Today in history

In 1502, the Sainte-chapelle in Chambery, France was completed for the Duke of Savoy to house the much disputed, but often venerated Shroud of Turin, a cloth in which Jesus Christ was reputedly wrapped following His Crucifixion.

In 1567, Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle in Scotland. She escaped almost a year later, but ended up imprisoned again.

In 1858, as he accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination for the U.S. Senate, Abraham Lincoln said the slavery issue had to be resolved, declaring, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

In 1874, Arthur Meighen, Canada's ninth prime minister, was born in Anderson, Ont. He died in 1960.

In 1891, Sir John Abbott became Canada's third prime minister, remaining in office for 17 months. He was the first Canadian-born prime minister, and the first senator to become PM. Abbott was 72 when he died in 1893.

In 1894, the “Edmonton Bulletin” reported there could be oil in Alberta. In 1897, the Alaska gold rush began. In 1903, the Ford Motor Company was incorporated.

In 1904, the novel “Ulysses,” by James Joyce, takes place on this day. It is celebrated internationally as “Bloomsday” after the novel's main character, Leopold Bloom.

In 1929, 62-year-old Otto Funk completed a 183-day, 6,600-km walk from San Francisco to New York. He was said to have played his violin every step of the way.

In 1956, the BBC aired the first live TV broadcast from a submarine at sea.

In 1959, actor George Reeves, TV'S “Superman,” was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound in the bedroom of his Beverly Hills, Calif., home. He was 45.

In 1963, Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space.

In 1972, the Churchill Falls hydro-electric project in Labrador was officially opened.

In 1972, Clifford Irving, author of a bogus biography of billionaire Howard Hughes, was sentenced in New York to two-and a-half years for grand larceny.

In 1976, six South Africans died when riots broke out in the black township of Soweto over the mandatory use of the Afrikaans language in schools. The revolt spread to other black townships, causing at least 575 deaths over the next nine months. The day began with a march by 10,000 students carrying banners. Police said the students started the violence by throwing stones, but a witness said police started it by throwing a tear gas canister into the crowd without warning.

In 1981, Ken Taylor, Canada's former ambassador to Iran, became the first non-american to be awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal. Taylor received the medal from President Ronald Reagan for sheltering and engineering the escape of six Americans from Iran in 1980, during the hostage crisis.

In 1984, John Turner was elected Liberal Party leader, defeating Jean Chretien on the second ballot at an Ottawa convention. Turner succeeded Pierre Trudeau as prime minister, but only held office until the Liberals' crushing election loss to Brian Mulroney's Tories the following September.

In 1987, Bernard Goetz -- who shot four youths who approached him on a New York subway train in 1984 -- was acquitted of attempted murder and assault. But he was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon and sentenced to prison.

In 1993, Canada's peacekeeping mission in Cyprus ended. The soldiers had handed over control of the Canadian sector on the Mediterranean island to British and Australian troops the previous day. Canada's 29-year mission had seen 35,000 soldiers serve in Cyprus.

In 1998, a 40-year-old Florida woman gave birth live on the Internet, the first real-time online delivery.

In 1998, the American Film Institute announced its choices for the top 100 films in the first century of cinematic history. The top five, in order, were, “Citizen Kane,” “Casablanca,” “The Godfather,” “Gone With The Wind” and “Lawrence of Arabia.”

In 2001, the Italian city of Pisa celebrated the completion of 10 years of restoration work on the famous Leaning Tower. Engineers shaved 43 centimetres off the lean of the 12th-century landmark.

In 2003, Pierre Bourgault, whose lifelong fight for Quebec independence included a stint as head of a hardline party that eventually blended into the Parti Quebecois in the 1960s, died at age 69.

In 2005, the CRTC gave approval to satellite radio services.

In 2008, Canada listed the World Tamil Movement as a terrorist organization.

In 2008, Ontario banned adults from smoking in cars where children are present after a government-backed bill passed in the legislature with support from all parties.

In 2008, Tiger Woods, playing on a throbbing injured knee, won an epic U.S. Open after a 19-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate. He also suffered from a double stress fracture on his left fibia. Woods later underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee.

In 2011, Democrat Anthony Weiner resigned his seat in U.S. Congress in disgrace over a sexting scandal. The newly-married representative from New York admitted he'd sent lewd photos of himself to women through Twitter, and lied about it.

In 2012, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi gave her long-delayed Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. The 66-year-old champion of political freedom won the honour in 1991 while under house arrest. She was released in November 2010.

In 2012, Egyptians began going to the polls for a two-day runoff to choose their first freely elected president; Islamist candidate Mohammed Morsi emerged the winner. (A year later, Egypt's military ousted Morsi. In 2014, the former military chief, Abdel-fattah el-sissi, was elected president by a landslide.)

In 2015, the Golden State Warriors won their first NBA championship since 1975, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-97 in Game 6.

In 2016, Jo Cox, 41, a British MP who championed the cause of Syrian refugees and campaigned for Britain to stay in the EU, was killed by a gun- and knife-wielding attacker after a meeting with con-