TODAY IN history

On this date:

In 1266, the last stand of the first English parliamentarians ended when rebels surrendered Kenilworth Castle to the king after a six-month siege. Their leader, Simon de Montfort, who called England’s first parliament, had already been killed in battle.

In 1620, the “Mayflower” arrived at Plymouth Rock.

In 1804, British prime minister and writer Benjamin Disraeli was born in London.

In 1846, surgeon Robert Lister performed the first anesthetized operation in Europe when he used ether before amputating a patient’s leg.

In 1879, Russian dictator Josef Stalin was born. He died in 1953.

In 1883, the first Canadian infantry and cavalry schools were established.

In 1884, British troops arrived in Khartoum only to find that general Charles Gordon’s garrison had been massacred three days earlier.

In 1894, Sir Mackenzie Bowell became prime minister of Canada following the death of Sir John Thompson.

In 1910, 344 coal miners were killed in Britain’s Pretoria Pit Disaster.

In 1940, author F. Scott Fitzgerald died in Hollywood, Calif., at age 44.

In 1942, butter rationing began in Canada as a wartime measure. Gasoline had been rationed since April 1.