TODAY IN HISTORY: Donald Duck makes his debut
In 30 B.C., Cleopatra, the celebrated queen of Egypt, committed suicide.
In 1463, King Louis XI died after ruling France for 22 years. He was known for his diplomatic skills -- he was nicknamed the "Spider King" for his web of machinations -- and considered one of France's most successful kings in terms of uniting the country. Because of his fears of assassination, he spent his last years in virtual self-imprisonment near Tours.
In 1812, the first settlers, mostly Scottish, arrived at the Red River colony in Manitoba. Thomas Douglas, Earl of Selkirk, sent a former soldier, Miles Macdonell, to establish the colony on land he had received from the Hudson's Bay Co. Macdonell was appointed governor of the new colony. Destroyed in a feud with the North West Co. in 1815, the colony was re-established by Selkirk in 1817.
In 1851, the legislative council of British Columbia held its first session.
In 1905, Ty Cobb made his major-league debut as a player for the Detroit Tigers, hitting a double in his first at-bat in a game against the New York Highlanders. (The Tigers won 5-3.)
In 1936, Donald Duck first appeared in comicstrip form.
In 1941, the Second World War siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) began as Nazi forces severed the last railroad link between Leningrad and the rest of the Soviet Union.
In 1950, the first Canada-wide railway strike ended when Parliament ordered 125,000 members of 17 striking unions back to work. The strike began Aug. 22 after negotiations broke down over union demands for higher pay and a shorter work week. The strike nearly paralyzed long-distance communication and caused layoffs in industries dependent on railways, such as mining, food packing and wood and chemical processing.
In 1967, the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first black justice on the Supreme Court.
In 1972, the New Democratic Party ended 20 years of Social Credit rule in B.C. when it took 39 seats in a provincial election. Dave Barrett replaced W.A.C. Bennett as premier.
In 1983, Guion S. Bluford, Jr. became the first black American astronaut to travel in space as he blasted off aboard the "Challenger."
In 1987, Ben Johnson became the fastest man in the world when he smashed the world record for the 100-metre dash at the world track and field championships in Rome. Johnson's time of 9.83 seconds cut a tenth of a second off the previous record. A year later, Johnson was stripped of his gold medal in the same event at the Seoul Olympics when he tested positive for steroid use after posting a time of 9.79 seconds. (Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt set the 100-metre world record of 9.58 seconds at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.)
In 2000, a groundbreaking study published by the World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund) said that unless levels of carbon dioxide being sent into the atmosphere were cut down, 46 per cent of life-sustaining habitats in Canada would be destroyed.