TODAY IN history

In 1809, the steamer “Accomodation,” the first on the St. Lawrence, arrived at Quebec from Montreal. The trip took 66 hours at a speed of five knots but 30 hours were spent at anchor. The fare was $8.

In 1838, Robert Nelson and Cyrille Hector Octave Cote launched a second rebellion in Lower Canada (now Quebec). The rebellion, which followed the previous year’s failed French uprising, was encouraged by American sympathizers but lasted only five days.

In 1862, American Richard Gatling received a patent for his rapid-fire gun — the forerunner of the modern machine gun.

In 1873, Scottish immigrants Alexander Dennistoun and John and David Sidey founded North America’s first golf club — the Montreal Golf Club. With Queen Victoria’s permission, it was renamed the Royal Montreal Golf Club 11 years later.

In 1879, it was ruled that the Queen or the governorgeneral had the sole right of appointing Queen’s Counsels.

In 1889, large deposits of coal were discovered in Nova Scotia.

In 1946, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was established.

In 1977, the Security Council ordered a world-wide embargo on the supply of arms and military material to South Africa because of that Government’s repressive racial acts against its black population.