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476: Western Roman Empire falls
Romulus Augustus, the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed by Odoacer, a German barbarian who proclaims himself king of Italy. Odoacer was a mercenary leader in the Roman imperial army when he launched his mutiny against the young emperor. At Piacenza, he defeated Roman General Orestes, the emperor’s powerful father, and then took Ravenna, the capital of the Western Empire since 402. Although Roman rule continued in the East, the crowning of Odoacer marked the end of the original Roman Empire.
2006
The Australian wildlife enthusiast and television presenter Steve Irwin, known as the “The Crocodile Hunter”, is killed by a stingray during a dive off the Australian coast.1997
In Israel, three suicide attacks take place in Jerusalem killing 7 people and injuring hundreds more.1996
The Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) attack a military base in Guaviare, Colombia, in protest of the Colombian military’s drug eradication program.1985
The wreck of the ocean liner The Titanic is photographed by remote control on the North Atlantic seabed where she sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg on her maiden voyage.1978
Northern India is hit by terrible flooding making 2 million people homeless.1972
In Munich, American swimmer Mark Spitz becomes the first man to win 7 gold medals at the same Olympic Games.1964
Queen Elizabeth II opens the Forth Road Bridge across the Firth of Forth in Scotland.1957
In Britain, a government sponsored report recommends that consenting homosexual activity between adults should be decriminalised.1957
In America, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus uses the National Guard to prevent nine African American students from entering Central High School in Little Rock.1945
The Second World War: 2,200 Japanese soldiers finally lay down their arms-days after their government had already surrendered.1918
United States troops land at Archangel, in northern Russia in support of the provisional government in its civil war against the Bolsheviks.1888
U.S. inventor and philanthropist George Eastman patents rolls of film for hand-held cameras.