A LOOK BACK AT LIFE ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

— In 1821, the Hudson’s Bay Company and the Northwest Company amalgamated under the name Hudson’s Bay Company. — In 1830, Joseph Smith first published The Book of Mormon. Smith maintained it was derived from golden plates, written in Reformed Egyptian, he discovered with the aid of an angel. — In 1885, the first battle of the Northwest Rebellion took place between North West Mounted Police and Metis troops at Duck Lake, Sask. The Metis under Louis Riel battled police under Supt. L.N.F. Crozier. The shot that began the battle was fired over a misunderstanding when representatives of the two sides came out to negotiate with each other. Crozier gave the order to retreat after a battle lasting about 45 minutes, in which 17 of his men were killed. The Metis lost five men. — In 1908, Prince Edward Island banned all automobiles. The first car had appeared on the island three years earlier, causing such a controversy that the law outlawing the operation of any motor vehicle was passed. That law lasted until 1913. — In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first U.S. team to win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Montreal Canadiens. — In 1921, the racing schooner Bluenose was launched at Lunenberg, N.S. Captained by Angus Walters, she raced five times for the North Atlantic fishermen’s championship and was never beaten. Sold during the Second World War, the Bluenose was wrecked near Haiti in 1946. — In 1956, what’s believed to be the largest volcanic action of the 20th century took place on the Soviet Union’s Kamchatka Peninsula. An eruption by Mount Bezymianny released 2.4 billion tonnes of material. Because the mountain was 50 kilometres from the nearest population centre, no one was killed. — In 1964, Defence Minister Paul Hellyer announced plans to integrate Canada’s army, navy and air force into a single military service. — In 1971, East Pakistan proclaimed its independence, taking the name Bangladesh. — In 1979, the Camp David peace agreement was signed in Washington by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and witnessed by U.S. President Jimmy Carter. — In 1989, the Soviet Union's first open election in almost 70 years saw Russian voters elect Boris Yeltsin as president. — In 2000, Russian voters elected Vladimir Putin to succeed Boris Yeltsin as president.