Today in History

1812 – The United States declares war on Britain because of restrictions imposed on shipping.

1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte defeated at Waterloo, in Belgium, by the Duke of Wellington.

1895 – Southland woman Minnie Dean goes on trial for baby murder, leading to her conviction and execution.

1932 – Esther James arrives in Bluff after walking the length of the country to promote NZ-made goods during the Depression.

1940 – General Charles de Gaulle makes his famous BBC broadcast, declaring himself leader of the Free French and urging compatriots to resist Nazi occupation.

1983 – Sally Ride becomes the first American woman to travel into space, aboard Challenger.

1995 – All Blacks wing Jonah Lomu, lays waste to England in the semifinal of the Rugby World Cup in South Africa, scoring four tries in a 45-29 win.

2000 – Tiger Woods, left, wins his first US Open by 15 strokes, a record margin in a Major golf championship.

2001 – Nearly 14,000 New Zealand dairy farmers vote to merge the country’s main milk-processing and marketing companies into one, to be known as Fonterra.

2006 – Three-month-old twins Chris and Cru Kahui die of serious head injuries in Auckland’s Starship hospital. The deaths trigger a homicide inquiry centred on their family.

Birthdays

Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer (1882-1971; George Mallory, UK mountaineer (1886-1924); Denny Hulme, NZ racing driver (1936-92); Roger Ebert, US film critic (1942-2013); Sir Paul McCartney, UK musician (1942-); Thabo Mbeki, South African politician (1942-); Simon Dallow, NZ TV presenter (1964-); Nigel Owens, UK rugby referee (1971-); Cameron Smith, Australian rugby league player (1983-); Georgia Fowler, NZ model (1992-).