TODAY IN HISTORY:
Ich bin ein Berliner
In 1833, Capt. John Ross and 19 of his crew were rescued from Baffin Island. After their ship became ice-bound, they survived by living with Inuit for three years.
In 1835, John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, began practising law in Kingston, Ont.
In 1963, U.S. President John Kennedy wrapped up a visit to West Germany with a stopover in West Berlin, where he declared, “Ich bin ein Berliner” (translation: “I am a Berliner”).
In 1965, The Byrds, the group that pioneered folk rock, hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Mr. Tambourine Man,” written by Bob Dylan. “The Byrds” had met Dylan six months earlier, and he publicly endorsed the group. The recording of “Mr. Tambourine Man” was actually cut by studio musicians, with guitarist Roger McGuinn the only member of “The Byrds” actually playing on the record. The group did, however, provide the vocals.
In 1975, Sonny and Cher’s divorce was made final by a court in Santa Monica, Calif. They had married in 1964. Four days after the divorce, Cher married Greg
Allman of The Allman Brothers Band. That marriage lasted only a few weeks.
In 1976, the CN Tower was officially opened in Toronto. At 555 metres, it was at the time the world’s tallest self-supporting structure.
In 1977, Elvis Presley gave his last performance at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. His final song was “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Less than two months later, Presley was found dead in his bathroom at Graceland. The cause of death was at first given as congestive heart failure, but later investigation revealed that drug abuse may have played a part.
In 1985, Peter Lougheed announced he planned to resign after 14 years as Alberta premier. He was succeeded as premier by former cabinet minister Don Getty.
In 1987, Canadian rock star Corey Hart collapsed from exhaustion following a performance in Sudbury, Ont. The remainder of his Canadian tour was cancelled six days later after his doctors ordered Hart to rest for 10 to 12 weeks.
In 2000, one of history’s most significant scientific breakthroughs came as researchers in six countries announced they had completed the working map of the human genetic code. They decoded the 3.1-billion letters in human DNA, which will help identify the 60,000 to 100,000 genes in humans. It is hoped the human genome will eventually lead to cures for diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s.
In 2010, police cracked down hard on G20 summit dissent in Toronto after a roving band of militant protesters used socalled Black Bloc tactics to wreak havoc along trendy Queen St. W. Store windows were smashed, property was damaged and their trail of destruction culminated in police cars being set aflame at several locations. Some 700 people were arrested.
In 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada granted aboriginal title to a specific tract of land — for the first time in Canadian history — to the Tsilhqot’in Nation in the B.C. Interior. The unanimous decision set a historic precedent affecting resource rights.
In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that same-sex couples have a right to marry in all 50 states. It culminated two decades of Supreme Court litigation over marriage, and gay rights generally. Only 14 states, in the South and Midwest, had yet to legalize same-sex marriage.
In 2018, Barry Gibb, the last surviving member of the fraternal trio the Bee Gees, received a knighthood from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace. The trio rose to prominence in the late 1960s with folk-rock music but was reinvented in the mid-1970s, contributing songs to the “Saturday Night Fever,” soudntrack, one of the best-selling albums of all-time. During a brief hiatus from the Bee Gees, Gibb wrote and produced Barbra Streisand’s 1980 album “Guilty” (dueting on the title track) and the 1983 hit single “Islands in the Stream” by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.