TODAY IN history

In 337, Constantine, the first Christian emperor of Rome, died at the age of 47.

In 1216, Louis VIII of France invaded England, the last military invasion of the British Isles.

In 1611, the first Jesuits arrived in New France, at Port Royal.

In 1819, the first steam-propelled vessel to attempt a transatlantic crossing left Savannah, Ga. ``The Savannah’’ arrived in Liverpool on June 20th.

In 1867, Queen Victoria gave royal assent to the British North America Act. Canada became the first Dominion of the British Empire the following July 1st. In 1947, the British government amended the act to allow Canada to draft its own constitution, but it was not patriated until 1982.

In 1868, a train robbery took place near Marshfield, Ind. Seven members of the Reno Gang held up the crew, detached the locomotive and made off with $96,000 in cash, gold and bonds.

In 1893, the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association beat the visiting Ottawa Generals 2-1 in the first Stanley Cup game.

In 1900, The Associated Press was incorporated in New York as a non-profit news co-operative.

In 1906, Orville and Wilbur Wright received a patent for the airplane.

In 1919, the House of Commons passed a bill barring Canadians from receiving foreign hereditary titles.

In 1939, dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini signed the Act of Steel, a 10-year alliance between Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.