Australia Parliament opened

Australia Parliament opened

May 9, 2009 04:00:00 am

On May 9, 1901, the Parliament of Australia convened for the first time in Melbourne. The Australian Parliament also held its first meeting in the new capital of Canberra 26 years later on the same day 1927. Finally, on this day in 1988 Australian opened its new Parliament House in Canberra.

Read the Constitution of Australia.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Watergate burglary trial began

On January 8, 1973, seven men went on trial in Washington DC in connection with a June 17, 1972 break-in to Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate Hotel. Read more about the Watergate burglary and cover-up.

France approves self-determination for Algeria

On January 8, 1961, voters in France overwhelmingly approved self-determination for Algeria. By a 75 percent margin, French citizens voted in favor of a referendum which allowed the colony of Algeria to determine its own future. On July 1, 1961, Algerians elected to become an independent nation by a near-unanimous margin. These events concluded nearly a decade of fighting in the French-Algerian War. Learn more about the history of the French-Algerian War.