TODAY IN HISTORY

➤ In 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin became the first men to set foot on the Moon. Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface at 10:56 p.m. ET and proclaimed, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Aldrin and Armstrong collected nearly 22 kilograms of lunar rock and soil before blasting off 21 hours, 36 minutes and 21 seconds after they landed and rejoining crew mate Michael Collins orbiting above. American astronauts would land on the Moon five more times in the following three years. Also today:

➤ In 1576, English explorer Martin Frobisher discovered the bay off Baffin Island that now bears his name. He thought it was a passage dividing America from Asia.

➤ In 1859, in the first baseball game for which admission was charged, 1,500 people paid 50 cents each to see New York play Brooklyn.

➤ In 1885, the trial of Louis Riel, leader of the Metis and founder of Manitoba, began. Riel was charged with treason for his role in two Metis rebellions. He refused to plead insanity, as his lawyer suggested, and was convicted. He was hanged later that year.

➤ In 1975, fire destroyed the main street of Springhill, N.S., demolishing 25 buildings and causing damage estimated at more than $3 million.

➤ In 1984, reigning Miss America Vanessa Williams was asked by pageant officials to resign because of nude photos of her that appeared in “Penthouse” magazine. She gave up her title three days later.

➤ In 2010, Sapper Brian Collier, 24, a Canadian soldier who had escaped death in an earlier encounter with an improvised explosive device (IED), was killed by an IED blast while on a foot patrol in the village of Nakhonay, 15 kilometres southwest of Kandahar city.