TODAY IN HISTORY: Birth of the laundromat

In 1934, the first self-service laundromat was opened in Fort Worth, Texas. The washateria, as it was called, had four electric washing machines, which were rented by the hour.

In 1942, the Toronto Maple Leafs completed the greatest comeback ever in a Stanley Cup final. They downed the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 to win the NHL title in seven games after being down 3-0 in the series.

In 1945, Canadian forces completed the liberation of northeastern Holland from the Nazis.

In 1946, Jackie Robinson made his pro baseball debut for the Montreal Royals in an International League game in Jersey City, N.J. He had four hits, including a homer, in a 14-1 Montreal victory. Robinson broke the I.L.’s colour barrier, as he did the next season in the major leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1949, Ireland became a republic. In 1956, actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco in a civil ceremony in Monte Carlo. A church wedding came the next day.

In 1983, a car bomb demolished the U.S. embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people.

In 1996, musician and record producer Bernard Edwards, a leading creative force behind the disco music of the 1970s, was found dead in a hotel room in Tokyo. He was 43 and his cause of death was pneumonia . Edwards and Nile Rodgers formed the group Chic, which had a No. 1 hit with “Le Freak.”

In 1999, Wayne Gretzky played the final game of his 20-year career in New York City.

In 2014, an avalanche swept down a climbing route on Mount Everest, killing 16 Sherpa guides in the deadliest disaster on the world's highest peak.

In 2015, more than 800 people drowned when a boat packed with migrants trying to reach Europe sank near the Italian island of Lampedusa, making it the worst such incident ever in the Mediterranean.