Friday, July 9
2004-07-09 07:20
Today is Friday, July 9, the 190th day of 2004. There are 175 days left in the year.
Highlights in history on this date:
1519 - Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes lands in Mexico, founds the town of Veracruz and begins conquering the surrounding land.
1540 - The marriage of England's King Henry VIII to Anne of Cleves is annulled by convocations of Canterbury and York so he can marry 20-year-old Catherine Howard, his fifth wife.
1609 - Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II is forced to grant charter permitting freedom of religion in Bohemia in what is now the Czech Republic.
1816 - The United Provinces of La Plata- now Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and part of Bolivia- declare themselves independent from Spain.
1888 - Death of President JH Brand of the Orange Free State.
1915 - German forces in southwest Africa surrender to South Africans under Louis Botha.
1925 - Revolution breaks out in Ecuador.
1934 - The Hitler Jugend Beweging (youth movement) is suppressed in South West Africa.
1944 - Allied forces take Caen, France, from the Germans.
1947 - The engagement of England's Princess Elizabeth to Lt Philip Mountbatten is announced.
1959 - A Royal Air Force Valiant under Wing Commander MJ Beetham sets a new record for the London-Cape Town flight, completing the journey in 11 hours 27 minutes.
1963 - An agreement is signed to create Federation of Malaysia, uniting Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo.
1971 - Last US base guarding demilitarised zone in Vietnam is turned over to South Vietnamese troops. Some 2 000 men storm King Hassan's birthday party in Morocco, killing 100 people in an attempted coup; the king survives.
1987 -Mozambique and the Soviet Union reject the Margo Commission findings on the Machel air crash, released on this day. The findings say the crash was due to human error on the part of the crew.
1989 - Carlos Menem is sworn in as president in the first civilian succession in 60 years in Argentina.
1991 - The International Olympic Committee readmits South Africa after three decades.
1991- The British actors' union, Equity, decides to retain its ban on the sale of television and other recorded material to South Africa.
1992 - The former prime minister of Bulgaria, Andrei Lukanov, is arrested on allegations of economic mismanagement.
1994 - The brother of media magnate and future Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi is indicted on corruption charges involving pension funds held by Italy's largest savings bank.
1995 - French navy commandos firing tear gas storm a Greenpeace ship shortly after it enters French waters heading for the site of planned nuclear tests in the South Pacific.
1996 - Russia resumes an offensive in Chechnya after President Boris Yeltsin wins re-election.
1997 - Nevada Athletic Commission revokes Mike Tyson's boxing license and fines him US$3 million after he bites Evander Holyfield's ear in a title match.
1998 - Colombian president-elect Andres Pastrana has a surprise meeting with leaders of the leftist FARC guerillas, the first time a Colombian president meets directly with rebels.
1999 - The leaders of China and Japan reach a secret agreement on trade terms ahead of China's bid to join the World Trade Organisation.
2000 - Police fire tear gas at unruly fans during a World Cup qualifying soccer game between Zimbabwe and South Africa, setting off a stampede that kills 12 people.
2001 - A Chilean appeals court rules that General Augusto Pinochet cannot be tried on violation of human rights charges because of the former dictator's deteriorating health.
2002 - US President George W Bush delivers a speech in New York City's financial district urging greater corporate responsibility and proposing tougher penalties for white-collar crimes.
2003 - Canada's government announces a provisional distribution system for medical marijuana that would involve shipping government supplies of the drug directly to eligible patients' doctors.
Today's Birthdays:
Frederich Henle, German pathologist and anatomist (1809-1885); Elias Howe, US inventor of sewing machine (1819-1867); Nikola Tesla, Serbian-American inventor (1856-1943); Barbara Cartland, British writer (1901--2000); Morocco's King Hassan (1929-1999); Brian Dennehy, US actor (1938--), Richard Roundtree, US actor (1942--), Orenthal James (OJ) Simpson, US football player (1947--), Jimmy Smits, US actor (1955--), Lisa Banes, US actress (1955--), Tom Hanks, US actor (1956--).
Thought For Today:
Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome- Isaac Asimov, US Writer (1920-1992) - Sapa-AP
- SAPA