TODAY IN HISTORY:
The O.J. verdict
In 1863, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.
In 1914, the first group of Canadian volunteers to fight in the First World War sailed from Gaspe, Que., for England. A total of 33,000 men, 7,000 horses, and 144 pieces of artillery travelled in 32 ships, escorted by 10 British warships.
In 1935, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s plan for a new Roman empire began with Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia. The League of Nations imposed sanctions on Italy in retaliation, but they were soon abandoned. The African country was finally conquered in May 1937, after Italian forces stepped up bombing and poison gas attacks. Ethiopia was incorporated into Italian East Africa until 1941, when it was liberated by British troops.
In 1941, Adolf Hitler declared in a speech in Berlin that Russia had been “broken” and would “never rise again.”
In 1961, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams and Fred Rose became the first artists inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
In 1990, East and West Germany ended 45 years of postwar division, declaring the creation of a new unified country.
In 1995, former football star O.J. Simpson was found not guilty in the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, ending a sensational trial that had riveted the American public. (Simpson was later found liable in a civil trial).
In 2000, a state funeral was held for former prime minister Pierre Trudeau at Notre Dame Basilica in Old Montreal. It was attended by Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson, Prime Minister Jean Chretien, many leading present and former political figures, diplomats and world dignitaries including Cuban President Fidel Castro and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter.
In 2008, former NFL star O.J. Simpson was convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery and 10 other charges after an incident in which he and five men stormed a Las Vegas hotel room to seize sports-memorabilia at gunpoint from two dealers. Simpson was later sentenced to nine to 33 years in prison. He was released on parole in October 2017.