1964: US Surgeon General Luther Terry issues the first government report saying smoking may be hazardous to one’s health.
1569: First lottery in England is drawn in St Paul’s Cathedral under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth I.
1919: Romania annexes Transylvania.
1935: Aviator Amelia Earhart begins a trip from Honolulu to Oakland, California, becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean.
1943: Britain and the United States relinquish extraterritorial rights in China.
1972: New state of Bangladesh is recognised by East Germany.
1986: L Douglas Wilder becomes Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, making him the first African-American sworn in as a Southern state official since the American Civil War.
1997: Burundian soldiers shoot and kill 126 Hutu refugees trying to break out of a holding camp in north-eastern Burundi.
1999: Haiti’s President Rene Preval dissolves Parliament after a 22-month impasse with no working government. He appoints a premier and a Cabinet by decree.
2001: Gen Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator, enters the Santiago military hospital to undergo neurological and mental tests ordered by a judge seeking to try him on human rights charges.
2009: Lawmakers, Muslim groups and the Pakistani public criticise Prince Harry after a British newspaper publishes video footage of him using offensive and racist language.
2011: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange vows to step up his site’s release of secret documents while he fights extradition to Sweden.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Francesco Parmigianino, Italian artist (1504-1540); Rod Taylor, Australian actor (1930-2015); Jean Chretien, former Canadian prime minister (1934-); Clarence Clemons, US saxophonist w/rock group Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (1942-2011); Kim Coles, US actress (1962-); Mary J Blige, US singer (1971-), Seun Kuti.
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