Today in History

Today in History for Feb. 6:

In 1519, Sir Walter Raleigh left England to explore South America.

In 1721, Christian Heinecker was born. At age 10 months, Heinecker was reported to have been capable of repeating every word said to him. At age three, he began to speak Latin and French. Before he died in 1725, he was proclaimed a “wonder” by the court of Copenhagen.

In 1722, in Quebec City, abandoning children became a death penalty offence.

In 1813, Americans from Ogdensburg, N.Y., raided Brockville, Ont., and took 52 hostages.

In 1894, Ontario residents voted for the prohibition of alcohol.

In 1895, baseball legend Babe Ruth was born in Baltimore. He died Aug. 16, 1948.

In 1899, a peace treaty between the United States and Spain was ratified by the U.S. Senate. It ceded Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines to the U.S. for $20 million.

In 1901, the federal Conservative caucus elected Robert Borden as their new leader. Borden, who was born in Nova Scotia but over his political career had constituencies both there and in Ontario, served as prime minister from 1911 to 1920, guiding the country through the First World War. He won greater independence from Britain and established Canada's reputation as a neutral entity in international affairs. He died June 10, 1937.

In 1902, the first independent Young Women's Hebrew Association was organized in New York City. It combined religious, social, and cultural recreational activities for young women, especially working girls.

In 1943, American General Dwight Eisenhower was named commander of Allied forces in North Africa during the Second World War.

In 1948, Ottawa teenager Barbara Ann Scott became the first North American woman to win an Olympic figure skating title. Scott, who was also the 1947 world champion, took the gold medal in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Immediately after the Olympics, Scott turned professional and received a yellow Buick convertible from her hometown.

In 1952, King George VI died of cancer at the age of 56. His eldest daughter succeeded him as Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1958, seven Manchester United soccer players were among those killed when their plane crashed during takeoff in Munich. The team was returning from a European Cup game in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

In 1959, the United States successfully test-fired for the first time a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile from Cape Canaveral.

In 1967, Manitoba introduced a five-per-cent sales tax to finance education and social services. The tax, which took effect June 1st that year, left Alberta as the only province without a provincial sales tax.

In 1971, astronaut Alan Shepard used a six-iron to hit golf balls on the Moon during the “Apollo 14” mission.

In 1977, Quebec Premier Rene Levesque drove over a man lying on a Montreal street. A coroner ruled there was no criminal responsibility, and Levesque was fined $25 for not wearing his glasses at the time.

In 1988, the first Canadian quints conceived outside their mother’s womb -Remington, Wade, Lance, William and Maxine Collier -were born in Toronto.

In 1993, Wimbledon and U.S. Open tennis champion Arthur Ashe, who openly fought racism in sports, died of AIDS at age 49.

In 1996, a Turkish-owned Boeing 757 jetliner crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from the Dominican Republic, killing 189 people, mostly German tourists.

In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered a new trial for Robert Latimer, the Saskatchewan farmer who said he killed his severely disabled daughter in 1993 to end her suffering. The court overturned Latimer's second-degree murder conviction on grounds of jury tampering. Latimer was convicted again in November 1997. He began serving a 10-year prison term in January 2001 after losing his final appeal to the Supreme Court. In 2010, he was granted full parole.

In 2001, Ariel Sharon won the largest election landslide in Israeli history, defeating Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

In 2002, Queen Elizabeth II marked the 50th anniversary of her accession to the throne.

In 2004, a bomb explosion, believed to be the work of a female Chechen suicide bomber, killed at least 40 people on a crowded Moscow subway during rush hour.

In 2006, Stephen Harper was sworn in as the 22nd prime minister of Canada along with his 26-member cabinet that included one unelected member and one Liberal defector.

In 2012, Alberto Contador was stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title and banned for two years after the sport’s highest court found the Spanish cyclist guilty of doping.

In 2012, 10 of 13 farm workers in a van and a truck driver died in a horrific collision in Hampstead, Ont.

In 2014, Jay Leno bid farewell to “The Tonight Show” for a second time, making way for “Late Night” host Jimmy Fallon, who took the show back to New York. When Leno gave up the venerable show to short-lived host Conan O’brien in 2009, he did a prime-time NBC comedy series before reclaiming “Tonight” in 2010 due to O'brien's lacklustre ratings.

In 2014, the Winter Olympics officially kicked-off in Sochi, Russia. Women’s hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser was Canada’s flag-bearer for the opening ceremony. When the games ended on the 23rd, Canada finished with 25 medals (10 gold, 10 silver, five bronze), fourth overall in total medals and third-most in golds. Host Russia led with 33 and 13 respectively.

In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously struck down the ban on providing a doctor-assisted death to mentally competent patients suffering incurable illness or suffering. The historic decision was put on hold for 12 months, giving Parliament and provincial legislatures time to craft new laws that comply with the ruling. (Bill C-14 was given royal assent in June 2016.)

In 2016, a shallow 6.4-magnitude earthquake in Tainan, Taiwan, toppled a 17-storey apartment building. A total of 116 people were confirmed dead.

In 2017, Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to reach the Sapphire Jubilee milestone of 65 years on the throne.

(The Canadian Press)