Today in History

On this date:

In 754, St. Boniface died. He was known as the apostle of Germany for his missionary work in Europe. Boniface, an English Benedictine monk, was martyred when a band of Frisians attacked him while he was reading from the Bible to newly converted Christians on Pentecost Sunday.

In 1752, Benjamin Franklin, in his kite-flying experiment, discovered that lightning is the same as static electricity.

In 1813, about 700 British soldiers won a victory over 2,000 American troops in a surprise attack at Stoney Creek, Ont., during the War of 1812.

In 1832, the city of Montreal was incorporated.

In 1849, Denmark became a constitutional monarchy.

In 1851, “Uncle Tom's Cabin” or, “Life Among the Lowly” began to appear in serial form in the Washington National Era, an abolitionist weekly. Harriet Beecher Stowe's antislavery story was published in 40 instalments over the next 10 months.

In 1854, a treaty providing for free trade between Canada and the U.S. was signed.

In 1876, the Supreme Court of Canada held its first sitting.

In 1883, John Maynard Keynes, whose economic theories laid the foundation for the modern welfare state, was born in Cambridge, England. He died in 1946.

In 1897, Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier sailed from Canada to attend Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. He returned from London as Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

In 1910, famed short story writer O. Henry died in New York at age 47. His real name was William Sydney Porter.

In 1940, the Canadian government outlawed 16 organizations -- including Nazi, Fascist and Communist groups.

In 1947, U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall proposed massive economic aid for postwar Europe. What became known as the Marshall Plan channelled over US$13 billion to western and northern Europe between 1948 and 1951.

In 1963, John Profumo resigned as Britain's war minister after admitting he had lied to Parliament about his relationship with a young woman, Christine Keeler.

In 1967, the “Six-day War” began between Israel and foes Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Before the fighting ended on June 10th, Israel captured East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Sinai peninsula and the Golan Heights.

In 1968, U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy was fatally wounded by a gunman in a Los Angeles hotel. Kennedy, who had just claimed victory in California's Democratic presidential primary, died about 32 hours later. He was 42. A Palestinian, Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, was convicted of the murder but his death sentence was commuted to life in prison.

In 1975, Egypt re-opened the Suez Canal after eight years to all but Israeli shipping.

In 1977, Queen Elizabeth celebrated 25 years on the throne.

In 1979, the Canadian Great Lakes freighter “Cartiercliffe Hall,” hauling corn from Minnesota to Quebec, caught fire and burned on Lake Superior. Six crew members were killed.

In 1980, 19-year-old Wayne Gretzky, first-year centre of the Edmonton Oilers, won the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, making him the youngest player to win two individual NHL awards in one season. He won the Lady Byng trophy, for sportsmanship, five times in all, and the Hart trophy, for most valuable player, a record nine times.

In 1981, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that five homosexuals in Los Angeles had come down with a rare kind of pneumonia. They were the first recognized cases of what later became known as AIDS.

In 1989, the Toronto Blue Jays played their first game in Skydome (now Rogers Centre). They lost 5-3 to the Milwaukee Brewers, but Toronto first baseman Fred Mcgriff belted the first home run in the new stadium.

In 1991, one of Canada's oldest department store names left the marketplace. Simpsons had been in business since 1871. The Hudson's Bay Company, which had taken over Simpsons a few years before, turned some stores into Bay outlets and sold others to Sears Canada.

In 1992, NATO and former Warsaw Pact countries signed a landmark arms-control treaty in Oslo. They agreed to cut their stockpiles of tanks, artillery and other non-nuclear weapons.

In 1999, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, the first devoted to any women's sport, opened in Knoxville, Tenn.

In 2002, Alexa Mcdonough announced her resignation as leader of the federal NDP.

In 2004, Ronald Reagan, president of the United States from 1981-89, died at age 93 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's.

In 2010, Canada won a key battle to block a global bank tax from being applied uniformly on all members of the G20 countries.

In 2012, Ray Bradbury, the science fictionfantasy master who transformed his childhood dreams and Cold War fears into telepathic Martians, lovesick sea monsters, and, in uncanny detail, the high-tech, book-burning future of “Fahrenheit 451,” died at age 91.

In 2014, Quebec became the first jurisdiction in Canada to allow euthanasia, adopting right-to-die legislation by a sweeping margin.

In 2016, Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to capture the French Open title and complete a career Grand Slam, and claim his 12th Grand Slam overall.

(The Canadian Press)