A LOOK BACK AT LIFE ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

— In 1399, King Henry IV ascended the throne of England. He had usurped the crown from Richard II, beginning the Lancastrian dynasty and planting the seeds of the Wars of the Roses. — In 1846, ether was used as an anesthetic for the first time. Dr. William Morton, a Massachusetts dentist, used the gas experimentally to make Eben Frost unconscious so he could extract an ulcerated tooth. — In 1880, the first photograph was taken of a nebula, or space cloud. — In 1901, car registration in France became compulsory for vehicles driving over 28 km/h. — In 1907, Alexander Graham Bell formed the Aerial Experiment Association at Baddeck, N.S. The group built several successful gasoline-powered biplanes. McCurdy made the first manned flight in Canada on Feb. 23, 1909. The group also worked on hydrofoil boats. — In 1927, Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees hit his 60th homer of the season, establishing a record that stood for 34 years. — In 1938, the Munich agreement, which ceded a large section of Czechoslovakia to Germany, was signed by the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain said it would guarantee “peace in our time,” but it did not prevent Adolf Hitler from seizing the rest of Czechoslovakia in March, 1939. — In 1944, Canadian troops captured the port of Calais, France, during the Second World War. — In 1946, an international military tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany found 22 top Nazi leaders guilty of war crimes. — In 1947, Canada was elected to the United Nations Security Council to fill one of the elected two-year terms vacated by Australia, Poland and Brazil. — In 1949, the Berlin Airlift officially ended. — In 1950, the Canadian government announced its decision to free the exchange rate of the Canadian dollar. The dollar was pegged at 92.5 cents US in 1962, then allowed to float again about a decade later. — In 1954, in Bonn, nine of the world's most powerful nations agreed on the arming of West Germany. — In 1954, the first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, was commissioned by the U.S. Navy. — In 1966, the Bechuanaland Protectorate became independent and was renamed the Republic of Botswana. — In 1966, Canadian-born Lord Thomson of Fleet bought control of the Times of London newspaper. — In 1970, Telesat Canada and Hughes Aircraft Co. of California signed a $31- million contract to build Canada's first telecommunications satellite. — In 1993, Canada's Supreme Court voted 5-4 to deny a Victoria woman's bid for a doctor-assisted suicide. The following February, Sue Rodriguez — who had Lou Gehrig's disease — committed suicide with the help of an unidentified doctor.