TODAY IN HISTORY:
Tainted Tuna
In 1985, federal Fisheries Minister John Fraser resigned over the “tainted tuna” affair, in which he authorized the sale of rancid tuna over the objections of his department’s inspectors. Fraser was elected Speaker of the House of Commons the following year. Tom Siddon took over the position on a full-time basis on Nov. 20.
In 63 B.C., Roman emperor Augustus Caesar was born.
In 1122, the “Concordat of Worms” was reached in Germany between Pope Callistus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. It settled the controversy over who had the right, bishop or emperor, to choose church positions. The emperor was guaranteed the free election of bishops and abbots by the church and the Pope granted Henry the right, in Germany, to be present at elections and to invest those elected with their lay rights and obligations before their consecration.
In 1578, English explorer Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed from Plymouth, England, in search of the Northwest Passage.
In 1595, Spain began a missionary campaign in southeastern North America. During the next two years, about 1,500 Indians were converted to Catholicism.
In 1967, the opera “Louis Riel” by Harry Somers premiered at the O’Keefe Centre in Toronto (now the Sony Centre). The opera was about the Indian and Metis uprisings following Confederation and the personal tragedy of the rebellion’s leader, Louis Riel.
In 1973, Juan Peron was elected president of Argentina for a third and final time. He was previously president from June 1952 – September 1955 and June 1946 – June 1952. He died in office July 1, 1974.
In 1974, Robbie McIntosh, drummer with The Average White Band, died of a heroin overdose at a party in Los Angeles. He was 24. McIntosh had ingested the drug thinking it was cocaine. A murder charge was laid, and a man later confessed that McIntosh’s death was a revenge killing.
In 1992, the son and daughter-in-law of banjo picker Earl Scruggs were found shot to death in their home in Cottonwood, Tenn. Police say Steve Scruggs shot his wife, Elizabeth, then turned the gun on himself.
In 2009, a Supreme Court judge in B.C. threw out polygamy charges, the first in Canada, against leaders of two rival factions, Winston Blackmore and James Oler, in the community of Bountiful in B.C.’s interior, saying the government did not have the authority to pursue them. (In August 2014, a special prosecutor approved polygamy charges against the two.)
In 2010, movie renter Blockbuster Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States. It was bought by Dish Network Corp. in 2011 for US$228 million in cash. Blockbuster Canada was placed into receivership in May and closed 146 locations in June. In early September, it announced the remaining 253 stores were scheduled to close after failing to find a buyer willing to invest in the business.