IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

— In 1561, Cardinal Carlo-Carafa became the last Roman Catholic prelate sentenced to death by a Pope. — In 1789, the first U.S. Congress met in New York City. — In 1791, the Constitutional Act dividing Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada was introduced into the British House of Commons by Prime Minister William Pitt. — In 1809, James Madison was sworn into office as the fourth president of the United States.The occasion marked the first time an inaugural ball was held the evening after the swearing-in. — In 1865, the New Brunswick government led by Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley was defeated in an election by Albert Smith, who ran on an antiConfederation ticket. Within a year, however, New Brunswickers had changed their minds about Confederation, Smith was forced to resign and Tilley was returned to power. — In 1870, a Metis firing squad executed Ontario adventurer Thomas Scott for attempting to overthrow Louis Riel's government at Manitoba's Red River Colony. The sentence ultimately led to Riel’s execution 15 years later. — In 1901, Canadian medical researcher Wilbur R. Franks was born in Toronto. He led the team which, in 1941, invented the first workable anti-gravity suit to prevent pilot blackouts during high-speed manoeuvres. The suit began to be used the following year by Allied fighter pilots during the Second World War. Franks died in 1986. — In 1908, a fire at Lake View School in Collinwood, Ohio, claimed the lives of 172 children and three adults. — In 1943, Mrs. Miniver won six Academy Awards, including best actress for Greer Garson. Her fiveand-a-half minute acceptance speech became the butt of industry jokes. — In 1946, Communist MP Fred Rose and 13 others were charged with spying for the Soviet Union. — In 1961, John Diefenbaker became the first Canadian prime minister to officially visit Belfast and Dublin. — In 1966, a sex scandal involving a senior Ottawa official and a prostitute named Gerda Munsinger became known to Parliament and the country. Liberal Justice Minister Lucien Cardin revealed that Pierre Sevigny, associate minister of defence in the Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, had an affair in the late 1950s and early ’60s with Munsinger. After being warned Munsinger was a security risk, Diefenbaker reprimanded Sevigny but kept him in cabinet. A later inquiry found no security breach, but said Diefenbaker was too lenient. — In 1971, Pierre Elliott Trudeau married Margaret Sinclair in Vancouver, becoming the first prime minister to marry while in office. — In 1975, television cameras were allowed to record the regular proceedings of Parliament for the first time. The cameras were allowed to film a session of the Senate committee on legal and constitutional affairs. — In 1982, Bertha Wilson made judicial history when she became the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. — In 1989, NDP leader Ed Broadbent announced he would resign after 14 years and four federal elections. — In 1994, Canadian actor John Candy died of a heart attack while filming in Mexico. He was 43.