Today in History

Today in History for Nov. 28: On this date:

In 1520, the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the South American strait that now bears his name.

In 1628, writer John Bunyan, famous for his Christian allegory ``Pilgrim's Progress,'' was born in Elstow, England. His father was a tinker and Bunyan learned his trade, but also got involved in the English Civil War. His adventures were reflected in ``Pilgrim's Progress,'' one of the bestselling books of all time.

In 1698, Gov. Louis Frontenac of New France died at Quebec. Frontenac was largely responsible for opening the region, despite orders from his superiors.

In 1797, the North West Company, a major force in the fur trade, began building the Sault Ste. Marie Canal. It was destroyed by American troops in 1814 when they attacked the company's nearby trading post during the War of 1812-1814.

In 1895, the first U.S. car race -- from Chicago to Waukegan, Ill. -- was won by J. Frank Duryea, who maintained a speed of 12 km/h.

In 1914, the New York Stock Exchange re-opened after its longest shutdown ever. The exchange had closed July 31st with the outbreak of the First World War.

In 1956, Canada granted $1 million and free passage to victims of the revolution in Hungary.

In 1960, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania proclaimed its independence.

In 1965, the Canadian satellite ``Alouette II'' was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

In 1972, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame officially opened in Hamilton.

In 1979, an Air New Zealand jetliner crashed into the side of a volcano in Antarctica. The plane, carrying 257 people, was on a scenic flight from Auckland to the Antarctic coast and back. All 257 people, including three Canadians, were killed.

In 1984, the Saskatchewan Legislature expelled convicted murderer Colin Thatcher and declared his seat vacant. Thatcher was convicted Nov. 6 in the death of his ex-wife and sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility for parole for 25 years. He was granted full parole on Nov. 30, 2006.

In 1987, a South African Airways Boeing jumbo jet carrying 159 people caught fire and crashed, approaching the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, killing all on board.

In 1990, Margaret Thatcher resigned as prime minister of Britain, handing over her seal of office during an audience with the Queen. Thatcher, first elected in 1979, was Britain's longestserving prime minister of the 20th century. She earned the nickname ``Iron Lady'' for her steely resolve on matters like the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982. Her decision to send a naval task force to the islands boosted her popularity and helped her win a second electoral victory.

In 1994, Norway voted against joining the European Union.

In 1994, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, serving 16 life terms for killing 17 young men and boys, was killed by a fellow inmate at a Wisconsin prison.

In 1999, Hsing-hsing, a male panda, Chinese leader Mao Zedong's gift to former U.S. president Richard Nixon in 1972, died at age 28.

In 2001, Enron Corp. collapsed after would-be rescuer Dynegy Inc. backed out of an $8.4 billion deal to take it over.

In 2002, Roy Romanow's Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada report recommended a $15-billion cash infusion by 2006 for a sweeping expansion of medicare that would stop the growth of private medicine. Recommendations also included a drug plan for catastrophic costs; home care for the terminally ill, mentally ill and those just released from hospital; money for diagnostic equipment such as MRI machines; introducing a Canadian Health Covenant, and creating a health council of Canada to watch over medicare.

In 2010, Wikileaks released more than 250,000 classified U.S. State Department documents revealing a hidden world of backstage international diplomacy, divulging candid comments from world leaders and detailing occasional U.S. pressure tactics aimed at hot spots in Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea.

In 2010, Leslie Nielsen, a Canadianborn actor who went from drama to inspired bumbling as a hapless doctor in ``Airplane!'' and the accident-prone detective Frank Drebin in the ``The Naked Gun'' comedies, died at a hospital near his home in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., where he was being treated for pneumonia. He was 84.

In 2010, European Union nations agreed to give C$89.4 billion in bailout loans to Ireland to help it weather the cost of its massive banking crisis.

In 2011, after being stymied by minority Parliaments, the Harper Conservatives flexed their majority muscle in the House of Commons and stripped the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly on Prairie wheat and barley crops. (The Senate gave it royal assent in December. It took effect Aug. 1, 2012.)

In 2013, alleged gang leader Quang Vinh Thang (Michael) Le pleaded guilty to orchestrating an execution of a rival drug trafficker in a Surrey, B.C., highrise in 2007 that ultimately killed five other people, including two innocent bystanders. (Le was sentenced to 12 years, which was reduced to three years and one month after he received credit for time served.)

In 2016, a chartered plane carrying members of Brazil's Chapecoense first division soccer team crashed into a Colombian mountainside near the Medellin airport, killing 71 people. Three soccer players, two crew members and a journalist survived. Aided by dramatic cockpit recordings, investigators determined the jet apparently ran out of fuel.