TODAY IN HISTORY: End of the navy rum ration

In 1842, ether was first used as an anesthetic by Dr. Crawford Long in Jefferson, Ga. His patient paid $2 for the anesthesia before having a cyst removed.

In 1858, the first pencil with an attached rubber eraser was patented by Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia.

In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward reached agreement with Russia to purchase the territory of Alaska for $7.2 million, a deal roundly ridiculed as "Seward's Folly."

In 1870, the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving all citizens the right to vote regardless of race, was declared in effect by Secretary of State Hamilton Fish.

In 1874, Louis Riel arrived in Ottawa to claim the Manitoba Commons seat of Provencher, to which he'd been elected that year. Riel, a fugitive since the 1869 Red River Uprising, took the oath of office but never entered the Commons.

In 1935, Newfoundland changed its time to three hours west of Greenwich Mean Time, and repeated 44 seconds.

In 1939, Prime Minister Mackenzie King said Canada would not conscript men for foreign service. That commitment was scrapped in 1944.

In 1954, the Yonge Street subway, the first subway line in Canada, was opened by the Toronto Transit Commission.

In 1972, Canadian sailors got a daily rum ration for the last time, ending a navy tradition dating back to 1667.

In 1973, the U.S. military role in Vietnam formally ended when the last American prisoner was released and the last soldier withdrew.

In 1978, the Ontario government banned advertising that portrayed the drinking of alcohol as a desirable thing to do and reduced the amount of beer and wine advertising a company could place on any radio or television station.

In 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot while leaving a Washington hotel. The gunman, 25-year-old John Hinckley, said he hoped to attract the attention of actress Jodie Foster. Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a mental hospital. Reagan recovered fully after surgery. Also wounded were White House press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and District of Columbia police officer Thomas Delahanty. Brady suffered permanent brain damage.

In 1987, Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers," painted in 1889, was sold at auction for the equivalent of C$55 million. The sale came on the 134th anniversary of the artist's birth. Van Gogh sold only two paintings during his lifetime.

In 1998, Judy Buenoano died in the electric chair in Florida, the state's first execution of a woman since 1848. Prosecutors dubbed her the "Black Widow" after she poisoned her husband, drowned her paralyzed son and tried to blow up her fiancee.

In 2002, Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, died at the age of 101.