V.S. Naipaul, the Trinidad-born British author whose restless quest for roots in a post-colonial world redefined outdated notions of identity, won the Nobel Literature Prize for works that “compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories,” the Swedish Academy said. “V.S. Naipaul is a literary circumnavigator, only ever really at home in himself, in his inimitable voice,” the academy said in its citation. Naipaul said he was “utterly delighted, this is an unexpected accolade. It is a great tribute to England, my home, and to India, home of my ancestors,” he said. Born in Trinidad, the son of an Indian civil servant, Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, 69, has been based in England since the 1950s yet has spent much of his life travelling around the world seeking answers and inspiration.
Other important events:
1797 The Dutch fleet is defeated by British off Camperdown, Holland.
1811 The first steam-powered ferry boat, the ‘Juliana’, is put into operation in the United States between New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey.
1828 Russians occupy Varna, now in Bulgaria, in war against Turkey.
1899 South African Boers declare war on Great Britain.
1933 Latin American countries sign the Rio de Janeiro non-aggression pact.
1950 The US Federal Communications Commission issues the world’s first licence to broadcast colour television.
1963 The United Nations condemns repression in South Africa by 106-1 vote.
1968 Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, is launched.
1971 Aristides Royo is elected president of Panama.
1980 Iraq severs diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya and North Korea, accusing them of providing assistance to Iran.
1984 Space shuttle Challenger astronaut Kathy Sullivan becomes the first American woman to walk in space.
1992 Voters in Lebanon’s Kesrouan district elect five deputies, completing the country’s first parliamentary elections in 20 years.
1995 Palestinians shows their jubilation as Israel quits more areas in the West Bank.
1996 American military forces begin withdrawing from Bosnia.
1997 Jordan breaks off security ties with Israel.
2000 South African cricket officials ban Hansie Cronje from cricket for life for his part in the worst sporting scandal.
2001 Colombian rebels release two German hostages after holding them for almost three months.
2002 Former US president Jimmy Carter wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
2008 A strong earthquake hits Chechnya and other parts of Russia’s North Caucasus, killing at least 12 people.
2009 Pakistani commandos free around 40 hostages held by militants at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, ending a 24-hour siege with deaths of 19 people.
2010 The Cayman Islands win their first-ever Commonwealth Games gold medal after Cydonie Mothersill powers to the women’s 200-metre crown.
2011 Emirates NBD, the largest Gulf bank by assets, takes over Dubai Bank.
2012 Former Bangladesh army chief and chairman of a business group Harunur Rashid is jailed for fraud and money laundering cases.
2015 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton wins inaugural Sochi F1 Grand Prix, Russia.
