A LOOK BACK AT LIFE ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
— In 1666, The Great Fire of London started in a wooden house on Pudding Lane. The fire burned for three days, destroying about 13,200 houses, some bridges and a number of churches and public buildings — including St. Paul’s Cathedral. About 200,000 people were left homeless and six died. The fire is credited with founding the institution of fire insurance.
— In 1752, the Gregorian calendar was adopted in England.
— In 1758, the first Anglican service of worship to be held on Canadian soil was led by Rev. Robert Wolfall at Frobisher Bay, on Baffin Island.
— In 1837, Samuel Morse gave the first public demonstration of his magnetic telegraph.
— In 1901, U.S. Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt offered the advice, “Speak softly and carry a big stick” in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair.
— In 1904, the voyage of Capt. John Claus Voss of Victoria, B.C., from Canada to England in a Nootka Indian dugout canoe, ended. Voss took three years, three months and 12 days to cover 64,000 kilometres under sail, almost circumnavigating the globe. His canoe, The Tilicum, is on display in Victoria.
— In 1909, the Scarborough Beach Park, in suburban Toronto, hosted North America’s first air show. However, the American plane, “The Flyer,” was forced to make an emergency landing in Lake Ontario seconds after taking off.
— In 1912, the first Calgary Stampede began. It was instigated by Guy Weadick, an American trick roper who thought Calgary would be a prime location for a big rodeo.
— In 1918, Canadian troops cracked Germany’s supposedly impregnable Hindenburg Line at two locations in the final stage of the First World War.
— In 1945, the Second World War officially ended when Japan formally surrendered to the Allies aboard the American battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
— In 1965, the Cultural Revolution began in China.
— In 1969, the first automatic teller machine to utilize magnetic-striped cards was opened to the public at Chemical Bank in New York.
— In 1972, the Soviet Union beat an NHL AllStar team 7-3 in Montreal to open their eightgame Summit Series. Canada rallied to win the series (4-3-1) on three consecutive game-winning goals by Paul Henderson in Moscow.