This Day In European History
18th January
Events532: The Nikos riots in Constantinople, thousands die when Emperor Justinian enforces order.
1486: Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, uniting the warring houses of Lancaster and York.
1778: Captain Cook discovers Hawaii and the Sandwich Islands.
1788: A British fleet of eleven ships and 800 convicts lands in Botany Bay, Australia, to create the first British penal colony, although they actually build it in Port Jackson (Sydney).
1800: The Bank of France is created.
1871: Wilhelm I is proclaimed Kaiser (Emperor) of Germany at Versailles.
1912: British explorer Robert Scott and team become only the second group to reach the South Pole; they were beaten to first by a month and don't survive the return journey.
1934: The first arrest in Britain accomplished by pocket radio.
Births
1689: Charles-Louis de Secondat, French political philosopher.
1779: Peter Mark Roget, English philologist and creator of the Roget's Thesaurus, still updated and published today.
1882: AA Milne, British writer and creator of Winnie-the-Pooh.
1893: Jorge Guillen, Spanish poet.
Deaths
1547: Pietro Bembo, Italian linguist.
1677: Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch merchant and founder of Cape Town, South Africa.
1936: Rudyard Kipling, British author.
