THIS DATE IN history

In 1999, Wayne Gretzky announced that he was retiring from pro hockey after 20 phenomenal NHL seasons. The announcement, at a packed news conference at Madison Square Garden in New York, came less than a day after an emotional farewell game on Canadian soil at the Corel Centre in Kanata, Ont.

In 1912, Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English Channel. She used a Bleriot monoplane to travel from Dover, England to Hardelot, France.

In 1962, Walter Cronkite made his debut as anchor of “The CBS Evening News,” succeeding Douglas Edwards. Cronkite lasted 19 years at the anchor desk before Dan Rather succeeded him in 1981.

In 1995, a deal was reached to end a turbot fishing dispute between Canada and the European Union. The agreement gave Spain a higher turbot quota in the North Atlantic in return for tougher quota enforcement measures.