 – Hamid Karzai is sworn in as Afghanistan’s first popularly elected president, promising to bring peace.

2010 – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is arrested in the United Kingdom, on a Swedish arrest warrant. He was wanted for questioning over allegations of rape, unlawful coercion, and sexual molestation.

2012 – Jacintha Saldanha, a nurse caught up in a royal hoax call from Australian DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian, is found dead in London.

Birthdays

Noam Chomsky, US linguist and political activist (1928-); Tom Waits, US musician (1949-); Te Ururoa Flavell, NZ politician (1955-); John Terry, English footballer (1980-); Emily Browning, Australian actress (1988-); Chris Wood, NZ footballer (1991-).