TODAY IN HISTORY

➤ In 2011, the 102-year-old Stormdale Covered Bridge near Hartland, N.B., was completely destroyed after a stolen truck was parked on the span and set ablaze. Also on this date: ➤ In 1812, General Isaac Brock met Indian Chief Tecumseh to plan a campaign to drive General William Hull back into the United States. ➤ In 1863, John Sandfield Macdonald became prime minister of United Canada with A.A. Dorion. A lawyer who was heavily involved in the Confederation process, Macdonald had also been part of an earlier administration — the Macdonald-sicotte government — since 1862. Macdonald also served later as Ontario’s first premier. He was no relation to Sir John A. Macdonald, although he did work closely with Canada’s first prime minister. ➤ In 1886, Sir John A. Macdonald drove in the last spike of the Esquimault-Nanaimo railway in British Columbia. ➤ In 1899, filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock was born in London. He died April 29, 1980. ➤ In 1942, Walt Disney’s animated feature “Bambi” premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York. ➤ In 1961, the city of Berlin was divided by a concrete wall as East Germany sealed off the border between the Eastern and Western sectors in a move to control emigration to the West. The wall snaked 166 kilometres around the enclave of West Berlin and was backed by floodlights, barbed wire, trip wires, minefields and scattered guns. On Nov. 9, 1989, East German authorities unexpectedly opened the borders. The wall was then dismantled and the two Germanys were unified. ➤ In 2008, American swimmer Michael Phelps swam into history as the winningest Olympic athlete ever with his 10th and 11th career gold medals at the Beijing Olympics. He ended the Beijing Games with a then Olympic record eight gold medals for a career total of 14.