ON THIS DAY

An earthquake in Portugal kills tens of thousands of people, flattening Lisbon.

Galileo is banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun, and, thus, the earth is not the centre of the universe, as per the Church’s teachings.

Napoleon escapes from imprisonment on Elba and he and his supporters set out to reconquer France.

A violent earthquake hits Cape Town although there is not much to destroy. Other quakes, caused by the Milnerton Fault, occurred in 1811, 1809, 1695 and 1620.

The English troop carrier, the Birkenhead, runs aground off Danger Point, Gansbaai, and her sinking becomes one of the earliest maritime disaster evacuations during which the concept of “women and children first” is known to have been applied. Owing to too few lifeboats, the chivalrous soldiers – showing remarkable discipline – stand back, allowing the women and children to escape almost certain death. The “Birkenhead drill” of Rudyard Kipling’s poem, Soldier an’ Sailor Too, came to describe courage in the face of hopeless circumstances.

Mahatma Gandhi supports the African People’s Organisation’s resolution to declare the date of the Prince of Wales’ arrival in South Africa a day of mourning, in protest against the disenfranchisement of Indians, coloureds and Africans.

1918 German planes bomb Venice, Italy. 1936 Adolf Hitler introduces Ferdinand Porsche’s Volkswagen (people’s car).

A New York-bound Alitalia airliner crashes into a field next to a cemetery in Shannon, Ireland, shortly after take-off. Of the 52 people on board, 34 were killed in what a local priest described as, “a scene from hell”.

Coalition planes have a field day, bombing Iraqi forces retreating from Kuwait during the Gulf War, killing hundreds and creating the so-called “Highway of Death”.

The world’s second-oldest merchant bank, Barings Bank, collapses after rogue securities broker Nick Leeson gambles away billions of pounds while speculating.

The Taliban destroys two giant Buddha statues – the largest standing Buddhas in the world – in Bamyan, Afghanistan.

7.5 magnitude earthquake in central Papa New Guinea kills at least 100 people.

Cold weather, nicknamed “the Beast from the East”, hits Europe, killing seven and covers Pompeii, in Italy, in snow. | THE HISTORIAN