TODAY IN HISTORY: Watergate burglars apprehended
In 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor aboard the French ship Isere.
In 1918, the Germans launched what was to be their last air raid on Britain in the First World War.
In 1925, a protocol was signed in Geneva prohibiting the use of poisonous gases in warfare.
In 1928, Amelia Earhart embarked on a transAtlantic flight from Newfoundland to Wales with pilots Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon, becoming the first woman to make the trip as a passenger. The trip took just under 21 hours.
In 1940, France asked Germany for terms of surrender during the Second World War.
In 1944, the republic of Iceland was established.
In 1946, a tornado hit Windsor, Ont., killing 16 people and injuring hundreds.
In 1958, the collapse of the half-finished Second Narrows bridge at Vancouver killed 18 workers and injured 20.
In 1959, England’s Daily Mirror paid 8,000 pounds in libel damages to Liberace. One of the newspaper's columnists implied the pianist was a homosexual when he wrote that Liberace was a “fruit-flavoured, mincing, ice-covered heap of Mother Love.” Liberace had denied under oath — falsely, it turned out — that he was gay. When the truth surfaced after his death in 1987, the newspaper suggested it wanted its money back.
In 1961, Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West while his troupe was in Paris.
In 1967, China exploded its first hydrogen bomb.
In 1972, police apprehended five men for attempting to bug the U.S. Democratic party’s national headquarters in Washington’s Watergate complex. It was the beginning of a series of arrests that would eventually force President Richard Nixon from the White House just over two years later.
In 1974, Irish terrorists exploded a bomb in an annex of Britain's House of Commons. The blast injured 11 people and caused a fire that damaged the most historic section of Westminster Hall.
In 1994, football legend O.J. Simpson surrendered to police after a bizarre chase along a Los Angeles highway that was broadcast live throughout North America. Simpson was charged with the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, but was acquitted after a sensational trial. However, in 1997, a civil jury found him liable for their wrongful deaths and ordered him to pay $33 million in damages.
In 1999, Stan Faulder of Jasper, Alta., became the first Canadian to be executed in the U.S. since 1952. He received a lethal injection for a 1975 murder in Texas.
In 2001, First Nations in Canada gained the ability to confront local governments over human rights issues.
In 2018, Canadian Milos Raonic fell to Roger Federer 6-4, 7-6 (3) at the Stuttgart Open final, the Swiss star's 98th career title.
In 2019, There was unbridled euphoria as a sea of Toronto Raptors fans greeted the newly crowned NBA champions with cheers, whistles and chants. The basketball team became the first NBA franchise outside the U.S. to win the Finals. Players rode in open top double-decker buses, along with the families, coaches and team executives. The rally capped off a day that saw fans dressed in red and black — the Raptors' colours — take over swaths of the city's downtown. City officials said more than a million people were gathered in and around the area.
In 2020, Canada lost its bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council. Canada lost to Norway and Ireland in the first round of voting for two available seats for a two-year term starting next year.
In 2021, another military officer took over as vaccine rollout boss. Brig.-Gen. Krista Brodie replaced Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin. He was recently relieved of the job in light of a military investigation alleging sexual misconduct.