1689: Prince William of Orange (future King William III of Britain) summons the Convention Parliament to discuss ruling jointly with his wife Mary, the daughter of exiled King James II

1879: Battle of Rorke’s Drift: British garrison of 150 holds off 3,000-4,000 Zulu warriors. Eleven Victoria Crosses and several other decorations are awarded to the defenders

1905: In St Petersburg, Russia, a large demonstration of workers led by Father Gapon, march to the Winter Palace with a petition to the Tsar; troops fire on protesters in what becomes known as ‘Bloody Sunday’

1908: Katie Mulcahey is arrested for lighting a cigarette, violating the one-day-old “Sullivan Ordinance” banning women from smoking in public, and is fined $5. Appearing before the judge, she states, “I’ve got as much right to smoke as you have. I never heard of this new law, and I don’t want to hear about it. No man shall dictate to me.”

1973: In a landmark decision, the US Supreme Court legalizes most abortions (Roe v. Wade). Authoring the majority opinion, Harry Blackmun states that the criminalization of abortion does not have “roots in the English common-law tradition.”

Source: Onthisday.com