Today in History

771 – Charlemagne becomes the sole King of the Franks after the death of his brother Carloman.

1456 – An earthquake in Molise, southern Italy, kills an estimated 30,000 people and destroys monuments in Naples.

1792 – Charges are drawn up against France’s deposed king, Louis XVI.

1812 – Napoleon Bonaparte leaves his troops retreating from Russia and sets out for Paris. 1848 – US President James Polk confirms the discovery of gold in California, triggering the 1849 Gold Rush.

1872 – The Mary Celeste is spotted, sailing erratically but at full sail, near the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was seaworthy, its stores and supplies were untouched, but not a soul was on board. 1890 – New Zealand has its first ‘‘one man, one vote’’ election, ending the long-standing practice of ‘‘plural voting’’ by those who owned property in more than one electorate. It led to the Liberal Party coming to power and embarking on a long era of reform. 1933 – 21st Amendment to the US Constitution is ratified, repealing the prohibition of alcohol.

1945 – Five US Navy planes on a training flight from Florida disappear in what becomes known as the Bermuda Triangle. 1962 – United States and Soviet Union agree to co-operate in peaceful uses of outer space. 1978 – The Soviet Union and Afghanistan sign a ‘‘friendship treaty’’, deepening Soviet involvement in propping up Aghanistan’s communist government, and eventually leading to civil war.

1993 – A letter bomb injures Vienna’s mayor. It is the fifth explosive sent in three days to priests, journalists and others linked to the immigrant community.

1995 – A Tel Aviv court indicts Yigal Amir, the confessed assassin of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and two alleged accomplices. 1996 – US President Bill Clinton names UN ambassador Madeleine Albright, left, as the US’ first female secretary of state.

2001 – New Zealand yachtsman Peter Blake is slain by Brazilian pirates.

2006 – Fijian military chief Frank Bainimarama overthrows the government in the country’s fourth coup in 20 years.

2013 – Nelson Mandela dies at 95.

2017 – Russia is banned from the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea over statesponsored doping.

2019 – Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, says articles of impeachment will be drawn up against President Donald Trump for abuse of power.

Birthdays

Martin Van Buren, first native-born US president (1782-1862); George Custer, US cavalry commander (1839-76); Walt Disney, US film producer (1901-66); Keith Sinclair, NZ historian (1922-93); Little Richard, US singer (1932-); Joan Didion, US writer (1934-); Sir Roger Douglas, NZ politician (1937-); Jose Carreras, Spanish tenor (1946-).