Today in history Elvis, Babe Ruth die

In 1750, 300 German settlers arrived at Lunenburg, N.S.

In 1784, New Brunswick was established as a separate colony from Nova Scotia with a nominated council and elected assembly.

In 1812, British forces under General Isaac Brock captured Detroit during the War of 1812.

In 1819, the “Peterloo Massacre” occurred in Manchester, England, when a public meeting of English workmen was fired upon by troops called in by city magistrates fearing revolution. In the ensuing melee, 11 people were killed and countless others injured. In 1825, the republic of Bolivia was proclaimed. In 1827, the first stone of one of the Rideau Canal locks was laid by Capt. John Franklin, the Arctic explorer.

In 1858, the first message over the Atlantic cable was sent by Queen Victoria to U.S. President James Buchanan via Newfoundland.

In 1948, baseball star Babe Ruth died in New York of throat cancer at age 53. His record of 714 career homers stood until 1974 when Hank Aaron surpassed it. (Barry Bonds later surpassed Aaron.)

In 1949, Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With the Wind, died in a car crash. It was her only novel.

In 1951, T.C. Davis became Canada's ambassador to West Germany, marking the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries after the Second World War.

In 1954, Sports Illustrated was first published by Time Inc.

In 1956, actor Bela Lugosi died at age 73. He was buried in his Dracula cloak.

In 1963, a Canadian-United States agreement on nuclear warhead storage was announced.

In 1965, Canadian jockey Johnny Longden, 58, won his 6,000th race, riding Prince Scorpion at Vancouver’s Exhibition Park.

In 1969, the first Canada Summer Games opened in Halifax.

In 1977, the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, Elvis Presley, was found dead at his Graceland mansion in Memphis. He was 42. He began his singing career in 1954 and quickly became an international sensation. His hits included Blue Suede Shoes, Love Me Tender, Heartbreak Hotel and Return to Sender. He also starred in 33 films.

In 1979, former prime minister John Diefenbaker died in Ottawa at age 83.

In 1980, Rev. Lois Wilson became the first woman moderator of the United Church of Canada when she was elected at the church’s general council in Halifax.

In 1994, the Canadian Medical Association rejected euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

In 1996, Lunenburg, N.S., was designated a world heritage site.

In 2000, Japanese scientists announced the birth of a successfully cloned pig.

In 2003, Idi Amin, one of modern history’s bloodiest dictators, died in exile in Saudi Arabia.