TODAY IN HISTORY: Final game at the Forum
In 1302, according to Shakespeare, Romeo Monteveccio and Juliet Cappelleto were married in Citadela, Italy.
In 1702, the first British daily newspaper, “The Daily Courant,” appeared.
In 1818, British author Mary Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein” was first published.
In 1850, Richard Blanshard arrived on Vancouver Island and read the proclamation establishing a colony, with himself as its first governor.
In 1865, the Assembly of Canada voted 91-33 for Confederation.
In 1908, Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier created the National Battlefields Commission, largely to prevent the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City from falling into the hands of speculators.
In 1942, as Japanese forces continued to advance in the Pacific during the Second World War, General Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines for Australia. MacArthur, who subsequently vowed, “I shall return,” kept that promise two-and-a-half years later.
In 1947, Toronto gave newly crowned world figure skating champion Barbara Ann Scott a ticker-tape parade. The following year, the Ottawa native won the Olympic gold medal.
In 1959, Ernie Richardson’s Regina team won the first world men’s curling championship in Scotland. The Brier winners beat the Scottish champions five straight times in the inaugural Scotch Cup matches. The Richardson team repeated as Canadian and world champions in 1960, ‘62 and ‘63.
In 1963, The Rolling Stones entered the I.B.C. Studios in London for their first recording session. They recorded cover versions of songs by their R&B heroes – Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon and Jimmy Reed. The recordings were never released.
In 1996, the Montreal Canadiens played their last game at the 72-year-old Montreal Forum. They defeated the Dallas Stars 4-1.
In 1997, Premier Ralph Klein’s Conservatives were re-elected with a massive majority in Alberta’s general election. Grant Mitchell’s Liberal party dropped from 32 to 18 seats but remained the official Opposition.
In 2011, a catastrophic 9.0 magnitude offshore earthquake struck Japan, triggering a massive tsunami that carved a path of destruction along the country’s northeastern coast and touched off the worst nuclear crisis since Chornobyl in 1986. The disaster left more than 21,000 people dead or missing and thousands of buildings and homes damaged or destroyed. After a tsunami struck the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant, three of its six reactors later melted down, releasing massive amounts of radiation and forcing the government to order the evacuation of a 20-km radius around the plant. Some Japanese officials said it could be years before 100,000 people forced into temporary homes or shelters would be able to return. The cost of rebuilding was pegged at US$310 billion, making it the most costly natural disaster on record.
In 2020, Academy Award winner Tom Hanks and his wife actress-singer Rita Wilson isolated themselves after they both tested positive for the novel coronavirus.