TODAY IN history

On this date:

In 1799, residents of Lower Canada (now Quebec) celebrated their rst Thanksgiving.

In 1810, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, divorced his wife, Josephine.

In 1815, Britain prohibited American citizens from settling in Canada.

In 1863, the London Underground, the oldest subway system in the world, opened. The rst trains -- using steam locomotives that burned coke and later coal -- began running from Paddington to Farringdon in the City of London, totalling seven stops over 6.4 kilometres.

In 1901, a gusher at Beaumont, Texas, started the great Texas oil boom.

In 1918, the U.S. House of Representatives voted for female suffrage.

In 1920, the “Treaty of Versailles,” ending the First World War, took effect. The Treaty also established the League of Nations, at which Canada and the other British Dominions could speak for themselves on international affairs. The United States never joined the League, which was replaced after the Second World War by the United Nations.

In 1946, the United Nations General Assembly met for the rst time in London.

In 1946, the rst man-made contact with the Moon was made as radar signals were bounced o the lunar surface.