TODAY IN HISTORY:

Tiger crashes his SUV

In 1095, in France, Pope Urban II solemnly proclaimed the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont. Urban's twin purpose was to relieve the pressure by the Seljuk Turks on the Eastern Roman Empire, and to secure free access to Jerusalem for Christian pilgrims.

In 1701, Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius was born in Uppsala, Sweden. He originated the centigrade temperature scale.

In 1822, John McLeod of the Hudson's Bay Company began his journey through the Rockies and descended the Fraser River to the Strait of Georgia.

In 1829, the final section of Ontario's original Welland Canal from Port Dalhousie to Port Robinson was opened. Before the canal was built over a period of five years, all freight moving between lakes Erie and Ontario was transported overland. The canal was deepened and enlarged over the years before being replaced by the new canal in 1932.

In 1895, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel established his prizes for achievement in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace. The inventor of dynamite specified the first prizes were to be awarded five years after his death. He died the following year, and the first Nobel Prizes were handed out in 1901.

In 1898, a severe storm near Yarmouth, N.S., sank the “SS Portland,” killing 190 people. The steamship sailed from Boston before the storm reached its full intensity. The storm was later named the Portland Gale after the ship.

In 1942, Jimi Hendrix, one of the most influential rock artists, was born in Seattle. Hendrix expanded the vocabulary of rock guitarists, developing feedback and distortion as a means of musical expression. On Sept. 18, 1970, Hendrix was found dead in his London apartment after choking on his own vomit after an overdose of barbiturates.

In 1944, Major David Currie, an officer of the South Alberta Reconnaissance Regiment, became the seventh Canadian to win the Victoria Cross in the Second World War. Currie and his soldiers fought continuously for three days and nights to block a German escape route and stopped them from breaking through Canadian lines at St. Lambert sur Dives, Normandy. After a business career, Currie was appointed sergeant-at-arms of the House of Commons. He died in 1986 at the age of 73.

In 1961, Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings became the first NHLer to play in 1,000 games. He eventually played 1,767 games, an NHL record.

In 1982, Frances Shelley Wees, a poet and writer of romantic novels, died at Denman Island, B.C. at the age of 80.

In 1983, a Colombian Avianca Airlines Boeing 747 airliner, on its final approach to Madrid’s airport, crashed into a muddy field and exploded, killing 183 of the 194 people on board.

In 1986, Honeymoon Suite was honoured with the key to the city of their hometown of Niagara Falls, Ont.

In 1987, Air Canada shut down its domestic and international operations, locking out 8,500 workers. A rotating strike organized by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers had been disrupting flights in and out of major Canadian airports.

In 1989, a Colombian airliner exploded three minutes after takeoff and crashed in Bogota, killing 110 people. The Medellin cocaine cartel claimed responsibility.

In 1990, John Major was chosen to succeed Margaret Thatcher as the 18th Prime Minister of Britain.

In 1998, Hells Angels kingpin Maurice “Mom” Boucher was acquitted of killing two Quebec prison guards.

In 2006, a rare winter storm dumped up to 50 centimetres of snow on B.C.'s Lower Mainland. In 2007, Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died after being shot a day earlier in his Florida home by an intruder.

In 2009, Tiger Woods crashed his SUV outside his Florida mansion, sparking widespread attention to reports of marital infidelity. In 2009, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Wal-Mart Canada Corp., was within its rights when it shut down a store in Jonquiere, Que., in 2005 that had been unionized seven months earlier.

In 2009, legendary singer-songwriter Paul Rodgers (Bad Company, Free) received an honorary doctor of letters at his hometown university in Middlesbrough, England.

In 2011, the hometown B.C. Lions defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 34-23 in the Grey Cup at BC Place, becoming the first CFL team to win the league title after losing its opening five regular-season games. Lions quarterback Travis Lulay was named MVP and tailback Andrew Harris was named top Canadian.

In 2016, the Ottawa Redblacks stunned the heavily favoured Calgary Stampeders 39-33 in OT to capture the team's first Grey Cup in just their third year of existence.

In 2017, Buckingham Palace announced Prince Harry, the fifth in line to the British throne, had become engaged to American actress/humanitarian campaigner Meghan Markle. The wedding took place in May 2018.

In 2017, Torstar Corp. and Postmedia Network Inc. announced they had exchanged a total of 41 publications and would stop publishing all but five of them, resulting in 291 job losses. The closed papers included long-standing publications such as the Barrie Examiner, the Orillia Packet and Times, as well as smaller publications such as the Stratford City Gazette and the Thorold Niagara News.