On this date:

In 1506, construction began on the new St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican under the guidance of Pope Julius II, who enlisted the talents of Michelangelo and Raphael. The original church had been built in the Fourth century. The new one was not finished until 1626.

In 1689, William III and Mary II were crowned as joint sovereigns of Britain.

In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht – under which France ceded Hudson Bay, Acadia and Newfoundland to Britain – was signed.

In 1755, British doctor and surgeon James Parkinson was born. He identified the neurological ailment that became known as Parkinson’s disease.

In 1768, fire destroyed one-third of Montreal. It was one of several major fires in the community in the 1700s, a time when most of Montreal was built out of wood and there was no fire pump. The only way to fight fire was with pails of water.

In 1890, John Merrick, afflicted by a disfiguring disease that led to his being known as the “Elephant Man,” died in London at the age of 28.

In 1904, Sydney, N.S., was incorporated as a city.

In 1917, Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster Danny Gallivan was born in Sydney, N.S. He broadcast more than 1,900 Montreal Canadiens games between 1952-84 – a period in which the Habs won 16 Stanley Cups. Gallivan made such phrases as “cannonading drive,” “Savardian spin-a-rama,” “rapierlike glove save” and “headmanning the puck” part of Canada’s vocabulary. He died on Feb. 24, 1993.