ON THIS DAY
Two young lions are sent from Cape Town to Ceylon as a gift to the King of Kandy.
A mutiny by 140 captive Malagasy begins on the slave ship Meermin, leading to the ship’s destruction at Cape Agulhas and the recapture of the instigators. Some 63 000 slaves were brought to the Cape by the Dutch, not just from Madagascar, but elsewhere in Africa, as well as large numbers from Malaysia and Batavia. Many South Africans are their descendants.
King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia becomes first King of Italy.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain is published.
Imperial forces suffer their worst singleday loss of life on Bloody Sunday when 1 270 British troops are killed or injured on the first day of the Battle of Paardeberg.
The first airmail flight takes place from Allahabad, India, with the delivery of 6 500 letters to Naini, 10km away.
Samuel Marks, Kimberley diamond buyer of Kimberley and senator in the parliament of the Union of South Africa, dies in Johannesburg, aged 77. Sammy Marks Square in Pretoria was named after him.
Mega, the Italian headquarters in southern Abyssinia, falls to SA forces.
The Nazis arrest the members of the intellectual, non-violent White Rose movement.
The Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles.
A 54kg octopus measuring 7m across captured in Hood Canal, Washington.
The Space Shuttle, welded above a Boeing 747, goes on its maiden flight.
The Navy frigate SAS President Kruger sinks off Cape Point after colliding with the SAS Tafelberg, 18 sailors die.
Up to 295 people, including 200 rescue workers, die near Nishapur, Iran, when a runaway train carrying sulfur, petrol and fertilizer catches fire.
WikiLeaks publishes the first of hundreds of thousands of classified documents disclosed by the soldier Bradley Edward Manning, who is now known as Chelsea Manning.
Armed robbers steal diamonds worth $50 million from Brussels Airport.
Ukrainian Revolution begins as protesters and riot police take part in violent events in the capital, Kiev.
Aseman Airlines flight crashes in the Zagros mountains, Iran, killing all 66 on board. | THE HISTORIAN