THIS WEEKEND IN HISTORY
In 1806, Berlin.
In 1854, Florence Nightingale began a voyage to an army hospital in the Crimea, where she brought great respect to the nursing profession.
In 1918, Canadian aviator Billy Barker won the Victoria Cross during the First World War. The Dauphin, Man.- native downed four German planes despite being wounded three times himself. Barker died in a 1930 training accident.
In 1936, Wallis Simpson was granted a divorce in England. She later married King Edward VIII, who gave up the throne for her.
In 1938, Du Pont announced it had coined a name for its new synthetic yarn – nylon. The first nylon stockings went on sale on May 15, 1940.
In 1968, Canada won its only gold medal of the Mexico City Olympics. Tom Gayford, Jim Day and Jim Elder took the equestrian team jumping title on the Games’ final day. It was Canada’s last Summer Olympic gold for 16 years.
In 1977, Canada’s longest kidnapping ended when Charles Marion was released. Marion, the loans officer for a credit union in Sherbrooke, Que., spent 83 days in captivity. He was released when a $ 50,000 ransom was paid.
In 1978, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace prize for their progress toward a Middle East accord.
In 1987, South Korean voters overwhelmingly approved a new constitution, establishing direct presidential elections and other democratic reforms.
In 1992, the Federal Court of Canada ruled the military’s treatment of gays was unconstitutional. The Defence Department announced the same day that it would no longer discriminate against gays.
In 1995, in the biggest political rally in Canadian history, thousands of people from across Canada arrived in Montreal to urge Quebecers to vote “No” in the sovereignty referendum. Days later, Quebec voters narrowly rejected sovereignty.
In 2004, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series championship defeating the St. Louis Cardinals
Napoleon captured
In 312, Roman emperor Constantine defeated the army of Maxentius, a contender to the throne, at Milvian Bridge, after trusting in a vision he had seen of the cross inscribed with the words, “In this sign conquer.” Constantine was converted soon after and became the first Roman emperor to embrace the Christian faith.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Cuba on his first voyage to the New World.
In 1830, Josiah Henson, a U. S. slave, reputed to be the original character for Uncle Tom in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” escaped to Upper Canada. He lived the rest of his life at Dresden, Ont., where he became the pastor of a church.
In 1914, scientist Jonas Salk, who developed the first polio vaccine, was born. He died in 1995. In 1958, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, cardinal and patriarch of Venice, was elected pope, taking the name John XXIII. As pope, he stressed the pastoral duties of church officials and promoted social reforms. He also convened a influential council, Vatican II, that studied how to renew and reform the Roman Catholic Church.
In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis ended six days after it began. U. S. President John F. Kennedy imposed a naval blockade around the island on Oct. 22. On the 28th, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev informed the United States he had ordered the dismantling of Soviet missile bases in Cuba. Kennedy praised Khrushchev for his “statesmanlike decision.”
In 1998, Winnipeg became the first major Canadian city to elect an openly gay mayor. Glen Murray defeated his major opponent by more than 10,000 votes. Some church leaders had urged their congregations to cast a moral vote against Murray, a nine- year city council veteran.