In 1965 Gambia starts this day as an independent sovereign state of Africa after 300 years of British colonial rule. Gambia became the smallest Sovereign State of Africa bring the number to 37 in total. It will also become the 116th member of the United Nations and the 26th member of the Commonwealth (they later withdrew their membership from the Commonwealth of Nations on the 3rd of October 2013). Dawda Jawara becomes Gambia’s first Prime Minister and he would lead the country with his democratically elected government until he was ousted in 1994 after a military coup.
In 1930 Pluto was discovered at the Lowell observatory in Arizona, US by astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh. The ninth planet was first proposed by Percivall Lowell, was an American businessman who became an accomplished astronomer. He predicted a ninth planet or ‘planet X’ as he called it from the perturbations (a slight wobble or deviation) of the orbital path of Uranus and Neptune (These wobbles are normally caused by the gravitational pull of foreign bodies). He searched for many years at the Lowell observatory, which he founded, but was unable to find planet X. After his death, as lens technology improved the observatory were able to install a larger, more powerful telescope which Tombaugh used to continue the search. On this day in 1930 Tombaugh found the tiny planet but the observatory waited until the anniversary of Lowell’s birth (13th of March) to announce their findings.
In 1778 English Rancher John Tunstall was shot dead in cold blood starting a war in Lincoln County, USA. John Tunstall had employed young gunmen including William Bonney (who would later be known as ‘Billy the Kid’) for protection as tensions rose between himself and two Irish-Americans (J.J. Dolan and L.G. Murphy) owners of a general store called ‘The House’ and who wanted to control the beef market in the area. On this day in 1778 a posse sent by the store owners entered Murphy’s ranch but soon left after meeting Bonney and the other hired guns. Before they left the ranch Tunstall, who was alone, approached the posse demanding they didn’t return when one of the men shot him. The Tunstall hired guns could only watch as their boss was shot dead in cold blood and for this they would seek revenge against The House and its allies.
