1996 - Europe’s Ariane-5 rocket veered off course 37 seconds into its maiden flight and was blown up by ground controllers, raining flaming debris near the European Space Agency (ESA) launch centre. The four Cluster scientific satellites atop the unmanned launcher were destroyed. “The launcher was destroyed by ground control. The mission’s security service detonated the rocket due to a deviation in the launcher’s trajectory,” said Louis Laide, communications director of France’s space agency. The failure was a serious setback to western Europe’s bid to extend its dominance in the lucrative commercial satellite launch market in the 21st century. French Telecommunications and Space Minister Francois Fillon said a second Ariane-5 launch may be delayed.
Other important events
1814 - The Restoration monarchy is established in France.
1859 - Austrians are defeated at Magenta by French, who free Milan in Italy.
1912 - Massachusetts passes the first minimum-wage law in the United States.
1944 - Allied forces enter Rome in Second World War.
1965 - The English rock group Rolling Stones releases Satisfaction, one of their most enduring hits.
1970 - Kingdom of Tonga in Pacific becomes member of British Commonwealth.
1974 - Sally D. Murphy becomes the first female helicopter pilot in the United States Army.
1979 - South African President John Vorster resigns amid scandal.
1982 - The first secretary of the Kuwaiti Embassy in India, Mustafa Al Marzook, is shot dead in his South Delhi residence.
1987 - Indian Air Force planes drop rice, wheat and sugar supplies over the predominantly Tamil northern Sri Lanka.
1989 - Chinese army troops storm Tiananmen Square in Beijing to crush the pro-democracy movement.
2000 - US and Russia sign agreements committing their countries to dispose of 34 tonnes of weapons-grade plutonium.
2004 - Gyanendra, the last king of Nepal, ascends the throne after the massacre in Royal Palace.
2005 - The UAE is declared one of the most competitive nations in the world.
2007 - Former Liberian President Charles Taylor boycotts opening of his war crimes trial in The Hague.
2008 - Barack Obama makes history by becoming the first black presidential nominee of a major US party.
2010 - British environmentalist Roz Savage has become the first woman to row alone across the Pacific Ocean after finishing a nearly 13,000km journey.
2011 - Li Na makes history at the French Open, becoming the first player from China to win a Grand Slam singles title.
2013 - Emirates Excellence Council is formed in the UAE to bring all local and federal excellence programmes under one umbrella.
2014 - Heathrow’s refurbished Terminal 2 reopens in London.
