TODAY IN HISTORY: Start of the Second World War

In 1159, the only English pope in history, Adrian (or Hadrian) IV, died.

In 1557, Jacques Cartier, explorer of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence River, died. He was born in 1491 in the English Channel port of St-Malo, France. He had been commissioned by French King Francis I to "discover certain islands and lands where it is said there is a large amount of gold and other riches to be found" and, if possible, find the route to Asia.

In 1715, King Louis XIV of France died of gangrene. His 72-year reign was the longest in European history.

In 1858, the British government took over the subcontinent of India from the East India Company. In 1860, the cornerstone of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa was laid by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband.

In 1864, the wheels of Canadian Confederation were set in motion as the Charlottetown conference opened. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and P.E.I. planned the conference to discuss a maritime union. But representatives from the province of Canada, who had asked to attend, persuaded the eastern colonies to work toward a general union of British North America. The meeting led to the Quebec Conference one month later.

In 1878, the first female telephone operator began working in Boston.

In 1904, Montreal policeman Etienne Desmarteau became the first individual Olympic champion to represent Canada when he won the 56-pound weight throw in St. Louis. Desmarteau was fired for going to the Games, but reinstated when he returned with the gold medal.

In 1905, Alberta and Saskatchewan entered Confederation as the eighth and ninth provinces.

In 1917, The Canadian Press was formed as a cooperative to exchange news among Canadian newspapers.

In 1923, more than 142,000 people died in an earthquake that destroyed 575,000 homes in Yokohama and Tokyo, Japan.

In 1937, Trans-Canada Air Lines made the first passenger and first international flight from Vancouver to Seattle.

In 1939, Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler invaded Poland, starting the Second World War. One day earlier, Germany had concluded a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union. Hitler was then free to attack Poland, following his earlier demands for the return of Danzig and the Polish Corridor. Italy proclaimed its neutrality. Britain and France declared war against Germany two days later, while Canada followed suit on Sept. 10.

In 1944, Canadian troops liberated the French port of Dieppe, the scene of a disastrous Canadian raid two years earlier in the Second World War.

In 1971, British Columbia banned alcohol and tobacco advertising.

In 1972, Bobby Fischer became the first American world chess champion, defeating Russia's Boris Spassky in a 24-game match in Rejkavik, Iceland.

In 1980, Terry Fox was forced to quit his cross-Canada "Marathon of Hope" near Thunder Bay, Ont. Cancer had spread to his lungs. Fox lost his right leg to the disease several years earlier and began his "Marathon of Hope" to raise funds for cancer research. He died in June 1981.