TODAY IN HISTORY

In 1535, French explorer Jacques Cartier landed at Ile au Coudres and attended the celebration of the first Roman Catholic mass in Canada.

In 1929, the German dirigible Graf Zeppelin completed a trip around the world.

In 1955, Canadian violinist Donna Grescoe, a native of Winnipeg, appeared on Ed Sullivan’s “Talk of the Town” TV show in New York.

In 1981, 15-year-old Jocelyn Muir became, at the time, the youngest person to complete the 51-km swim across Lake Ontario. (In 2012, Annaleise Carr, 14, completed the crossing to raise funds for a summer camp for childhood cancer.)

In 1984, the Progressive Conservative party under Brian Mulroney amassed the largest majority in Canadian electoral history. The Tories won 211 seats in the 282-seat House of Commons, leaving only 40 seats for John Turner’s Liberals, 30 for the Ed Broadbent’s New Democrats and one for an independent candidate.

In 1985, on the first anniversary of her husband’s sweep to power, Mila Mulroney gave birth to son Daniel Nicholas Dimitri.

In 1987, the location of the biggest dinosaur nest in the world was revealed in the Badlands, 80 kilometres east of Lethbridge. Fetuses in the dinosaur eggs were the first ever uncovered. More dinosaur bones have been found in the Alberta Badlands than anywhere else in the world.

In 1997, The Rolling Stones played another so-called surprise gig at a Toronto club, the Horseshoe Tavern. This show came as they rehearsed for their “Bridges to Babylon” world tour, which opened in Chicago three weeks later. They played similar ‘surprise’ shows at Toronto clubs in 1977 and 1994.

In 2002, Kelly Clarkson was crowned the first “American Idol,” beating out Justin Guarini and winning a recording contract.