Today in History

more than the other ships. Sold during the Second World War, the “Bluenose” was wrecked near Haiti in 1946. The schooner -- a member of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame -- is commemorated on the Canadian dime.

In 1929, The Congregation of the Sacraments within the Roman Catholic Church published a document instructing that a plate of silver or metal gilt be held under the chin of the communicant at the reception of the holy communion.

In 1956, what’s believed to be the largest volcanic action of the 20th century took place on the Soviet Union’s Kamchatka Peninsula. An eruption by “Mount Bezymianny” released 2.4 billion tonnes of material. Because the mountain was 50 kilometres from the nearest population centre, no one was killed.

In 1964, Defence Minister Paul Hellyer announced plans to integrate Canada’s army, navy and air force into a single military service.

In 1969, Lord Constantine became the first black member of the British House of Lords.

In 1971, East Pakistan proclaimed its independence, taking the name Bangladesh.

In 1979, the Camp David peace agreement was signed in Washington by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and witnessed by U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

In 1982, groundbreaking ceremonies took place in Washington, D.C., for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

In 1986, two teams of scientists, one American and one French, contended independently they each had discovered new viruses related to AIDS.

In 1987, Ontario Liberal Sheila Copps became the first sitting Member of Parliament to give birth. She had a girl.

In 1989, the Soviet Union’s first open election in almost 70 years saw Russian voters elect Boris Yeltsin as president.

In 1992, an Indianapolis judge sentenced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson to six years in prison for raping a beauty pageant contestant. Tyson was paroled after three years.

In 1992, Barbara Frum, a leading broadcast journalist of her generation, died of leukemia in Toronto at age 54. She’s remembered for her years as host of CBC Radio’s “As It Happens” and CBC television’s “The Journal.”

In 1997, the bodies of 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate cult were found in a house in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. They had committed suicide over several days by eating drug-laced food. They believed they could hitch a ride on a UFO following the Hale-bopp comet.

In 1997, the “National Enquirer” announced it had paid $2 million for North American rights to 10 photos of Michael Jackson’s five-week-old son. The money went to a Jackson charity.

In 1997, Calgary-based Bre-x Minerals admitted there was a strong possibility that the estimated size of its Indonesian gold deposit had been “overstated.” The find was later found to be a hoax.

In 2000, Russian voters elected Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to succeed Boris Yeltsin as president.

In 2003, Ontario declared a provincial health emergency as the number of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) cases jumped to 62. Anyone who had recently visited Toronto’s Scarborough Grace Hospital was asked to go into quarantine at home for 10 days to limit the spread of the pneumonic outbreak.

In 2007, Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley and Sein Finn leader Gerry Adams agreed to form a unity government in Northern Ireland.

In 2007, Quebecers elected a Liberal minority government -- the first minority government in the province in more than 125 years. Jean Charest’s Liberals were reduced to 48 seats from 72. The Action Democratique Party became the official opposition with the Parti Quebecois falling to third with 36 seats -- the worst performance by the PQ since 1970.

In 2009, both the 2002 Olympic gold medal men’s and women’s hockey teams were inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. Also inducted were 2002 pairs skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. Their silver medal was upgraded to gold after a judging voteswapping scandal was uncovered.

In 2010, on the heels of capturing Canada’s first Olympic ice dance title, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were golden once again, claiming their first world figure skating championship.

In 2010, an explosion split the South Korean naval ship “Cheonan” in two and sank it as it patrolled the tense maritime border with North Korea; 46 of the 104 sailors onboard died. (On May 20, South Korea released a report concluding a North Korea torpedo sunk the ship.)

In 2011, Canadian actor and comedian Roger Abbott, who captivated the country with his hilarious take on the nation’s newsmakers for decades on “The Royal Canadian Air Farce,” died after losing a 14-year-battle with leukemia. He was 64.

In 2012, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled a ban on brothels put prostitutes at risk and was therefore unconstitutional. In October, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear the federal government’s appeal.

In December 2013, the SCOC struck down the country’s prostitution laws in a unanimous 9-0 ruling, giving Parliament one-year to produce new legislation, which it did with Bill C-36. It was passed in November 2014 and took effect on Dec. 6, 2014, and criminalizes the purchase of sex, but provides legal immunity to those who sell it.

In 2013, the Italian Supreme Court vacated a decision on the acquittal of American exchange student Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito in the 2007 slaying of her British roommate Meredith Kercher and ordered a new appeals trial, where the murder conviction was upheld. In March 2015, the Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction to bring an end to the high-profile case.

In 2018, Canada joined the U.S. and several European countries in expelling over 100 Russian diplomats following a nerve-agent attack in the United Kingdom early in March that left a former Russian spy and his daughter in critical condition.

In 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally exonerated six Tsilhqot’in chiefs who were hanged by B.C.’S colonial government following a deadly confrontation with white road builders during the so-called “Chilcotin War of 1864.”

In 2019, attorneys for “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett announced charges alleging he lied to police about a racist and homophobic attack had been dropped. Smollett’s attorneys said in a statement that the black and gay actor’s record had been wiped clean. Smollett had been indicted on 16 felony counts related to making a false report that he was attacked by two men. Smollett said he’d “been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one.”

(The Canadian Press)