Today, back in the day
169BC The menorah is lit to rededicate the Holy Temple of Jerusalem after two centuries of foreign rule and religious oppression and a seven-year revolt. The menorah burns for eight days without the sufficient fuel needed to do so, giving birth to the holiday Hanukkah.
1065 A new church devoted to St Peter the Apostle built by Edward the Confessor, later called Westminster Abbey, in London is consecrated.
1700 Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel lays the first bricks of an octagonal church, the tower of which still forms part of the Groote Kerk in Cape Town.
1849 M Jolly-Bellin discovers dry-cleaning when he accidentally upsets a lamp, containing turpentine and oil, on his clothing and sees the cleansing effect.
1879 The bridge over the River Tay in Dundee, Scotland, collapses as a train passes over it, killing 75 people.
1909 Frenchman Albert Kimmerling makes the first powered flight in South Africa when he reaches a height of 6m in East London.
1921 Following a drop in the world price of gold, the Rand Revolt begins with a strike by miners after the announcement of wage reductions on the coal and gold mines and the weakening of the colour bar to allow the promotion of black miners to skilled and supervisory positions.
1943 All Kalmyk inhabitants of the Republic of Kalmukkie deported by the Soviet Union to Central Asia and Siberia. Many die en route.
1963 Scottish Lotus driver Jim Clark wins his record seventh Grand Prix of the F1 season, at the South African event at the Prince George Circuit in East London.
1972 The skeleton of Hitler’s deputy, Martin Bormann, is found in Berlin.
1976 Winnie Mandela is banished to Brandfort.
1984 Carbon-14 dating shows that King Clone – a creosote bush in the Mojave Desert, in southern California – is 11 700 years old, making it one of the oldest living things.
2014 AirAsia Flight 8501 crashes in the Karimata Strait in Indonesia, killing 162 people.
2016 Actress Debbie Reynolds dies of a stroke, the day after her daughter, the Star Wars actress, Carrie Fisher, dies.
2017 Iranian woman Vida Mohaved arrested for protesting against policy of compulsory hijab, sparking other protests.
2018 UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes of Brazil moves up in weight and KOs dominant featherweight Cris "Cyborg" Justino just 51 seconds into the opening round at the Forum, in Inglewood, California, CA. She is the first woman to win UFC titles in multiple weight classes.
2021 Test cricket debutant Scott Boland takes 6 for 7 as Australia retain the Ashes (3-0) with an innings & 14 run win against England in the 3rd Test in Melbourne.