TODAY IN history

In 1521, the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan discovered the Philippine Islands.

In 1649, Jesuit martyrs Jean de Brebeuf and Gabriel Lalement were tortured and put to death by the Iroquois at the Huronia village of St-ignace, in what is now Simcoe County in Ontario. Brebeuf had laboured for 15 years trying to make peace with the Iroquois, but they continued their war against the Hurons and destroyed their villages and Jesuit missions in 1648. Later, the Iroquois captured Brebeuf and Lalement and killed them. Brebeuf was canonized in 1930 and is now a patron saint of Canada.

In 1946, one of Canada’s most sensational murder cases began when the torso of 40-year-old railway worker John Dick was found in Hamilton, Ont. Police later found Dick’s teeth and bone fragments in the home of his estranged wife, Evelyn, along with the body of her seven-month-old son. Evelyn Dick was sentenced to death for John’s murder, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. She was also convicted of her son’s death and imprisoned until 1958. Her father was sentenced to five years for his part in the crimes.

In 1955, NHL president Clarence Campbell suspended Montreal Canadiens star Maurice Richard for the balance of the season and the playoffs for abusing an official. The decision sparked the “Richard Riot” the next night in Montreal.