Today in history

In 1699, Russian Czar Peter the Great ordered his people to celebrate the new year on January 1, instead of Sept. 1.

In 1792, fortnightly mail service began between Canada and the United States.

In 1803, the United States bought most of what is now the central U.S. from France during ceremonies in New Orleans. The $15-million Louisiana Purchase almost doubled the size of the country.

In 1804, the game “Emulator” was published, “designed for the Amusement of Youth of both Sexes and calculated to inspire their Minds with an Abhorrence of Vice and a Love of Virtue.” It never caught on.

In 1820, Missouri imposed a bachelor tax on unmarried men aged 21 to 50 of $1 a year.

In 1859, the first sod was turned at the start of the construction of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa.

In 1879, inventor Thomas Edison privately demonstrated his incandescent light in Menlo Park, N.J.

In 1883, a cantilever bridge was opened between the United States and Canada at Niagara Falls. The 150-metre bridge was the first to be called a cantilever.

In 1922, 14 Russian republics were combined as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In 1963, the Berlin Wall was opened for the first time to West Berliners, who were allowed one-day holiday visits to relatives in the eastern sector.