Today in history
P.E.I. bans cars
In 1821, the Hudson’s Bay Company and the Northwest Company amalgamated under the name Hudson’s Bay Company.
In 1830, Joseph Smith first published “The Book of Mormon.” Smith maintained it was derived from golden plates, written in Reformed Egyptian, he had discovered with the aid of an angel.
In 1840, George Smith, famed English Assyriologist, was born. During several expeditions to the site of ancient Nineveh, (1873-74), Smith unearthed over 3,000 cuneiform tablets, including one which told the story of an ancient deluge, similar to Noah’s flood.
In 1885, the first battle of the Northwest Rebellion took place between North West Mounted Police and Metis troops at Duck Lake, Sask. Metis under Louis Riel battled police under Supt. L.N.F. Crozier, who was in charge of defending the area. The shot that began the battle was fired over a misunderstanding when representatives of the two sides came out to negotiate with each other. Crozier gave the order to retreat after a battle lasting about 45 minutes, in which 17 of his men were killed. The Metis lost five men.
In 1902, British-born financier Cecil Rhodes died. He used the enormous wealth he acquired from his commercial exploitation of southern Africa to launch the scholarship program which bears his name.
In 1908, Prince Edward Island banned all automobiles. The first car had appeared on the island three years earlier, causing such a controversy that the law outlawing the operation of any motor vehicle was passed. That law lasted until 1913.
In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first U.S. team to win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Montreal Canadiens.
In 1921, the racing schooner “Bluenose” was launched at Lunenberg, N.S. Captained by Angus Walters, she raced five times for the North Atlantic fishermen’s championship and was never beaten. Sold during the Second World War, the “Bluenose” was wrecked near Haiti in 1946. The schooner is commemorated on the Canadian dime.
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 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 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, 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, 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 2010, on the heels of capturing Canada’s first Olympic ice dance title, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir claimed their first world figure skating championship.
In 2010, an explosion split and sank the South Korean naval ship “Cheonan” as it patrolled the maritime border with North Korea; 46 of the 104 sailors onboard died.