This week in history

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JUNE 4

781 BC: The first historic solar eclipse is recorded in China 1896: Henry Ford, test-drives his ‘Quadricycle’ — the first gasoline-powered automobile 1929: American inventor, George Eastman demonstrates a Technicolor movie in New York 1971: Pakistan’s Zaheer Abbas scores a glorious 274 against England at Edgbaston, in only his second Test 1973: A patent for the ATM is granted to Donald Wetzel, Tom Barnes and George Chastain 1975: Hollywood actress, Angelina Jolie is born 1993: Shane Warne of Australia dismisses England’s Mike Gatting with what is now known as ‘Ball of the Century’

JUNE 5

1783: Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier give the first successful balloon flight demonstration 1968: US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is shot by an assassin and dies the next day 1977: Apple II, one of the first personal computers, goes on sale 1981: The Centers for Disease Control publishes the first report about the disease that would later become known as AIDS 1984: Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi orders an attack on the Golden Temple, the holiest site of the Sikh religion

JUNE 6

1808: Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte is crowned King of Spain 1912: The eruption of Novarupta in Alaska begins. It is the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century 1934: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is established to protect investors and maintain the integrity of the securities markets 1943: Former Pakistan cricket team captain, Asif Iqbal is born 1957: Former English cricket team captain, Mike Gatting is born 1959: Pakistani Test cricketer, Tahir Naqqash is born 1967: Former Pakistan all-rounder, Wasim Haider is born 1969: Indian spinner, Sunil Joshi is born 1973: Former Pakistani cricketer, Ashfaq Ahmed is born 1994: Brian Lara surpasses Hanif Mohammad’s 499 for Warwickshire against Durham to score the most runs in a first-class innings

JUNE 7

1862: The US and Britain agree to suppress slave trade 1892: Benjamin Harrison becomes the first President of the US to attend a baseball game 1917: American singer and actor, Dean Martin is born 1970: Brazilian footballer, Cafu is born 1975: Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder for sale to the public 1991: Mount Pinatubo explodes generating an ash column 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) high

JUNE 8

1945: English cricketer, Derek Underwood is born 1949: George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four is published 1957: Indian actress, Dimple Kapadia is born 1968: The assassin of Martin Luther King Junior — James Earl Ray — is arrested 1982: Ronald Reagan becomes the first US president to address a joint session of Britain’s Parliament 1992: The first World Ocean Day is celebrated, coinciding with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1999: Thomas Harris’s Hannibal hits bookstores

JUNE 9

1822: The first patent for false teeth is registered in the US by Charles Graham 1870: English novelist, Charles Dickens dies 1934: Cartoon character, Donald Duck makes his screen debut in The Wise Little Hen 1959: The first submarine to carry ballistic missiles — The USS George Washington — is launched 1961: Canadian actor, Michael J. Fox is born 1969: The vaccine to prevent German measles is licensed in the US 1981: Hollywood actress Natalie Portman is born 1983: Zimbabwe shock Australia in their first One-Day International during the third World Cup 1984: Dutch football player, Wesley Sneijder is born 1985: Indian actress, Sonam Kapoor is born

JUNE 10

1946: Italy replaces its monarchy with a republic 1965: English model and actress, Elizabeth Hurley is born 1977: Apple ships its first Apple II personal computer — O. A.

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