TODAY IN history

In 632, the Prophet Mohammad died. His teachings, recorded in the Qur’an, forged a new religion -- Islam.

In 1786, commercially made ice cream was sold for the first time in New York.

In 1794, a deistic religion honouring Liberty, Equality and Fraternity replaced Christianity during the French Revolution. Churches became temples of reason.

In 1866, the first meeting of the Canadian Parliament was held in Ottawa. The meeting was held in the Parliament buildings, which were still unfinished. Construction on the complex had begun in 1857, when Queen Victoria chose Ottawa to be the national capital, and would not finish until 1877.

In 1869, Ives W. Mcgaffey of Chicago patented his sweeping machine -- the earliest suction-type vacuum cleaner.

In 1929, Britain’s first woman cabinet minister was appointed when Margaret Bondfield became minister of labour.

In 1940, the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier ``Glorious’’ was destroyed with a loss of 1,200 lives during the evacuation of Narvik during the Second World War.

In 1944, Canadian soldiers captured 12 towns in Normandy during the Second World War.

In 1953, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that restaurants in the District of Columbia could not refuse to serve blacks.