ON THIS DAY

King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward

IV, uniting the House of Lancaster and the House of York, after the Wars of the Roses.

King Naresuan of Siam kills Crown Prince Mingyi Swa of Burma in single combat.

British pirate Henry Morgan captures Panama City from its Spanish defenders.

Perplexed Pilgrims in Boston reported America’s first UFO sighting

Jan van Riebeeck, 57, dies in Batavia (Jakarta).

Captain James Cook stumbles over Sandwich Islands (Hawaiian Islands).

The first ships of the First Fleet, carrying 736 convicts from Great Britain to Australia, arrive in Botany Bay.

Two Black cattle herds are captured and executed in Mafikeng by burghers, in accordance with a council of war decision on cattle rustlers. President Paul Kruger immediately repudiates this decision and orders this practice to cease forthwith.

Soviets announce they have broken the long siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany by opening a narrow land corridor, though the siege would not be fully lifted until a year later.

A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War.

Lebanese Christian militias kill at least 1 000 in Karantina, Beirut.

Boris Becker and Italy’s Omar Camporese play the longest tennis match in Australian Open history. Becker wins in 5 hours and 11 minutes.

The Airbus A380, the world’s largest commercial jet, is unveiled.

AB de Villiers makes the fastest century in ODI cricket history from 31 balls against the West Indies.

Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira rides the largest wave by a female surfer at 20.72m at Praia do Norte in Nazaréin, Portugal. |