This day in history

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.

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.

The Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) attack a military base in Guaviare, Colombia, in protest of the Colombian military’s drug eradication program.

Northern India is hit by terrible flooding making two million people homeless.

In Munich, American swimmer Mark Spitz becomes the first man to win 7 gold medals at the same Olympic Games.

In Britain, a government sponsored report recommends that consenting homosexual activity between adults should be decriminalised.