On this day: World leaders agree on boost at G20 summit

Events, birthdays and anniversaries on 2 April
2009: At the G20 summit, world leaders agreed a $1.1 trillion boost to reverse the credit crunch. Picture: AFP/Getty2009: At the G20 summit, world leaders agreed a $1.1 trillion boost to reverse the credit crunch. Picture: AFP/Getty
2009: At the G20 summit, world leaders agreed a $1.1 trillion boost to reverse the credit crunch. Picture: AFP/Getty

1593: The College of New Aberdeen was founded by the Earl Marischal of Scotland, George Keith of Inverugie.

1595: Spain’s King Philip II undertook to aid Earl of Tyrone’s rebellion in Ireland.

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1699: Admiral John Benbow was sent to West Indies to gain reparations from Spain for destruction of ships at Darien.

1792: The first United States Mint was established at Philadelphia, then the nation’s capital.

1801: Horatio Nelson, aboard the Elephant, said to have put his telescope to his blind eye at the Battle of Copenhagen, and so did not see the signal from Admiral Parker to cease fighting. The Danish fleet was destroyed.

1849: The British annexed the Punjab.

1868: Frances Kidder was hanged outside Maidstone jail for murder, the last public execution of a woman.

1877: The first human cannonball circus act was performed at London’s Amphitheatre, when Zazal was shot by elastic springs into a safety net. She was “fired” every weekday for two years.

1903: Britain and France refused to support construction of Baghdad railway.

1905: The Simplon rail tunnel through the Alps was officially inaugurated in Switzerland.

1907: The first cinema, The Electric Theatre, opened in Los Angeles. The programme featured a four-minute drama entitled Ruined By Hard Drink.

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1946: The Royal Military Academy was established at Sandhurst, combining the Royal Military College there (established 1799) and Royal Military Academy, at Woolwich since 1741.

1951: United States General Dwight Eisenhower took over as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

1954: Britain’s first soap opera, The Grove Family (named after Lime Grove Studios) was transmitted.

1961: Forty Biblical scrolls found in cave in Judaea threw new light on origin of Dead Sea Scrolls and Jewish history.

1973: An ice meteor fell from the sky in Burton Road, Manchester. It contained 51 layers of ice.

1977: Charlotte Brew on Barony Fort became the first woman to ride in a Grand National. Her mount fell at the 27th fence. Red Rum became the only horse ever to win the race three times.

1982: Argentinian forces invaded and occupied the British Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.

1990: Iraqi president Saddam Hussein said he would use binary nerve gas weapons – outlawed since 1925 – against Israel if attacked.

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1990: An earthquake of 5.2 on the Richter scale affected much of England and Wales.

1992: In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti was convicted of murder and racketeering and was later sentenced to life in prison.

2004: Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March, 2004 Madrid attacks attempted to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid. Their attack was thwarted.

2009: At the G20 summit, world leaders agreed a $1.1 trillion boost to reverse the credit crunch.

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