TODAY IN HISTORY

On this day in 1875

The Supreme Court of Canada was organized under Chief Justice William Buell Richards. The court held its first session the following year, but did not become Canada’s final court of appeal until 1949. Also on this day: In 1810, Chile declared independence from Spain. In 1841, an act was passed to establish and maintain public schools in Canada.

In 1 8 5 1, the New York Times was published for the first time.

In 1 9 7 5, American newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was captured by the FBI in San Francisco, 19 months after she was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

In 1 9 9 2, nine miners were killed in a violent explosion inside the strike-torn Giant gold mine in Yellowknife, N.W.T. RCMP believed the explosion was deliberately set. A miner, Roger Warren, was later convicted of first-degree murder.

In 1997, voters in Wales voted 50.3 per cent in favour of setting up their own parliament, after four centuries of direct rule from London.

In 2008, O.J. Simpson was charged with seven felonies, including kidnapping, in the alleged armed robbery of sports memorabilia collectors in a Las Vegas casino-hotel room. He was convicted in October and was later sentenced to 33 years in prison with eligibility for parole after nine years. (He was granted parole effective October 2017).