Today in History for March 26:
On this date:
In 1821, the Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwest Company amalgamated under the name Hudson's Bay Company.
In 1830, Joseph Smith first published ``The Book of Mormon.'' Smith maintained it was derived from golden plates, written in Reformed Egyptian, he had discovered with the aid of an angel.
In 1840, George Smith, famed English Assyriologist, was born. During several expeditions to the site of ancient Nineveh, (1873-74), Smith unearthed over 3,000 cuneiform tablets, including one which told the story of an ancient deluge, similar to Noah's Flood.
In 1885, the first battle of the Northwest Rebellion took place between North West Mounted Police and Metis troops at Duck Lake, Sask. Metis under Louis Riel battled police under Supt. L.N.F. Crozier, who was in charge of defending the area. The shot that began the battle was fired over a misunderstanding when representatives of the two sides came out to negotiate with each other. Crozier gave the order to retreat after a battle lasting about 45 minutes, in which 17 of his men were killed. The Metis lost five men.
In 1885, George Eastman manufactured the first commercial motion-picture film in Rochester, N.Y.
In 1898, the world's first game reserve, the Sabi, was designated in South Africa.
In 1902, British-born financier Cecil Rhodes died. He used the enormous wealth he acquired from his commercial exploitation of southern Africa to launch the Commonwealth scholarship program which bears his name.
In 1908, Prince Edward Island banned all automobiles. The first car had appeared on the island three years earlier, causing such a controversy that the law outlawing the operation of any motor vehicle was passed. That law lasted until 1913.
In 1911, playwright Tennessee Williams was born in Columbus, Miss. He died in 1983.
In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first U.S. team to win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Montreal Canadiens.
In 1921, the racing schooner ``Bluenose'' was launched at Lunenberg, N.S. Captained by Angus Walters, she raced five times for the North Atlantic fishermen's championship and was never beaten. The ``Bluenose'' was also a fishing boat. She returned from her first trip to the Grand Banks as highliner of the Lunenberg fleet, having caught more than the other ships. Sold during the Second World War, the ``Bluenose'' was wrecked near Haiti in 1946. The schooner -- a member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame -- is commemorated on the Canadian dime.
In 1929, The Congregation of the Sacraments within the Roman Catholic Church published a document instructing that a plate of silver or metal gilt be held under the chin of the communicant at the reception of the holy communion.
In 1956, what's believed to be the largest volcanic action of the 20th century took place on the Soviet Union's Kamchatka Peninsula. An eruption by ``Mount Bezymianny'' released 2.4 billion tonnes of material. Because the mountain was 50 kilometres from the nearest population centre, no one was killed.
In 1964, Defence Minister Paul Hellyer announced plans to integrate Canada's army, navy and air force into a single military service.
In 1969, Lord Constantine became the first black member of the British House of Lords.
In 1971, East Pakistan proclaimed its independence, taking the name Bangladesh.
In 1979, the Camp David peace agreement was signed in Washington by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and witnessed by U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
In 1982, groundbreaking ceremonies took place in Washington, D.C., for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
In 1986, two teams of scientists, one American and one French, contended independently they each had discovered new viruses related to AIDS.
In 1987, Ontario Liberal Sheila Copps became the first sitting Member of Parliament to give birth. She had a girl.
In 1989, the Soviet Union's first open election in almost 70 years saw Russian voters elect Boris Yeltsin as president.
In 1992, an Indianapolis judge sentenced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson to six years in prison for raping a beauty pageant contestant. Tyson was paroled after three years.
In 1992, Barbara Frum, a leading broadcast journalist of her generation, died of leukemia in Toronto at age 54. She's remembered for her years as host of CBC Radio's ``As It Happens'' and CBC television's ``The Journal.''
In 1997, the bodies of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult were found in a house in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. They had committed suicide over several days by eating drug-laced food. They believed they could hitch a ride on a UFO following the Hale-Bopp comet.
In 1997, the ``National Enquirer'' announced it had paid $2 million for North American rights to 10 photos of Michael Jackson's five-week-old son. The money went to a Jackson charity.
In 1997, Calgary-based Bre-X Minerals admitted there was a strong possibility that the estimated size of its Indonesian gold deposit had been ``overstated.'' The find was later found to be a hoax.
In 2000, Russian voters elected Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to succeed Boris Yeltsin as president.
In 2003, Ontario declared a provincial health emergency as the number of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) cases jumped to 62. Anyone who had recently visited Toronto's Scarborough Grace Hospital was asked to go into quarantine at home for 10 days to limit the spread of the pneumonic outbreak.
In 2007, Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley and Sein Finn leader Gerry Adams agreed to form a unity government in Northern Ireland.
In 2007, Quebecers elected a Liberal minority government -- the first minority government in the province in more than 125 years. Jean Charest's Liberals were reduced to 48 seats from 72. The Action Democratique Party became the official opposition with the Parti Quebecois falling to third with 36 seats -- the worst performance by the PQ since 1970.
In 2009, both the 2002 Olympic gold medal men's and women's hockey teams were inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. Also inducted were 2002 pairs skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. Their silver medal was upgraded to gold after a judging vote-swapping scandal was uncovered.
In 2010, on the heels of capturing Canada's first Olympic ice dance title, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were golden once again, claiming their first world figure skating championship.
In 2010, an explosion split the South Korean naval ship ``Cheonan'' in two and sank it as it patrolled the tense maritime border with North Korea; 46 of the 104 sailors onboard died. (On May 20, South Korea released a report concluding a North Korea torpedo sunk the ship.)
In 2011, Canadian actor and comedian Roger Abbott, who captivated the country with his hilarious take on the nation's newsmakers for decades on ``The Royal Canadian Air Farce,'' died after losing a 14-year-battle with leukemia. He was 64.
In 2012, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled a ban on brothels put prostitutes at risk and was therefore unconstitutional. In October, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear the federal government's appeal. In December 2013, the SCOC struck down the country's prostitution laws in a unanimous 9-0 ruling, giving Parliament one-year to produce new legislation, which it did with Bill C-36. It was passed in November 2014 and took effect on Dec. 6, 2014, and criminalizes the purchase of sex, but provides legal immunity to those who sell it.
In 2013, the Italian Supreme Court vacated a decision on the acquittal of American exchange student Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito in the 2007 slaying of her British roommate Meredith Kercher and ordered a new appeals trial, where the murder conviction was upheld. In March 2015, the Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction to bring an end to the high-profile case.
In 2018, Canada joined the U.S. and several European countries in expelling over 100 Russian diplomats following a nerve-agent attack in the United Kingdom early in March that left a former Russian spy and his daughter in critical condition.
In 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally exonerated six Tsilhqot'in chiefs who were hanged by B.C.'s colonial government following a deadly confrontation with white road builders during the so-called ``Chilcotin War of 1864.''
In 2019, attorneys for ``Empire'' actor Jussie Smollett announced charges alleging he lied to police about a racist and homophobic attack had been dropped. Smollett's attorneys said in a statement that the black and gay actor's record had been wiped clean. Smollett had been indicted on 16 felony counts related to making a false report that he was attacked by two men. Smollett said he'd ``been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one.''
In 2020, the leaders of the world's 20 major industrialized nations said they would collectively inject more than $4.8 trillion dollars into the global economy to help it deal with the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The G20 leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, held an emergency virtual summit.
In 2020, organizers said the Tony Awards, celebrating the best of Broadway, would not go on as scheduled in early June, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, the global total of COVID-19 cases rose above 500,000, as American deaths from the outbreak topped 1,000.
In 2020, the federal Conservatives announced the suspension of their leadership race due to COVID-19.
In 2021, Quebec Premier François Legault said the province was starting to see the beginning of a third wave of COVID-19.
In 2024, a major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship lost power and rammed into it. Video posted on social media appeared to show the vessel hitting one of the supports of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the roadway to break apart in several places and plunge into the water.
----
The Canadian Press
