TODAY IN HISTORY: W. declares war

In 1885, the Northwest Rebellion began when a provisional government led by Louis Riel was proclaimed in Batoche, Sask.

In 1945, the “USS Franklin” was struck by a Japanese bomb. More than 900 were killed in the largest loss of life in American naval history.

In 1953, the Academy Awards were televised for the first time. “The Greatest Show on Earth” was named best picture, beating “High Noon,” which critics considered to be the superior film.

In 1982, several members of rocker Ozzy Osbourne’s entourage, including guitarist Randy Rhoads, were killed in a freak accident near Orlando, Fla. Rhoads and two others were in a light plane which buzzed Osbourne’s tour bus, clipped a wing and crashed into a house. Osbourne and most of his band were on the bus and were not injured. Rhoads was replaced within a few weeks, and the show went on. Osbourne released a Randy Rhoads tribute album in 1987.

In 1987, U.S. televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as chairman of his PTL ministry amid a sex and money scandal involving Jessica Hahn, a former church secretary. Bakker was convicted in 1989 of bilking his followers and served five years in prison.

In 1990, Latvia’s political opposition claimed victory in its first free elections in 50 years. Reformers also claimed victories in crucial runoffs held in Russia, Byelorussia (now Belarus) and Ukraine.

In 1996, Sarajevo was reunited after four years when Muslim-Croat authorities took control of the last district in the Bosnian capital held by Serbs.

In 2003, two hours after the U.S. deadline for Saddam Hussein to get out of Iraq expired, George W. Bush announced war had begun. Cruise missiles and bombs hit selective targets in and around Baghdad, while ground forces rolled into Iraq from Kuwait.

In 2004, the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld a lower-court ruling that the traditional definition of marriage was discriminatory and unjustified. Quebec became the third province to allow same-sex marriage after Ontario and British Columbia.