TODAY IN HISTORY: Model A unveiled

In 1552, St. Francis Xavier, the founder of the Jesuits, died while on a missionary journey to China.

In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French.

In 1927, Henry Ford unveiled his Model A car. The roadster was priced at $385.

In 1942, the atomic age was born with the first controlled nuclear chain reaction on a squash court at the University of Chicago.

In 1963, a new transpacific telephone cable linking Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand was officially inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth.The prime ministers of the four countries talked via more than 24,000 kilometres of underwater cable.

In 1969, Vancouver and Buffalo were awarded National Hockey League franchises.

In 1970, rock singer Eric Burdon announced what was billed as a “curb the clap” campaign to raise money for the Los Angeles Free Clinic. Burdon’s manager said the performer had had venereal disease four or five times and was determined to wipe out what the manager termed “the No. 1 sickness in the record business today.”

In 1973, The Who spent the night in jail in Montreal after causing $6,000 worth of damage to a hotel room. The incident inspired bassist John Entwistle to write “Cell Block Number Seven.”

In 1983, Michael Jackson’s 14minute horror-themed mini-movie “Thriller” debuted. The video put Jackson's year-old “Thriller” album back in the top spot on the charts. At the time, it was the most expensive video ever made.