TODAY IN HISTORY: Rockefeller a billionaire

In 1788, the first ship built on the Pacific coast, the "North West America," was completed by Captain Meares at Nootka, Vancouver Island.

In 1829, London's reorganized police force, which became known as Scotland Yard, went on duty.

In 1877, the first spike was driven for the Canadian Pacific Railway.

In 1916, John D. Rockefeller became the world's first billionaire during the share boom in the U.S. In 1950, the U.S. Bell Telephone Company tested the first automatic telephone answering machine. In 1956, Hal Patterson of the Montreal Alouettes set a CFL record with 338 pass receiving yards in a game in Hamilton.

In 1956, Gen. Anastasio Somoza, president of Nicaragua, was assassinated.

In 1957, the New York Giants played their last game at the Polo Grounds before moving to San Francisco for the 1958 season.

In 1962, Canada became the third nation to have a satellite in space with the launch of "Alouette 1" from Cape Kennedy, Fla. The satellite cost $3 million and weighed 146 kilograms. It spent a decade studying the ionosphere from an altitude of onethousand kilometres before being deactivated.

In 1963, the second session of the ecumenical council, Vatican II, opened in Rome.

In 1970, a new translation of the Bible — the New

American Bible — replaced the Douay version, which had been standard in English-speaking Roman Catholic churches for 220 years.

In 1972, Japan's Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and China's Premier Chou En-lai signed an agreement to establish diplomatic relations, ending a 35year state of war.

In 1979, Pope John Paul II became the first pope to visit Ireland.

In 1982, seven people in Chicago died after unwittingly taking Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide. The crime was never solved.

In 1985, Lincoln Alexander became the first Black lieutenant-governor of Ontario.