1998 - A daredevil British pilot was flying high after completing a record-breaking 49-day 12,000-mile microlight flight to Australia and raising thousands of pounds for charity. Colin Bodill, 45, from Nottingham, smashed the existing record by 10 days. His epic flight from London to Sydney, in a microlight named “The Spirit of Diana”, has raised tens of thousands of pounds for the Princess’s memorial fund. Support team member Marie Oldham said Colin arrived safely in Sydney at 2.15am UK time and was celebrating his achievement. The eventful journey began on November 30 when he set off from London’s city airport, and during the ensuing 49 days experienced a variety of adventures. He was arrested by French police who wrongly alleged he had failed to notify them he was landing at Nice Airport.
Othr important events
1718 - Avalanche destroys every building in Leukerbad, Switzerland, killing 53.
1759 - Holy Roman Empire declares war on Prussia.
1893 - Hawaii’s monarchy is overthrown as a group of businessmen and sugar planters force Queen Liliuokalani to abdicate.
1852 - Sand River Convention establishes South African Republic of Transvaal.
1871 - Wire manufacturer Andrew Hallidie patents the cable car.
1913 - Raymond Poincaré is elected President of France.
1945 - Soviet troops liberate Budapest, Hungary, during the Second World War.
1946 - The United Nations Security Council meets for the first time, in London.
1948 - Netherlands and Republic of Indonesia sign truce.
1959 - Federal state of Mali is formed by Union of Republics of Senegal and French Sudan.
1981 - Martial law is lifted in Philippines after eight years.
1984 - Saudi Consul Hussain Abdullah Farrash is kidnapped in Beirut, he was released after 16 months.
1989 - A gunman opens fire on an elementary school playground at Cleveland School, California, killing five children.
1994 - A major earthquake strikes Los Angeles, killing at least 74.
1995 - Japan’s deadliest earthquake in 70 years slams Kobe and other western cities, killing more than 5,000 people.
1996 - Brigadier Julius Maada Bio is sworn in as President of Sierra Leone.
1997 - Norwegian explorer Børge Ousland becomes the first person to cross Antarctica solo.
2002 - The volcano Nyiragongo in eastern Congo erupts, forcing most of the 500,000 residents of the nearby city of Goma to flee.
2004 - About 10,000 Muslim women march through Paris to protest against France’s plan to ban head coverings in public schools.
2008 - A British Airways jet from Beijing carrying 152 people crash-lands at London’s Heathrow airport, injuring 19 people.
2010 - 139 members of the International Renewable Energy Agency meet for the inaugural summit held in Abu Dhabi.
