TODAY IN HISTORY: NDP forms government
In 67, according to tradition, the Apostle Paul was beheaded with a sword near Rome, probably by order of Emperor Nero, during a time when Christianity was outlawed.
In 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier reached Prince Edward Island during his first voyage to Canada. He described it as “the best-tempered region one can possibly see, and the heat is considerable.”
In 1946, British authorities arrested more than 2,700 Jews in Palestine, allegedly to stamp out terrorism.
In 1949, South Africa began implementing its apartheid policy with a ban on racially mixed marriages.
In 1955, Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” reached No. 1 on the U.S. charts, staying there for seven weeks.
In 1956, actress Marilyn Monroe married playwright Arthur Miller in Kentucky. They divorced in 1961.
In 1963, Del Shannon hit the charts with “From Me To You,” the first “Beatles” cover tune on the American charts. It reached No. 77. The Beatles’ version was a No. 1 single in the UK, but only reached No. 41 in the U.S.
In 1974, Soviet ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defected in Toronto during a Canadian tour.
In 1984, Bruce Springsteen began his “Born in the U.S.A.” tour in St. Paul, Minn.
In 1990, Oakland’s Dave Stewart and L.A. Dodgers’ Fernando Valenzuela became the first pitchers to toss no-hitters in both major leagues on the same day. Oakland shut out the Blue Jays 5-0 in Toronto, while Los Angeles blanked visiting St. Louis 6-0.
In 1995, almost 500 people were killed in the collapse of a Seoul department store building. In 2000, nearly 500 people drowned in the sinking of an overloaded Malaysian ferry. In 2003, Alberta skier Beckie Scott was awarded the Olympic silver medal after an IOC board decided to strip Russian crosscountry skier Larissa Lazutina of her medals due to positive drug tests.
In 2009, disgraced U.S. financier Bernie Madoff, 71, was sentenced in New York to the maximum 150 years behind bars for fleecing hundreds of investors out of tens of billions of dollars in a massive Ponzi scheme. In 2017, B.C.’s minority Liberal government was defeated in a non-confidence vote in the legislature. NDP Leader John Horgan emerged from a meeting with Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon to say he was asked to form a government after reaching a deal with the Green party on a legislative agenda.