TODAY IN HISTORY

On this day in 622

Prophet Mohammad fled from Mecca, where he was despised and persecuted, to the northern city of Medina, marking the day of beginning of Hegira, the Islamic calender.

In 1439, kissing was banned in England to help prevent the spread of germs.

In 1790, a site along the Potomac River was designated the permanent seat of the United States government; the area became Washington D.C.

In 1860, the city of New Westminster, B.C., was incorporated.

In 1945, the first atomic bomb was exploded near the Alamogordo Air Force Base in New Mexico. It remained a closely guarded secret until after the announcement that the first of two atomic bombs had been dropped on Japanese cities.

In 1988, hockey star Wayne Gretzky married American actress Janet Jones in Edmonton. It was dubbed hockey’s “royal wedding.”

In 2004, celebrity homemaker and entrepreneur Martha Stewart, was sentenced to five months in prison, five months of home confinement and fined US$30,000 for lying about a stock sale.

In 2015, Colorado theatre shooter James Holmes was convicted in the chilling 2012 attack on defenceless moviegoers at a midnight Batman premiere. Twelve people were killed and 58 others were wounded. (He was sentenced to life without parole after the jury failed to unanimously agree on the death penalty.)