TODAY IN HISTORY: Birth of the toonie

In 1878, Thomas Edison was issued a U.S. patent for his phonograph, less than two months after he applied. In the autumn of 1877, Edison had successfully tested a crude cylinder phonograph that recorded his voice on a piece of tinfoil wrapped around a cylinder. He had shouted into the mouthpiece of the instrument the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” When he played back the recording, and a recognizable reproduction of his voice emerged, Edison was quoted as saying: “I was never so taken aback in my life.” Before the patent was even granted, the Edison Speaking Phonograph Company had been formed to control the manufacture and exhibition of the instruments. However, the phonograph’s commercial value at the time lay solely in its appeal as a novelty.

In 1889, Saskatchewan Metis leader Gabriel Dumont was pardoned by the federal government for his actions during the 1885 Northwest Rebellion led by Louis Riel. In 1906, Michigan doctor William Kellogg formed the Battle Creek Cornflake Company to make a breakfast cereal he had developed for patients suffering from mental disorders.

In 1920, shareholders of the Grand Trunk Railway ratified its sale to the federal government. It became part of the Canadian National Railway system.

In 1930, the Quebec legislature rejected a bill to admit women to the practice of law.

In 1945, U.S. Marines landed on the Japanese-held island of Iwo Jima during the Second World War. The island was eventually taken on March 26 at a cost of more than 6,800 American lives.

In 1974, Dick Clark staged the first American Music Awards as an alternative to the industry-dominated Grammy Awards. The winners of the American Music Awards are determined by the votes of music fans. “Tie A Yellow Ribbon” by Tony Orlando and Dawn won for Favourite Pop Single that year.

In 1977, Fleetwood Mac released Rumours. The album would become one of the all-time biggest sellers — over 40 million copies worldwide. It also won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The production was tedious as two couples in the band — Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham and John and Christine McVie were in the process of splitting up.

In 1980, vocalist Bon Scott of the Australian rock band AC/DC died after choking on his own vomit after an all-night drinking binge in London. He was 33. Scott’s death came just months after AC/DC had scored their first North American success with the album Highway to Hell. In 1995, Baywatch star Pamela Anderson married Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee in Cancun, Mexico. The bride wore white — a bikini. The couple, who had two children, later divorced.

In 1996, Canada’s new $2 coin, dubbed the “toonie,” is introduced.

In 1997, Deng Xiaoping, China’s paramount leader, died at age 92. He was the architect of China’s economic reforms in the 1980s, but also ordered the bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.

In 2001, the Canada-U.S. Automotive Agreement expired after 36 years. The 1965 Auto Pact provided a large measure of free trade in vehicles and parts between the two countries and was a major boost to the Canadian auto industry. It was allowed to lapse after the World Trade Organization ruled it violated international trade laws.

In 2003, a German court sentenced Moroccan Mounir El Motassadeq, 28, to 15 years in prison after being convicted of accessory to murder in the world’s first trial over the Sept 11, 2001, attacks.

In 2004, a fierce blizzard forced Nova Scotia and P.E.I. to declare a state of emergency; Halifax received a record 95.5 cm of snow.