TODAY IN HISTORY: B.C.’s 1st same-sex marriage

In 1629, Spain's King Philip III sent England's King Charles the First an elephant and five camels. Included were instructions that the elephant be given a gallon of wine each day.

In 1654, Jacob Barsimon became the first known Jew to settle in North America when he made his home in New York.

In 1822, Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of the leading English romantic poets, drowned off Leghorn while sailing.

In 1867, "Le Moniteur Acadien," the Maritimes' first French-language newspaper, was published for the first time.

In 1883, workers laid a record 9.6-kilometres of Canadian Pacific Railway track in one day.

In 1889, the Wall Street Journal was first published.

In 1896, Liberal Leader Sir Wilfrid Laurier became the first French-Canadian prime minister. During his 15 years in office, Laurier led the country through a period of prosperity aided by an aggressive immigration policy. He was knighted at the Jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria in June, 1896.

In 1913, Louis Hemon, author of the classic novel "Maria Chapdelaine," was struck and killed by a train at Chapleau, Ont. He was 33. "Maria Chapdelaine," which sold more than one million copies, was about the struggle people faced with the inhospitable soil and climate of the Lac-St-Jean region in Quebec. It became a model for Canadian regional fiction.

In 1943, the burned and beaten body of Canadian gold millionaire Harry Oakes was found in his villa in the Bahamas. The murder was never solved.

In 1947, demolition began in New York to make way for the permanent headquarters of the United Nations.

In 1965, a bomb sent a Canadian Pacific Airlines plane crashing into B.C.'s Gustafsen Lake, killing 52 people.

In 1974, the Liberals under Pierre Trudeau won 141 of 264 seats in a federal election. The vote also saw Nova Scotia's Andy Hogan become the first Roman Catholic priest elected to the Commons.

In 1987, Statistics Canada released figures showing more than half of Canada's population was over 30.

In 1994, the world's longest-ruling Communist leader, Kim Il Sung of North Korea, died at age 82. He was the only leader the country had known since its was founded in 1948.

In 1999, former astronaut Charles (Pete) Conrad, the third man to walk on the moon in 1969, died in a motorcycle accident at the age of 69.

In 2000, Venus Williams won the women's singles title at Wimbledon, becoming the first black woman to win the tournament since 1958.

In 2000, Stockwell Day, an Alberta politician and Tory cabinet minister, won the leadership of the Canadian Alliance Party, defeating Reform Leader Preston Manning.

In 2003, Tom Graff and Anthony Porcino of Vancouver became the first gay couple to wed in the province, minutes after the B.C. Court of Appeal removed the last barrier to same sex marriages.

In 2004, former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay was charged with securities fraud related to the energy company's collapse two and a half years earlier. He pleaded not guilty on 11 counts. In May 2006, he was found guilty on 10 charges. He died on July 5, just months before his sentencing hearing.

In 2005, former First Nations leader David Ahenakew was convicted and fined for promoting hatred against Jews. Days later he was stripped of his Order of Canada. In February 2009, the judge at his second trial found him not guilty of wilfully promoting hatred against Jews but chided him for the controversial comments. He died March 12, 2010, after a long battle with cancer.

In 2010, free agent LeBron James, the NBA's reigning two-time MVP, ended months of speculation and suspense by announcing on the hour-long ESPN-televised special called "The Decision" that he was leaving Cleveland to play for the Miami Heat, joining other superstar free agents Chris Bosh (lured from Toronto) and Dwayne Wade (resigned).

In 2011, Atlantis blasted off on NASA's last space shuttle launch, 30 years and three months after the very first shuttle flight.

In 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada laid out new framework for ensuring the right to a timely criminal trial – from charge to conclusion – not exceed 18 months in provincial court, or 30 months in a superior court.