ON THIS DAY JUNE 17

1631 Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, goes on to spend more than 20 years building her tomb – a symbol of great love – the Taj Mahal.

1837 Chemist and inventor Charles Goodyear obtains his first rubber patent.

1855 A heavy French/British bombardment of Sebastopol, in Crimea, kills more than 2 000.

1877 The Nez Perce Indians defeat the US Cavalry at White Bird Canyon in the Idaho Territory.

1885 The Statue of Liberty – A gift from the admiring people of France – arrives in New York City aboard the French ship, Isere.

1928 Aviator Amelia Earhart leaves Newfoundland to become the first woman to cross the Atlantic (as a passenger).

1938 Japan finally declares war on China, a year after invading the country.

1939 The last public guillotining – that of a murderer –takes place in France.

1940 The liner RMS Lancastria is sunk by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire, France.

1950 The first kidney transplant – in Chicago.

1953 Rioters in East Germany demand unification with West Germany.

1954 Rocky “Raging Bull” Marciano beats World Heavyweight Boxing champion Ezzard Charles in 15. Marciano is the only person to hold the heavyweight title undefeated throughout his career with a boxing record of 49 fights, 49 wins and 43 KOs. He dies, aged 45, in a plane crash in 1969.

1958 Things Fall Apart by Nigerian Chinua Achebe is published. It is said to be the most widely read book in African literature.

1974 The Provisional Irish Republican Army bombs the Houses of Parliament in London.

1982 President Galtieri resigns after leading Argentina to defeat in the Falkland Islands.

1991 The last apartheid laws are abolished.

1992 The slaughtering by Inkhata-followers at Boipatong leaves 42 people dead.