IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

— In 1570, Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I of England, declaring her a usurper because she embraced Protestantism. — In 1723, British astronomer and architect Sir Christopher Wren died. He's best known for designing St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. — In 1832, a charter was granted for the construction of Canada’s first railway, the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railway. — In 1836, inventor Samuel Colt patented his revolver — the first revolving barrel multi-shot firearm. — In 1880, the New Brunswick legislature in Fredericton was destroyed by fire. — In 1884, a company that would later become Inco began mining operations at Sudbury, Ont. — In 1924, Douglas Jung — the first ChineseCanadian elected to Parliament — was born in Victoria. Jung represented Vancouver Centre for the Conservatives from 1957-62. — In 1928, W3XK Washington became North America’s first licensed television station. — In 1940, the New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-2 at Madison Square Garden in the world’s first televised hockey game. It was aired on Westinghouse station W2XBS. — In 1948, Communists seized power Czechoslovakia. in — In 1964, Cassius Clay, who later changed his name to Muhammad Ali, became world heavyweight boxing champion by defeating Sonny Liston in Miami Beach. — In 1966, the 13-kilometre, $200-million east-west Toronto subway was opened by Prime Minister Lester Pearson. — In 1968, Quebec Premier Daniel Johnson accused Justice Minister Pierre Trudeau of displaying a dangerous ignorance of Quebec and the nature of federalism. In 1982, Maclean Hunter Ltd. acquired 50 per cent ownership of the Sun newspapers in Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary. — In 1983, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams died at age 71. — In 1986, after 20 years of rule, Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos resigned. The 68-year-old Marcos and his family fled to Guam. Corazon Aquino, widow of the assassinated Benigno Aquino, succeeded Marcos. — In 1991, the Warsaw Pact, created by the Soviet Union and other eastern European countries as a counter-force to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, voted to dissolve on March 31. — In 1993, The Supreme Court of Canada ruled 4-3 that gay and lesbian couples aren’t families under the Canadian Human Rights Act. However, Justice Antonio Lamer wrote that he might have voted differently if the act had prohibited discrimination against homosexuals. Justice Minister Kim Campbell had introduced amendments to do just that in December. — In 1997, multimillionaire John du Pont was found guilty of murder in the fatal shooting of Olympic champion wrestler David Schultz, but a jury decided he was mentally ill. — In 2003, Roh Moo-hyun, 57, was sworn in as President of South Korea. — In 2005, Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel gave up his fight to stay in Canada. The 65-year-old white supremacist was put on a plane in early March to return to Germany where he would spend five years in a German prison before being freed in 2010. — In 2007, The Departed was named Best Picture at the 79th Annual Academy Awards. Martin Scorsese won his first Oscar for directing it. Forest Whitaker won Best Actor for The Last King of Scotland and the Best Actress award went to Helen Mirren for The Queen. — In 2010, Ile-Dupas, Que.-native Joannie Rochette won the hearts of Canadians with an inspirational performance to earn an Olympic bronze medal in figure-skating just days after her mother’s death.