1065: New church devoted to St Peter the Apostle built by Edward the Confessor – later called the ‘west minister’ consecrated in London (rebuilt mid 13th century)

1612: First observation of Neptune – Galileo observes and records a “fixed star” without realising it is a planet

1767: King Taksin crowned King of Thailand and establishes Thonburi as his capital

1836: Spain recognizes the independence of Mexico

1860: Harriet Tubman arrives in Auburn, New York, on her last mission to free slaves, having evaded capture for 8 years on the Underground Railroad

1908: Earthquake strikes Messina in Italy, killing nearly 80,000

1943: All Kalmyk inhabitants of the Republic of Kalmukkie deported by the Soviet Union to Central Asia and Siberia. Many die en route.

Source: Onthisday.com