TODAY IN HISTORY

On this day in 1822

A patent for artificial teeth was granted to Charles Graham of New York City.

In 1870, the British Columbia legislature passed a resolution to send a delegation to Ottawa to negotiate joining Confederation.

In 1928, the first telephone call between Vancouver and London, England, was made.

In 1945, U.S. Air Force Superfortress bombers, 279 in number, dropped tonnes of incendiary bombs on Tokyo. The bombing caused a massive fire storm which destroyed thousands of homes and killed about 120,000 people,.

In 1951, Parliament approved the incorporation of TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. The company was to build and operate a 5,000-km gas pipeline system from Alberta’s oilfields to Montreal.

In 1959, Mattel’s Barbie doll, created by Ruth Handler, made its public debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York.

In 1995, a dispute between Canada and the European Union over turbot quotas escalated when Canadian patrol vessels seized a Spanish trawler. The “Estai” was accused of fishing illegally in waters just outside Canada’s 200-nautical-mile limit and was brought back to port in St. John’s, Nfld. The dispute was resolved in April when Canada gave up some of its 16,300-tonne quota in return for a commitment for tougher enforcement measures from the EU.