TODAY IN HISTORY: Farrah, MJ die
On this day in 2009, two pop culture icons died hours apart. Farrah Fawcett, whose stunning looks and blinding smile made her a superstar on the first season of “Charlie’s Angels,” died after a three-year battle with anal cancer. She was 62.
Pop superstar Michael Jackson died of a cardiac arrest at age 50. A child prodigy as the leader of the Jackson Five, he recorded the top-selling album of all-time “Thriller,” which included collaborations with Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney and Eddie Van Halen and included the No. 1 songs “Billie Jean” and “Beat It.” In an interview with “Larry King Live” that night, Cher, who was a friend of both Fawcett and Jackson, described it as “a very bad day for me.”
Also on this date in history:
In 1615, two Roman Catholic priests sang the mass in Quebec City. Samuel de Champlain, who founded the city in 1608, reported it was the first instance of sung mass in New France.
In 1744, the first Methodist conference convened in London. This new society within Anglicanism imposed strict disciplines upon its members, formally separating from the Established Church in 1795.
In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte delivered a farewell address before beginning his exile on the South Atlantic island of St. Helena.
In 1858, B.C.’s first newspaper, "The Victoria Gazette and Anglo-American," was published.
In 1876, General George Custer’s U.S. army regiment was massacred in the battle of the "Little Big Horn" in Montana; 263 soldiers, including Custer, died in the engagement with several thousand Lakota and Cheyenne warriors. The U.S. military concluded Custer made several mistakes that led to the massacre.
In 1968, two notable firsts accompanied a sweeping victory for Pierre Trudeau’s Liberals in a federal election. Lincoln Alexander became Canada’s first black MP when he won a Hamilton seat for the Conservatives. Len Marchand’s victory in Kamloops, B.C., made him the first aboriginal to sit in the House of Commons.
In 1993, Kim Campbell was sworn in as Canada’s first woman prime minister. She held office for only 132 days due to the Conservatives’ overwhelming loss in the federal election later that year
In 2004, Canadian cross-country skier Beckie Scott was awarded the Olympic gold medal, over two years after the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. The expulsion of two Russian cross-country skiers for doping violations upgraded the bronze Scott won in the women’s five-km pursuit.
In 2006, Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman married country music star Keith Urban in Sydney,
Australia.
In 2007, Canadian-born pro wrestler Chris Benoit was found dead along with his wife and seven-year-old son in their Atlanta-area home. Investigators later confirmed Benoit killed them before hanging himself in the weight room. The case sparked intense debate about steroid use.
In 2010, Germany’s top criminal court issued a landmark ruling legalizing assisted suicide in cases where it is carried out based on a patient’s prior request.
In 2011, Master Cpl. Francis Roy, a member of Canada’s special forces regiment, was found mortally wounded by fellow soldiers at a forward operating base in Kandahar city. Enemy action was ruled out.
In 2018, a longstanding ban was lifted allowing Saudi women to drive freely through busy city streets for the first time after years of risking arrest if they dared to get behind the wheel.
In 2019, in a surprise move, the Chinese Embassy asked Canada to suspend all meat exports. The embassy said Chinese customs inspectors detected residue from a restricted feed additive in a batch of Canadian pork products and added that official veterinary health certificates attached to the batch of pork were phoney. The suspension of meat exports was the latest move amid a diplomatic dispute over the December arrest of a Huawei executive in Vancouver on a U-S extradition warrant.