1787 – Arthur Phillip sets sails with 11 ships of criminals to Botany Bay, Australia
1830 – Republic of Ecuador is founded, with Juan Jose Flores as president
1846 – Tensions between Mexico and the United States—stemming from the U.S. annexation of Texas (1845)—led the U.S. Congress on this day in 1846 to approve overwhelmingly a declaration of war against its southern neighbour.
1917 – Three children—Lucia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto—reported seeing the Virgin Mary near Fátima, Portugal.
1934 – Great dustbowl storm sweeps across US prairies
1940 – Winston Churchill says “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat” in his first speech as Prime Minister to British House of Commons
1960 – A Swiss expedition led by Max Eiselin reached the summit of Dhaulagiri in the Himalayas.
1981 – Pope John Paul II is shot and critically wounded by Turkish gunman Mehemet Ali Agca in St Peter’s Square, Vatican City
1989 – Approx 2,000 students begin hunger strike in Tiananmen Square, China
Births & Deaths:
1950 – American musician Stevie Wonder, a child prodigy who developed into one of the most creative musical figures of the late 20th century, was born in Saginaw, Michigan.
Sport:
1950 – First ever race of the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship is run at Silverstone, England and won by Giuseppe Farina of italy in an Alfa Romeo
Music:
1767 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s first opera “Apollo et Hyacinthus”, written when he was 11 years old, premieres in Salzburg
TV & Film:
2004 – The final episode of “Frasier” on NBC is watched by 33 million people
Via Britannica / On This Day
