today in history

On this date:

In 1378, the “Great Schism” in the Roman Catholic Church began. It was touched off when Pope Gregory XI died, shortly after returning the papal seat from Avignon, in France, to Rome. Continuing for nearly 40 years, until 1417, the schism at one point produced three concurrent popes.

In 1697, the “Treaty of Ryswick” was signed. France returned Hudson Bay and Newfoundland to Britain, in return for Acadia.

In 1867, the first general election in Canada, won by the Conservatives under Sir John A. Macdonald, was completed. Confederation, achieved earlier in the year, had set out the mandate for the formation of a federal government to unite the four provinces in the Dominion at the time. Macdonald formed a coalition cabinet almost equally split between Liberal and Conservative ministers and representing different regions, religions and cultures.

In 1873, the New York Stock Exchange was forced to close for the first time because of a banking crisis.

In 1917, the Wartime Elections Act was passed, giving the vote to some Canadian women and disenfranchising many citizens born in enemy countries. The act gave wives, mothers and sisters of men in the armed service the right to vote. In May 1918, all women gained the vote.

In 1917, the “Income Tax War Act” was enacted as a temporary measure to raise funds for Canada’s troops during the First World War. The tax rate for individuals was four per cent, with an additional two per cent on incomes between $6,000 and $10,000. Corporations also paid a four-per-cent rate on incomes over $3,000.