TODAY IN history

In 1854, the other half of one of the most important conversations in history was born. American engineer Thomas A. Watson was summoned by Alexander Graham Bell via the first telephone on March 10, 1876.

In 1882, A. A. Milne, the English author best known for his children’s classic Winnie the Pooh, was born.

In 1912, British explorer Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole. Delayed by sickness and bad weather, he and four companions arrived to learn they’d been beaten to the Pole by a month by Norwegian Roald Amundsen. Scott and his men died on the return journey.

In 1960, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker confirmed that Canada would control the use of nuclear weapons stored in this country. But Diefenbaker told the Commons that the nuclear weapons would be under U.S. ownership.

In 1985, Ontario Premier William Davis announced that a sports stadium with a retractable roof would be built in downtown Toronto at a cost of $150 million. The Skydome, which opened in 1989, ended up costing $500 million. The stadium was renamed the Rogers Centre in 2005 after Rogers Communications Inc. acquired it for $25 million.

In 2004, Conrad Black announced the sale of his stake in Hollinger Inc. to a British firm headed by twin British tycoons, Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, for $600 million.