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SCMP Reporter

In Hong Kong

1964: Hong Kong-born film actress Nancy Kwan arrived from her home in Vienna, accompanied by Bernhard, her 13-month-old son. She told reporters she was here to visit her parents, play mahjong and shop.

1965: Richard Mason's novel, Suzie Wong - on which the film The World Of Suzie Wong was based - was banned as undesirable in South Africa. No reason was given.

Around the world

1663: The first Theatre Royal in London's Drury Lane opened under a charter granted by King Charles II.

1765: HMS Victory, the British battleship and flagship of Lord Nelson, was launched at Chatham, Kent.

1832: Otto of Bavaria was chosen king of Greece by the great powers at the conference of London.

1848: In Warsaw, Polish workers surrendered after Prussian soldiers put down their rebellion.

1863: In the American Civil War, the battle of Vicksburg began when Sherman reinforced Grant and split the Confederate armies under Pemberton in two. The battle and siege lasted until July 4.

1915: The British liner Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine, contributing to the United States' entry into World War I; 1,198 passengers and crew died.

1918: Romania signed the Treaty of Bucharest with Germany and Austria-Hungary but the treaty was nullified in November when the Central Powers collapsed.

1925: William Lever, British entrepreneur who built the international firm of Lever Brothers, died.

1928: The age at which women could vote in Britain was lowered from 30 to 21.

1937: In the United States, the first recorded coast-to-coast radio broadcast took place when Herbert Morrison described the explosion on the airship Hindenburg the day before.

1942: Felix Weingartner, Austrian conductor and composer, died; he was best known for his interpretations of Wagner and Beethoven.

1945: The instruments of the surrender of German forces in World War II were signed by General Jodl, the German chief of staff, at General Eisenhower's headquarters in Rheims.

1954: In North Vietnam, the Vietminh siege of French forces at Dien Bien Phu ended with the surrender of the French.

1960: Kliment Voroshilov was replaced as president of the Soviet Union by Leonid Brezhnev.

1960: Brezhnev announced Francis Gary Powers, pilot of the U-2 plane shot down on May 1, had confessed to being on an intelligence mission for the CIA.

1980: Paul Geidel, convicted of second-degree murder in 1911, was released from prison in Beacon, New York, after serving 68 years and 245 days - the longest-ever time served.

1997: A US government study criticised Switzerland for dealing in Nazi gold during World War II and blamed the Swiss and US governments of the time for their handling of the issue.



Today in history