TODAY IN HISTORY: Short winter a killer in Quebec
In 1671, the first snow of the winter fell in Quebec but the ice and snow had nearly all melted away by the middle of March, making it Canada’s shortest winter on record. But homesteaders weren't rejoicing at the lack of chill in the air — they depended on the cold to keep food supplies from spoiling. Many starved because of the short winter.
In 1784, the United States ratified a peace treaty with England, ending the Revolutionary War.
In 1858, Italian revolutionist Felice Orsini attempted to assassinate French Emperor Napoleon III.
In 1878, Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the telephone to Queen Victoria, who spoke with her friend, Sir Thomas Biddulph.
In 1943, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and French General Charles de Gaulle opened a wartime conference in Casablanca.
In 1949, the first non-stop trans-Canada flight, from Vancouver to Halifax, was completed.
In 1952, an underground gas explosion at the McGregor coal mine at Stellarton, N.S., killed 19 men.
In 1952, NBC's “Today” show premiered, with Dave Garroway as the host, or “communicator,” as he was officially known. It is television’s longest-running weekday program.
In 1954, retired baseball great Joe DiMaggio married actress Marilyn Monroe. They divorced nine months later.
In 1964, in her first public statement since the assassination of her husband two months before, former U.S. first lady Jacqueline Kennedy appeared on TV to thank the 800,000 people who sent her messages of sympathy.
In 1969, 27 people aboard the aircraft carrier “USS Enterprise,” stationed off Hawaii, were killed when a rocket warhead exploded, setting off a fire and additional explosions that ripped through the ship.
In 1976, the T. Eaton Co. announced the end of its catalogue sales operation, citing losses for more than 10 years, laying off 9,000 employees.
In 1979, FLQ suspect Jean-Pierre Charette returned to Canada after 10 years in Cuba. He was sentenced to jail in March for bombing incidents in 1969.
In 1980, Iran's Revolutionary Council ordered all U.S. journalists expelled from the country because of their 'biased reporting' and demanded that American news organizations in Tehran cease operations immediately.
In 1982, Clifford Robert Olson was sentenced to life in prison after he pleaded guilty in Vancouver to 11 counts of first-degree murder. The victims, three boys and eight girls, were aged between nine and 18 and died between November 1980 and August 1981. Olson's family was paid $100,000 by the RCMP after he gave information on the location of the victims' bodies. Olson died of cancer in prison in September 2011.