TODAY IN HISTORY

In 1555, Pope Marcellus II was elected the 222nd in the line of Peter, but he didn’t last a month, dying on May 1. He was the last pontiff to maintain his baptismal name.

In 1684, an ordinance prohibited emigration from French Canada to English colonies in the south.

In 1812, the United States called out the militia in preparation for the war against Canada that began on June 18.

In 1841, Halifax obtained its city charter.

In 1865, conservationist Jack Miner was born in Ohio. In 1908, he founded one of North America’s first bird sanctuaries at his farm at Kingsville, Ont. After Miner’s death in 1944, the federal government declared the week of his birthday National Wildlife Week.

In 1875, the Northwest Mounted Police received permission to build a post. It became the city of Calgary.

In 1889, the enlarged Welland Canal was opened between Lakes Erie and Ontario.

In 1912, the “Titanic” set sail from Southampton, England on its maiden voyage. On the night of April 14, the luxury liner struck an iceberg about 150 kilometres south of Newfoundland’s Grand Banks and sank within hours. More than 1,500 people perished. The catastrophe prompted measures to improve safety at sea, particularly the establishment of a patrol to make known the location of icebergs.

In 1919, Mexican revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata was ambushed and killed by government troops.