Today-History-Mar04

Today in History for March 4:

In 1561, Cardinal Carlo-Carafa became the last Roman Catholic prelate sentenced to death by a Pope.

In 1678, composer Antonio Vivaldi was born.

In 1789, the first U.S. Congress met in New York City.

In 1791, the Constitutional Act dividing Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada was introduced into the British House of Commons by Prime Minister William Pitt.

In 1791, Israel Jacobs of Pennsylvania, the first Jewish member of the U.S. Congress, took office.

In 1809, James Madison was sworn into office as the fourth president of the United States. The occasion marked the first time an inaugural ball was held the evening after the swearing-in.

In 1865, the New Brunswick government led by Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley was defeated in an election by Albert Smith, who ran on an anti-Confederation ticket. Within a year, however, New Brunswickers had changed their minds about Confederation, Smith was forced to resign and Tilley was returned to power. New Brunswick entered Confederation in 1867.

In 1870, a Metis firing squad executed Ontario adventurer Thomas Scott for attempting to overthrow Louis Riel’s government at Manitoba’s Red River Colony. The sentence ultimately led to Riel’s execution 15 years later.

In 1901, Canadian medical researcher Wilbur R. Franks was born in Toronto. He led the team which, in 1941, invented the first workable anti-gravity suit to prevent pilot blackouts during high-speed manoeuvres. The suit began to be used the following year by Allied fighter pilots during the Second World War. Franks died in 1986.

In 1908, a fire at Lake View School in Collinwood, Ohio, claimed the lives of 172 children and three adults.

In 1943, “Mrs. Miniver” won six Academy Awards, including best actress for Greer Garson. Her five-and-a-half minute acceptance speech became the butt of industry jokes.

In 1946, Communist MP Fred Rose and 13 others were charged with spying for the Soviet Union.

In 1961, John Diefenbaker became the first Canadian prime minister to officially visit Belfast and Dublin.

In 1966, a political sex scandal involving a senior Ottawa official and a prostitute named Gerda Munsinger became known to Parliament and the country. Liberal Justice Minister Lucien Cardin revealed that Pierre Sevigny, associate minister of defence in the Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, had an affair in the late 1950s and early ’60s with Munsinger. After being warned that Munsinger was a security risk, Diefenbaker reprimanded Sevigny but kept him in the cabinet. A later inquiry found no security breach, but said Diefenbaker was too lenient.

In 1966, a Canadian Pacific Airlines DC-8 with 72 persons on board caught its wheels in approach lights while landing in dense fog at Tokyo airport, and smashed into a retaining wall, killing 64 people, including 18 Canadians.

In 1968, Canada suspended diplomatic relations with Gabon over that country’s invitation of the Quebec government to an international conference on education.

In 1971, Pierre Elliott Trudeau married Margaret Sinclair in Vancouver, becoming the first prime minister to marry while in office. They had three children — all boys — before separating in 1977 and divorcing in 1984.

In 1975, television cameras were allowed to record the regular proceedings of Parliament for the first time. The cameras were allowed to film a session of the Senate committee on legal and constitutional affairs.

In 1977, some 1,500 people were killed in an earthquake that shook southern and eastern Europe.

In 1981, in a Canadian first, the Ontario Labour Relations Board ruled that Westroc Industries in Mississauga had the right to lock out employees and hire replacements in July 1980.

In 1982, Bertha Wilson made judicial history when she became the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. Wilson, who had sat on the Ontario Court of Appeal since 1975, was known for her humane and imaginative decisions. One of the most momentous decisions she participated in was the striking down of the abortion law in early 1988. Justice Wilson retired from the high court in January 1991.

In 1989, NDP leader Ed Broadbent announced he would resign after 14 years and four federal elections. That December, the party chose Yukon MP Audrey McLaughlin to succeed him.

In 1989, Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc., both based in New York, announced plans to merge and form the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world, with a total value of US$18 billion.

In 1993, the Supreme Court of Canada told Manitoba to give exclusive control over French-language education to the province’s francophones.

In 1994, four Muslim fundamentalists were convicted in the 1993 bombing of New York’s World Trade Centre. Each later received 240-year prison terms.

In 1994, Canadian actor John Candy died of a heart attack while filming in Mexico. He was 43. The former “SCTV” regular appeared in many feature films, including “Splash” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.”

In 1996, Minnie Pearl, the first country comedian to become world-famous, died in Nashville of complications from a stroke. She was 83.

In 1996, the U.S. Senate passed legislation tightening sanctions against Cuba. It was aimed at foreign companies doing business in Cuba in an attempt to block foreign investment sought by the Cuban government.

In 1999, outraging Italian authorities, a military jury in North Carolina cleared U.S. Marine pilot Richard Ashby of charges he was flying recklessly when his jet sliced through a ski gondola cable in the Alps, sending 20 people plunging to their deaths. He could have received 206 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

In 2009, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir over his alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in the region of Darfur in western Sudan. It was the first warrant the ICC had issued against a sitting head of state.

In 2011, the Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets played the first-ever NBA regular season game in Europe, at London’s O2 Arena. New Jersey won 116-103.

In 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously dismissed the appeal of two widows who challenged the federal government’s policy that gradually reduces death benefits for surviving spouses of public servants and military members, based on the age of the deceased. It could have cost the federal treasury more than $2.6 billion.

In 2012, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won Russia’s presidential election, a post he held from 2000-08. However, opposition and independent observers said the election was marred by widespread violations.

In 2012, an arms depot exploded in the Congolese capital of Brazzaville, killing at least 246 people. The shock waves shattered windows in a five kilometre radius. Some 1,500 people were injured.

In 2018, the Cold War-era merman romance “The Shape of Water,” filmed in Hamilton and Toronto, won four of its 13 nominations, including best picture (produced by Canadian J. Miles Dale and Guillermo del Toro) and best director (del Toro); best actress went to Frances McDormand for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” while Gary Oldman took the best actor award for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour.”

In 2018, husband-and-wife songwriting duo Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez won their second Academy Award for best original song, “Remember Me” from “Coco,” four years after winning the same honour for the massive hit, “Let It Go,” from “Frozen.”

In 2018, Germany ended five months of political uncertainty when Chancellor Angela Merkel gained the needed support from the Social Democrats to remain in a coalition with her conservative bloc, ending the longest time Germany has been without a new government after elections in its postwar history.

In 2018, Russell Solomon, founder of the Tower Records chain that became a global phenomenon and changed the way people consumed music, died at age 92. He first began selling music in 1941, at age 16, out of his father’s Sacramento drug store inside the historic Tower Theater building. The makeshift record shop officially became Tower Records in 1960. He expanded to San Francisco in 1968, then to Los Angeles and eventually across the world, with Tower Records operating 271 stores and selling a billion dollars worth of records at its height in the 1990s.

In 2018, former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench in the city of Salisbury, the victims of what the British government says was a Russian nerve agent. They remain in critical condition. Russia strongly denied any involvement. Britain and 18 other countries, including Canada, later expelled over 100 Russian diplomats. Russia responded in kind.

In 2019, Treasury Board President Jane Philpott resigned from the federal cabinet over the fallout from the SNC-Lavalin affair, telling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in an open letter she had “lost confidence in how the government” had dealt with the issue.  Philpott’s resignation came just less than a month after former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould, and Philpott’s good friend, resigned from cabinet amid allegations that the Prime Minister’s Office had improperly pressured her to stop a criminal prosecution of Montreal engineering giant SNC-Lavalin.

In 2019, China’s state news agency announced two Canadians detained on suspicion of harming national security acted together to steal state secrets.  Xinhua News Agency cited unidentified Chinese authorities as saying former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig violated Chinese laws by acting as a spy and stealing Chinese state secrets and intelligence with the help of Canadian businessman Michael Spavor.  The pair were arrested December 10th in what was widely seen as an attempt to pressure Canada to release Chinese executive Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1 at the request of U.S. authorities.

In 2019, (Terrible) Ted Lindsay, a hard-nosed star winger who formed Detroit’s famed Production Line with Gordie Howe and Sid Abel, died. The Hockey Hall of Fame member was 93.  The nine-time all-star and native of Lindsay, Ont., is considered one of the greatest left-wingers in the game.

In 2020, several countries from Italy to Saudi Arabia announced drastic measures to try to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. Hand sanitizer also became a hot commodity, with prices skyrocketing on Amazon and local stores completely selling out as people tried to stock up. The Bank of Canada also announced it cut its key interest rate by half a percentage point to 1.25 per cent and said it would make further adjustments if needed.

In 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau created a new cabinet committee to monitor the health impacts of the novel coronavirus, appointing Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland as chair.

In 2020, the union representing Canadian performers honoured Sarah Polley as its National Woman of the Year. ACTRA said the actress and filmmaker has inspired others and made a real difference in the way performers and artists are treated and respected in Canada.

In 2021, London’s Metropolitan Police announced they won’t be taking further action to investigate allegations journalist Martin Bashir used illegal means to get his 1995 interview with Princess Diana. It’s the broadcast in which Diana famously said — quote — “there were three of us in this marriage” — referring to Prince Charles’ relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Diana’s brother has alleged that Bashir used false documents, including fake bank statements, and other dishonest tactics to convince Diana to agree to the interview.

In 2021, the man long revered as Canada’s ultimate hockey dad died. Walter Gretzky — the southern Ontario hockey nut who taught The Great One the basics of the game — passed away at age 82. Wayne Gretzky announced the news on social media. Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said Walter Gretzky’s impact on the sport will never be forgotten. And the N-H-L Alumni Association tweeted, “Never too busy to take a photo or sign an autograph, Walter left a lasting impression on everyone he met and he will forever be Canada’s Hockey Dad.”

In 2022, Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces had taken control of Europe’s largest nuclear power station. The Zaporizhzhia plant had been shelled by Russian military, causing a fire and damaging the compartment of a reactor. A Russian airstrike also destroyed the power plant in Okhtyrka, leaving the city without heat or electricity.

In 2022, Canada increased its economic pressure on Russia in response to its ongoing attack on Ukraine. Russia and its ally Belarus were removed from Canada’s most favoured nation list of trade partners, a dubious honour previously only bestowed upon North Korea. The decision means Russian and Belarusian exports are subject to 35 per cent tariffs.

In 2022, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said what is taking place in Ukraine is horrific. But NATO foreign ministers, including Canada’s Mélanie Joly, refused to police a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Stoltenberg said that could provoke a widespread war in Europe with nuclear power Russia.

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The Canadian Press