Georgian deputies elected nationalist leader Zviad Gamsakhurdia to the newly created post of president of the republic, amending the constitution to accord him enhanced executive powers. Gamsakhurdia was elected by acclaim with no dissenting voices, although some deputies did not take part in the vote. At a special session of parliament, the deputies passed a text that called for the direct popular election of a president and mandated a president elected by parliament until a direct election could be held. Non-official sources said direct presidential elections would be held soon. The deputies declared Georgia’s independence from the Soviet Union and gave Gamsakhurdia full powers until a president could be elected in a poll to be held within six months. Georgia, the fourth Soviet republic to declare independence, becomes the first to elect its own president. Gamsakhurdia, 52, thanked the deputies for their vote, adding that “at the present time, Georgia needs a strong authority”. The new Georgian president can dissolve parliament and rule by decree.
Other important events:
1629 Peace of Susa ends war between England and France.
1775 The first American society for the abolition of slavery is organised by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush.
1849 Hungarians proclaim independence from Hapsburg empire.
1865 US President Abraham Lincoln is shot by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford Theatre and dies the following day.
1910 US President William Howard Taft throws the first ball to start the major league baseball season.
1912 British liner Titanic collides with an iceberg in the North Atlantic and begins sinking.
1944 The freighter ‘SS Fort Stikine’ catch fire and explodes in Bombay (now Mumbai) harbour, more than 800 people killed.
1956 Ampex Corp demonstrates its first commercial videotape recorder.
1970 Apollo 13 spacecraft heads back to Earth after moon mission is aborted.
1980 Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi escapes assassination by inches at the hands of a 37-year-old Indian.
1981 Columbia, America’s first operational space shuttle, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California after its first test flight.
1987 Syrian troops deploy at outskirts of Lebanese port city of Sidon.
1988 Soviet Union signs accord to end its intervention in Afghanistan.
1990 Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis says Lithuania will not revoke its declaration of independence.
1994 Two American jets mistakenly shoot down two helicopters and killing 26 US and allied personnel in Iraq.
1995 The UN Security Council votes to ease sanctions on Iraq, giving it easier terms in trading oil for food.
1997 Hundreds of Iranian students clashes with government troops outside the German Embassy.
2006 Chad’s President Idriss Deby breaks off relations with neighbouring Sudan.
2008 Media billionaire Silvio Berlusconi wins Italy’s parliamentary election.
2009 Golden boy boxer Oscar dela Hoya announces his retirement in Los Angeles.
2010 A devastating earthquake hit a remote area of China, killing 589 people.
2013 Nicolas Maduro, former bus driver and protégé of the late Hugo Chavez, win the Venezuelan presidential elections.
2014 A morning rush hour bomb killed at least 71 people at a Nigerian bus station in Abuja.
