Today in History
Que., raced towards a plume of smoke on the horizon. When the smoke kept moving away from them, they realized they were chasing a tornado.
In 1984, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was named the 1984 winner of the Albert Einstein peace prize for his global campaign to ease East-west tensions.
In 1986, Jean Drapeau announced he would not seek a ninth term as Montreal's mayor. He had held office for nearly 30 years, bringing the city its subway system, Expo '67, major league baseball and the 1976 Olympics.
In 1986, Irish voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to lift a ban on divorce.
In 1989, baseball history was made as the Toronto Blue Jays played the Baltimore Orioles. Toronto's Cito Gaston and Baltimore's Frank Robinson were the first black managers to oppose each other in a regular-season game.
In 1990, Queen Elizabeth began a fiveday Canadian tour in Calgary.
In 1991, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unions can collect dues from nonunion members in a bargaining unit and use the money for activities unrelated to collective bargaining.
In 1992, the Toronto Star was unable to publish for the first time in 99 years. The paper was in the middle of a strike and only 56 pages of feature sections printed earlier in the week were distributed -- for free.
In 1995, the RCMP granted the Walt Disney Company an exclusive licence to market the Mounties' likeness and image in return for royalties.
In 1999, Juli Inkster shot a 6-under 65 to win the LPGA Championship, becoming the second woman to win the modern career Grand Slam (the first was Pat Bradley).
In 2001, Oscar-winning actor Jack Lemmon died in Los Angeles of complications from cancer. He was 76.
In 2003, Canada's largest shipyard, Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd. owned by the Irving family, was formally closed after remaining shut for three years due to competition from subsidized shipbuilders around the world and lack of orders at home. The move forced 600 employees out of work.
In 2007, former Montreal ad man Jean Lafleur was sentenced to 42 months in jail for his role in the federal sponsorship scandal and ordered to repay the $1.5 million he defrauded.
In 2007, after a decade in power, British Prime Minister Tony Blair officially tendered his resignation to the Queen. Blair saw his popularity fall because of his continuing support for the war in Iraq. Former Treasury Chief Gordon Brown took over as Britain's prime minister.
In 2008, Federal Court quashed the Gomery inquiry conclusions that former prime minister Jean Chretien and his top aide bore responsibility for the sponsorship scandal.
In 2010, G20 leaders capped a tumultuous summit weekend in Toronto with a landmark deal for advanced economies to cut their deficits in half by 2013 and stabilize their debt loads by 2016 in order to stabilize the fragile world economy.
In 2011, in a retrial, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted of 17 of the 20 charges against him, many related to his attempt to sell or trade U.S. President Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat. (In December, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.)
In 2013, Brampton, Ont.-native Anthony Bennett became the first Canadian to be selected first overall in the NBA draft (by Cleveland).
In 2014, the Vatican's former ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, was convicted by a church tribunal of sex abuse and was defrocked, the first such sentence handed down against a top papal representative.