Today in History

On this date:

In 1612, landing in his ship ``The Discovery,'' Captain Thomas Button became the first European to winter in Manitoba.

In 1758, Fort Frontenac, now Kingston, Ont., was captured and destroyed by the British. The site of the present city was picked by Lasalle in 1673, and the explorer was named commandant of the French camp. Later, the site was occupied by United Empire Loyalists from New York state and renamed Kingston. It later became the chief naval base of Ontario.

In 1776, the British defeated the Americans at Long Island during the American Revolution.

In 1783, the first hydrogen-filled balloon was flown to a height of more than 914 metres in Paris.

In 1793, John Graves Simcoe changed the name of Toronto to York, but it was later renamed Toronto when it became a city in 1834.

In 1859, Edwin L. Drake drilled the first successful oil well in the United States, at Titusville, Pa.

In 1883, the largest explosion in recorded history occurred when the volcano on the Indonesian island of Krakatoa erupted. The explosion, which was heard 5,000 kilometres away, hurled rock 26 kilometres into the air and obliterated the tiny island, leaving behind a 300-metre cavity in the ocean floor. Shock waves disrupted worldwide weather patterns and caused tidal waves that killed more than 36,000 people.

In 1896, the shortest war in recorded history ended with a British victory over Zanzibar. The British fleet bombarded Sultan Sa'id Khalid's palace for 38 minutes until he surrendered.

In 1917, Canada's Military Service Act was passed, putting conscription into effect.

In 1928, the Kellogg-briand Peace Pact was signed by 62 countries. The pact ``outlawed'' war, with the countries vowing to find diplomatic means to solve future world disagreements. The agreement was initiated by the French and the U.S. secretary of state, Frank Kellogg. Kellogg received the Nobel Peace Prize a year later for his efforts but neither he, nor the pact, could prevent the outbreak of the Second World War 10 years later.

In 1939, the world's first jet-propelled plane, the Heinkel He 178, made its first flight in Marienehe, in northern Germany.

In 1945, Allied troops began landing in Japan following the surrender of the Japanese government.

In 1962, the United States launched the ``Mariner 2'' space probe, which flew past Venus in December 1962.

In 1964, comedienne Gracie Allen died of cancer at the age of 62.

In 1973, the largest hailstone documented in Canada, weighing 290 grams and measuring 114 millimetres in diameter -- almost three times the size of a golf ball -- fell at Cedoux, Sask.

In 1973, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that native women marrying nonindians would lose Indian status. Once removed from the government roll of registered Indians, the women would not be able to occupy land on Indian reserves, share in band funds or be eligible for special federal benefits such as housing and welfare. A bill reversing this loss of status was given royal assent in June 1985.

In 1975, Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia's 3,000-year-old monarchy, died in Addis Ababa at 83. He was overthrown in a military coup the previous year.

In 1979, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, former chief of Britain's defence staff and an architect of India and Pakistan's independence in 1947, was assassinated when his boat was blown up on Donegal Bay. He was 79. He was also an uncle of Prince Philip. Thomas Mcmahon, a member of the Irish Republican Army fighting to end British rule in Northern Ireland, was sentenced to life for the crime.

In 1980, the Ottawa Journal and Winnipeg Tribune were shut down with a loss of 745 jobs, as Canada's two largest newspaper groups, Southam Inc. and Thomson Newspapers Ltd., took measures to cut financial losses. The simultaneous closings prompted the federal government to launch a royal commission on newspaper ownership, which was completed the following year.

In 1989, the first U.S. commercial satellite rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- a Delta booster carrying a British communications satellite, the ``Marcopolo 1.''

In 1991, the southern Soviet republic of Moldavia declared independence from the Soviet Union.

In 1992, the Supreme Court of Canada quashed Ernst Zundel's conviction for spreading false news about the deaths of six million Jews in the Holocaust. In a 43 decision, the court declared the law unconstitutional because it violated the guarantee of freedom of expression contained in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In 2000, a spectacular fire broke out in Moscow's Ostankino Tower, the world's second-tallest free-standing structure, paralyzing Moscow television and radio stations. President Vladimir Putin said the Ostankino blaze was a symbol of Russia's disintegrating infrastructure.

In 2000, Abdiqassim Salad Hassan was sworn in as the first president of Somalia since 1991, but the ceremony was held in neighbouring Djibouti because of continued instability in his own country.

In 2006, a Canadian-built commuter plane crashed on take off at Lexington, Ky., airport, killing 49 people, including two Canadians. The co-pilot was the sole survivor.

In 2006, Toronto-bred Kiefer Sutherland and his action series ``24'' walked off with top honours at the Emmy Awards. Sutherland was named best actor in a drama and ``24'' won as best dama series.

In 2008, history was made in Denver as Illinois senator Barack Obama officially became the Democratic Party's candidate for U.S. president. The 47-yearold Obama became the first black nominee of a major party in American history.

In 2009, Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick played in his first NFL game in 32 months following his 23-month sentence for his role in running a dogfighting ring.

In 2009, Gary Doer announced he would step down as Manitoba's 20th premier. The next day he was appointed Canada's next ambassador to the United States.

In 2009, Jaycee Lee Dugard, kidnapped when she was 11, was reunited with her mother -- 18 years after her abduction in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

In 2011, hurricane Irene moved into the eastern U.S. from the Caribbean -causing major flooding as it raked the Carolinas to Maine. Irene caused 47 deaths in 13 states, destroying homes, washing out roads, pounding beachfront communities and flooding towns in Vermont and upstate New York. At one point, 9.6 million homes and businesses were without electricity. Damage was estimated at $10-$15 billion.