Today in history

On this date:

In 1683, the first public museum, The Ashmolean, was opened in Oxford, England.

In 1844, the YMCA – the Young Men’s Christian Association – was founded in London by George Williams and a group of associates. It began in Canada six years later.

In 1888, Cornwall, Ont., was hit by a tornado that destroyed 500 homes.

In 1891, Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, died at age 76. He led federal Conservative governments from 1867-73, and again from 1878 until his death. Macdonald’s achievements included the building of a crosscountry railway and a national tariff policy.

In 1895, the Canadian Golf Association was founded in Ottawa. It became the Royal Canadian Golf Association a year later.

In 1933, the world’s first drive-in movie theatre opened in Camden, N.J. The first movie shown was “Wife Beware.”

In 1944, the greatest combined military force ever assembled launched the D-Day invasion on the beaches of Normandy, France, during the Second World War. Allied soldiers scrambled ashore as planes attacked German positions, and paratroopers secured a hold further inland. Total casualties of the D-Day invasion have been estimated at 10,000 dead or wounded.

In 1945, Canada joined 25 other countries in setting up a body to regulate international civil aviation.