In this week: 31st May - 6th June

This week sees the first TV broadcasts in New Zealand and the opening of a bridge over the River Thames, along with birthdays for 2 best seller British authors.

31^st May

50 years ago: in 1970, The Great Peruvian Earthquake (also called the Ancash earthquake) occurred. More than 47,000 people were killed while the town of Yungay was buried by an avalanche that killed 17,000 people.

15 years ago: in 2005, Mark Felt, the former Associate Director of the FBI, admitted that he was the Watergate Scandal whistleblower known as “Deep Throat” who provided information to the Washington Post that led to the downfall of U.S. President Richard Nixon.

Birthdays

Clint Eastwood – US actor and director, 90.

Terry Waite – English humanitarian and author, 81

Sharon Gless – US actor, best remembered as Christine Cagney in TV show Cagney and Lacey, 77.

1^st June

60 years ago: in 1960, Television broadcasts began in New Zealand.

40 years ago: in 1980, Cable News Network (CNN) began broadcasting.

Birthdays

Robert Powell – English actor, 76

Ronnie Wood – English guitarist and member of the Rolling Stones, 73

2^nd June

100 years ago: in 1920, British television scriptwriter Johnny Speight was born. He was best known for creating the sitcoms Till Death Us Do Part and In Sickness and in Health and also wrote for several well-known radio and television comedians. He died aged 78 from pancreatic cancer in 1998.

50 years ago: in 1970, Bruce McLaren, New Zealand racing driver and racing car designer was killed while testing a car at Goodwood, England.

Birthdays

King Constantine II of Greece, 80.

Tony Hadley – lead singer of Spandau Ballet and DJ, 60

3^rd June

70 years ago: in 1950, the first successful ascent of Annapurna in the Himalayas was achieved by a French expedition led by Maurice Herzog. This was the first successful ascent of a mountain over 8,000 meters. Annapurna is the 10th highest mountain in the world.

30 years ago: in 1990, Robert Noyce, American engineer and co-inventor of the integrated circuit died from heart failure, aged 62. He was co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel.

Birthdays

Dame Penelope Wilton – English actress, 74.

Suzi Quatro – American–English singer-songwriter, 70.

4^th June

100 years ago: in 1920, World War I was concluded when Hungary and the Allies signed the Treaty of Trianon in Paris, France. Hungary lost 71% of its territory and 63% of its population.

30 years ago: in 1990, American euthanasia advocate Jack Kevorkian participated in his first assisted suicide, that of Janet Adkins, an Alzheimer’s disease sufferer. He participated in the assisted suicides of at least 130 terminally ill people between 1990 and 1998 before being convicted of second degree murder and imprisoned. He served 8 years of a 10–25 year sentence.

Birthdays

Bob Champion – English jockey, 72.

Val McDermid – Scottish author, 65.

Bradley Walsh – English TV presenter and comedian, 60

5^th June

75 years ago: In 1945, after the end of World War II, the Allied Control Council was established in Berlin, Germany to oversee the division of Germany into four occupation zones: American, British, French and Soviet.

10 years ago: in 2010, Same-sex marriage was legalized in Portugal.

 

Birthdays

Ken Follett – Welsh top selling author, 71

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Samoan-New Zealand rugby league player, 27.

6^th June

99 years ago: in 1921, 

Southwark Bridge in London was opened to traffic by King George V and Queen Mary.

77 years ago: In 1933, the first drive-in movie theatre opened in Camden, New Jersey, USA.

Birthdays

Willie John McBride – Northern Irish rugby player and former British Lions captain, 80.

Robert Englund – American actor, best known for paying Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street series of movies, 73.