TODAY IN HISTORY: War Measures Act invoked

In 1555, in Oxford, England, bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned at the stake for heresy because of their Protestant beliefs.

In 1679, a meeting of the Quebec council voted that liquor should not be taken to native villages.

In 1710, Port Royal in Nova Scotia was renamed Annapolis Royal in honour of the English Queen Anne. The renaming came after British troops captured the fort from the French in an uneven battle.

In 1793, Queen Marie Antoinette of France was guillotined in Paris.

In 1815, former French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte landed at St. Helena, his isle of exile. In 1820, after almost 40 years of separate status, Cape Breton Island became part of Nova Scotia.

In 1834, fire burned down the Houses of Parliament in London.

In 1847, the novel "Jane Eyre" was published. Author Charlotte Bronte submitted her manuscript under the male name Currer Bell because, at the time, it was unlikely a book by a woman author would be published.

In 1854, Irish writer and poet Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin. His genius was best expressed in his bitingly witty plays, particularly "The Importance of Being Earnest." Wilde's poems "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" and "De Profundis" were inspired by his two-year jail sentence for homosexual offences.

In 1916, Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic, in Brooklyn, N.Y. (The clinic ended up being raided by police and Sanger was arrested.)

In 1944, the RCMP patrol vessel “St. Roch” reached Vancouver after an 86-day voyage from Halifax through the Northwest Passage. “St. Roch” thus became the only ship to have made the northern crossing of the continent in both directions.

In 1946, 10 Nazi war criminals condemned during the Nuremberg war crimes trials were hanged. Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goering evaded the hangman by taking poison the day before.

In 1951, Liaquat Ali Khan, prime minister of Pakistan, was assassinated while addressing a public meeting in Rawalpindi.

In 1953, a report issued by the Roman Catholic Church in Canada discouraged teenagers from forming steady romantic attachments.

In 1962, the Cuban missile crisis began as U.S. President John Kennedy was informed of bases in Cuba equipped with Soviet missiles.

In 1964, China exploded its first atomic bomb.

In 1968, American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos sparked controversy at the Mexico City Olympics by giving "black power" salutes during a victory ceremony.

In 1969, the New York Mets capped their miracle season by winning the World Series, defeating the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3, in Game 5 played at Shea Stadium.

In 1970, Ottawa invoked the War Measures Act following the kidnapping of British Trade Commissioner James Cross and Quebec Labor Minister Pierre Laporte. It was the first use of the 1914 statute during a domestic crisis.

In 1975, Reggie Cleveland of Swift Current, Sask., became the only Canadian pitcher to start a World Series game. The Boston right-hander went five-plus innings and took the loss as Cincinnati downed the Red Sox 6-2 to take a 32 series lead.

In 1978, the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church chose Karol Cardinal Wojtyla to be Pope. Wojtyla, a Pole who became the first non-Italian pope since 1542, took the name John Paul II.

Also in 1978, Wayne Gretzky of the WHA's Indianapolis Racers scored his first professional regular season point. He assisted on a goal by Rich Leduc in a 4-0 victory over the Quebec Nordiques.

In 1984, Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu was named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle against apartheid in South Africa.

In 1986, the United States passed legislation penalizing imports of Canadian softwood lumber.

In 1993, Roger Warren was charged with firstdegree murder in connection with the blast at Giant Mine in Yellowknife on Sept. 18, 1992, that killed nine miners. In 1995, he was convicted of nine counts of second-degree murder.