TODAY IN HISTORY: McSorley charged with assault
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received a U.S. patent for the telephone.
In 1878, the University of Western Ontario was incorporated in London.
In 1936, Nazi Germany violated the “Treaty of Versailles” by occupying the Rhineland. Under the treaty, the region was to remain under control of the Allied nations for five to 15 years after the end of the First World War, with Germany forbidden to militarize the area. But after the last Allied troops, the French, withdrew in 1930, Adolf Hitler moved quickly to build up troops there.
In 1945, during the Second World War, U.S. soldiers captured and crossed the key bridge over the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany.
In 1963, Jack Anglin of the country duo Johnny and Jack died in a car accident while en route to a memorial service for singer Patsy Cline, who along with Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas, had been killed in a plane crash two days earlier. He was 46.
In 1977, an election victory by Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto sparked charges of vote-rigging and months of violence that ended when the army seized power in July and jailed Bhutto. He was later convicted of murder and executed.
In 1988, television writers in the U.S. went on strike, shutting down production of television and movies for 22 weeks.
In 2000, Vancouver prosecutors charged Boston Bruins defenceman Marty McSorley with assault with a weapon for slashing Vancouver Canucks forward Donald Brashear on the head during a game the previous month. McSorley was later convicted and received a conditional discharge.
In 2009, Jimmy Boyd, the child vocalist and actor best known for singing the original rendition of the Christmas novelty hit “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” in 1952, died of cancer at age 70. The song shot to the top of the Billboard charts three weeks after it was released. It sold two million records in less than 10 weeks.
In 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Director. “The Hurt Locker” also won Best Picture.
2011, Warner Bros. Television fired Charlie Sheen from the successful and highly lucrative sitcom “Two and a Half Men” following the hard-living actor’s bouts of wild partying, repeated hospitalizations and a bitter media campaign against his studio bosses.
In 2020, Canadian health officials urged people to avoid cruise ship travel, after a cruise liner with 237 Canadians aboard reported 21 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
In 2021, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey included talk of racist attitudes toward their son, Meghan’s thoughts of suicide, news that then-Prince Charles isn’t taking his son’s calls – and a baby gender reveal. Meghan says when she was pregnant with son Archie, there were concerns and conversations about how dark the boy’s skin might