1991 - British heavyweight Frank Bruno (above left) began his comeback by demolishing Dutchman John Emmen inside a round at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Bruno, making his first appearance in the ring since losing a world title fight to Mike Tyson in February 1989, hardly broke sweat to see off the weak challenge of the Dutch male model. He floored Emmen with a double jab and clubbing right to the back of the head, bundled him to the canvas a second time and then floored the Benelux champion with a looping left to the head. Emmen pulled himself up at eight, but was badly hurt and the count was continued after the bell. Bruno, regarded with great affection by the British public, feared his ring career was over in April after having surgery for a torn retina.
Other important events:
1789 - New Jersey becomes the first US state to ratify the Constitution’s Bill of Rights.
1818 - Simon Bolivar formally declares Venezuela independent of Spain.
1873 - Rival cities of Buda and Pest are united to form the capital of Hungary.
1888 - American jeweller William Bundy invents the first time clock, used for recording employees’ working hours.
1910 - Revolution breaks out in Mexico, led by Francisco I. Madero.
1917 - The Ukrainian Republic is proclaimed.
1924 - Kurdish Revolt in Turkey is crushed.
1929 - Spanish artist Salvador Dali has his first one-man show.
1947 - England’s Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten are married in London’s Westminster Abbey.
1959 - Britain, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark and Sweden meet to form European Free Trade Association.
1975 - Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco dies.
1977 - Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to speak before the Israeli parliament.
1979 - Jumeirah Grand Mosque is ceremonially opened in Dubai.
1985 - Microsoft Windows 1.0 is released.
1992 - A fire at Windsor Castle destroys one of Britain’s biggest attractions, but rescuers help save the castle’s art treasures.
1993 - Macedonian jetliner carrying 116 people crashes into mountain, only one person survives.
1995 - Polish President Lech Walesa loses to Aleksander Kwasniewski in the presidential runoff.
1999 - The new bowling centre opens in Abu Dhabi.
2003 - A car bomb explodes outside the British consulate and HSBC bank in Istanbul, leaving at least 27 people dead.
2006 - Chinese President Hu Jintao begins landmark India visit.
2009 - Raging floods engulf northern England’s picturesque Lake District following the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Britain, killing a police officer.
2012 - France ends Afghanistan mission after two years.
