TODAY IN HISTORY: Quadruplets born
On this day in 2007, identical quadruplets were born to Karen Jepp of Calgary in a hospital in Great Falls, Mont. The odds of giving birth to identical quadruplets is 1-in-13 million.
In 1676, the most devastating Indian war in the history of New England ended when King Philip, chief of the Wampanoag Indians, was killed in Rhode Island. The war, which involved several tribes and all the New England colonies, began when English settlers executed three native tribesmen for murder.
In 1908, the first Model T rolled off the Ford Motor Company assembly line in Detroit. Also known as the “Tin Lizzie,” it was introduced for sale to the public later in the year. Eventually 15 million of the cars were manufactured, putting the United States on wheels and helping to launch a manufacturing revolution.
In 1909, Fort William, now Thunder Bay, Ont., was placed under martial law as a result of riots during a strike by freight handlers. Credit for bringing the riots under control was given to Sir Samuel Benfield Steele, a legendary mounted police officer. Steele joined the militia in 1866 during the Fenian troubles and was a private in the Red River Expedition of 1870. Shortly after that, he became a sergeant major in the newly created North-West Mounted Police.
In 1966, John Lennon apologized for his remarks that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus. That night, The Beatles began their final tour with a concert in Chicago. The tour wound up two weeks later in San Francisco.
In 1972, the United States ended its ground combat role in Vietnam with the withdrawal of the last U.S. unit.
In 1982, actor Henry Fonda died at age 77, one year after winning his only Academy Award for “On Golden Pond.”
In 1984, Canadian jazz guitarist Lenny Breau was found dead in a swimming pool in Los Angeles. He was 43. A coroner said Breau was strangled but no one was ever arrested. Breau, who spent much of his formative years in Winnipeg, was known for his harmonic innovations on the guitar.
In 1993, a jury in Los Angeles rejected a claim by backup singer Yvette Marine that she deserved more credit on Paula Abdul's 1988 debut album. Marine had claimed her voice was electronically combined with Abdul's to create lead vocals on several songs. Abdul wasn't a defendant in the case but testified that Marine had no part in the lead vocals. Marine was previously a member of the Mary Jane Girls, which scored a top 10 hit with “In My House.”
In 2019, the RCMP confirmed the bodies found near the remote northern Ontario community of Gillam were two British Columbia men who led police on a crossCanada manhunt. Police said autopsies determined Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod died by what appears to be suicide by gunfire. They also say they were testing two firearms located with the dead men to “definitively confirm” the weapons are connected to three homicide investigations in northern B.C.