Today in history

On this date:

In 52, Marcus Trajan, emperor of Rome from 98 to 117, was born. He was the third Roman emperor to rule, after Nero (54-68) and Domitian (81-96), who persecuted the early Church. During Trajan’s reign, the apostolic Father Ignatius of Antioch was martyred, in 117.

In 1759, the French formally surrendered Quebec to the British following the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.

In 1762, the French garrison at St. John’s, N.L., surrendered to the British in the last battle between the French and English in Canada.

In 1810, Chile declared independence from Spain.

In 1839, Nova Scotia politician Joseph Howe published his famous letters to Lord John Russell on the subject of responsible government.

In 1841, an act was passed to establish and maintain public schools in Canada.

In 1851, the New York Times was published for the first time.

In 1875, the Supreme Court of Canada was organized under Chief Justice William Buell Richards. The court held its first session the following year, but did not become Canada’s final court of appeal until 1949.

In 1885, compulsory vaccination caused riots in Montreal.

In 1893, Stanley Thompson, considered Canada’s finest golf course architect, was born.