TODAY IN HISTORY

In 1614, in Virginia, Indian chief Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas, married English colonist John Rolfe. She was one of the first North American native converts to Christianity. She went by the name Lady Rebecca.

In 1669, New France governor Jean Talon introduced bonuses for large families. Canada’s first baby bonus amounted to 300 livres to families of 10 children and 400 to families of 12.

In 1753, the British Museum was founded in London.

In 1792, George Washington cast the first U.S. presidential veto, rejecting a congressional measure for apportioning representatives among the states.

In 1832, the town of Brockville, Ont., was incorporated.

In 1842, the Gesner Museum, Canada’s first public museum, opened in Saint John, N.B.

In 1861, a bill calling for “representation by population” was introduced in the Canadian parliament. “Rep by pop” was an idea espoused by a couple of the fathers of Confederation, including George Brown. Under the 1941 Act of Union, Canada West (Ontario) and Canada East (Quebec) were given an equal number of representatives in Parliament at a time when Quebec had the greater population. But after the census of 1851 revealed that Canada West had the greater population, politicians there were vocal in their calls for a change. The question was not settled until Confederation, in 1867.