1066 - Battle of Hastings, in which William the Conqueror wins England, defeating King Harold II

1867 - 15th & last Tokugawa Shogun resigns in Japan

1873 - Opening of the first YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) building in Montreal

1884 - George Eastman patents paper-strip photographic film

1885 - First Mormon settlers drive their wagon trains into Southern Alberta

1929 - Philadelphia A's set world series record of 10 runs in an inning

1933 - Nazi Germany announces withdrawal from League of Nations

1934 - "Lux Radio Theatre" premieres

1939 - BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated) formed

1941 - Federal Cabinet decides on complete freeze of wages and prices as of December 1; under Wartime Prices and Trade Board

1942 - German U-boat torpedoes Newfoundland Railway Fleet steamship 'Caribou' in the Cabot Strait on the North Sydney-Port-au-Basques route; 137 lives lost

1944 - German Gen. Erwin Rommel, nicknamed "the Desert Fox," was given the option of facing a public trial for treason, as a co-conspirator in the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, or taking cyanide; he chose the latter

1947 - Chuck Yeager became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound in the experimental X-1 rocket plane

1952 �?Lester Pearson, Minister of External Affairs and future Prime Minister was elected President of the United Nations General Assembly

1959 - Errol Flynn actor, dies

1960 - Fidel Castro's Cuban government nationalizes all foreign banks except Bank of Nova Scotia and Royal Bank of Canada

1962 - The Cuban Missile Crisis begins, bringing the US and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear conflict after photographs taken by a high-altitude U-2 spy plane gave evidence of Soviet-made medium-range missiles in Cuba

1964 - Nikita Khrushchev was ousted as both premier of the Soviet Union and chief of the Communist Party after 10 years in power

1965 - Sandy Koufax hurls his second shutout of world series beating Twins 2-0

1966 - Montreal's new Metro subway goes into operation

1968 - Apollo 7 astronauts gave a tour of the inside of the spacecraft in the first live telecast from space

1968 - FLQ terrorists explode two bombs in Montreal

1968 - René Lévesque was elected leader of the Parti Quebecois by 2,000 separatist supporters

1968 - Air Canada presented CF-TCA No. 1112 to National Aviation Museum; first aircraft owned by Trans-Canada Air Lines in 1937

1977 - Bing Crosby dies of a heart attack at 74, in Madrid, Spain

1978 - First TV movie from a TV series-"Rescue from Gilligan's Island"

1978 - Darryl Sitler of the Maple Leafs notched seven assists in a 10-7 victory over the New York Islanders

1978 - Cathy Sherk of Fonthill, Ontario won the women's world amateur golf championship in Fiji

1979 - NHL's greatest scorer Wayne Gretzky scores his first NHL goal

1980 - Bob Marley's last concert

1982 - Car-bomb explosion damages Litton Systems plant in Toronto

1988 - NHL's NJ Devils raise their first pennant as Patrick Div Playoff Champs

1992 - Toronto Blue Jays won the 6th game against Oakland Athletics earning their first American League pennant and becoming the first Canadian baseball team to reach the World Series

1996 - First World Conservation Congress held in Montreal

1997 - First day of tolls on Highway 407 ETR around Toronto

2003 - On the brink of their first World Series since 1945, the Chicago Cubs blow a 3-0 eighth-inning lead after a fan interferes with a catchable fly ball

 

Birthdays

1644 - William Penn, London England - Quaker & founder of Pennsylvania
1848 - Byron Edmund Walker, Seneca Township Ont - banker; founder of Toronto Art Gallery (now Art Gallery of Ontario)
1889 - Spencer Williams,  New Orleans La - composer/singer: I Ain't Got Nobody, Royal Garden Blues, Basin Street Blues
1890 - Dwight D Eisenhower, Denison, Tx - former US President
1893 - Lillian Gish, Springfield, Ohio - actress: Birth of a Nation; The Comedians
1894 - e. e. cummings, Cambridge Mass - poet: Tulips & Chimneys
1910 - John Wooden - basketball coach
1916 - C Everett Koop - former US Surgeon General
1924 - Robert Webber, Santa Ana California - actor: 79 Park Avenue
1927 - Roger Moore, London England - actor: Alaskans, Maverick, Saint
1929 - Yvon Durelle, Baie Ste Anne NB - boxer: British Empire light heavyweight champ 
1938 - Ron Lancaster, Fairchance, Pennsylvania - CFL football player and coach: Ottawa; Saskatchewan
1939 - Ralph Lauren [Lifshitz], Bronx NY -  fashion designer; founded the company Polo
1940 - Cliff Richard [Harry Webb], England - singer: Suddenly, Summer Holiday
1940 - Pat Finley, Asheville NC - actress:: Ellen Hartley-Bob Newhart Show
1943 - Lance Rentzel - NFL player: Minnesota; Los Angeles
1943 - Noreen Corcoran, Quincy Mass - actress: Kelly-Bachelor Father
1946 - Justin Hayward - singer: Moody Blues-Nights in White Satin
1949 - Dave 'The Hammer' Schultz - NHL player: Philadelphia
1952 - Harry Anderson, Newport RI - actor: Judge Harry Stone-Night Court
1953 - Greg Evigan, South Amboy NJ - actor: BJ-BJ & the Bear
1956 - Beth Daniel, Charleston SC - LPGA golfer
1958 - Thomas Dolby - singer: She Blinded Me With Science

 

 

 

Making a Baby

 

There is not one dirty word in it, and it is funny.

 

The Smiths were unable to conceive children and decided to use a surrogate father to start their family. On the day the proxy father was to arrive, Mr. Smith kissed his wife goodbye and said, 'Well, I'm off now. The man should be here soon.' 

 

Half an hour later, just by chance, a door-to-door baby photographer  happened to ring the doorbell, hoping to make a sale. 'Good morning, Ma'am', he said, 'I've come to...'

 

Oh, no need to explain,' Mrs. Smith cut in, embarrassed, 'I've been expecting you.'

 

'Have you really?' said the photographer. 'Well, that's good. Did you know babies are my specialty?' 

 

'Well that's what my husband and I had hoped. Please come in and have a seat'. After a moment she asked, blushing, 'Well, where do we start?'

 

“Leave everything to me. I usually try two in the bathtub, one on the couch, and perhaps a couple on the bed. And sometimes the living room floor is fun. You can really spread out there.'

 

'Bathtub, living room floor, no wonder it didn't work out for Harry and me!'

 

'Well, Ma'am, none of us can guarantee a good one every time. But if we try several different positions and I shoot from six or seven angles, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results.'

 

“My, that's a lot�? gasped Mrs. Smith. 

 

'Ma'am, in my line of work a man has to take his time. I'd love to be in and out in five minutes, but I'm sure you'd be disappointed with that.' 

 

'Don't I know it,' said Mrs. Smith quietly.

 

The photographer opened his briefcase and pulled out a portfolio of his baby pictures. 'This was done on the top of a bus,' he said.

 

'Oh, my word' Mrs. Smith exclaimed, grasping at her throat.

 

'And these twins turned out exceptionally well - when you consider their mother was so difficult to work with.'

 

'She was difficult?' asked Mrs. Smith.

 

'Yes, I'm afraid so. I finally had to take her to the park to get the job done right. People were crowding around four and five deep to get a good look.'

 

'Four and five deep?' said Mrs. Smith, her eyes wide with amazement.

 

“Yes', the photographer replied, 'and for more than three hours, too. The mother was constantly squealing and yelling - I could hardly concentrate, and when darkness approached I had to rush my shots. Finally, when the squirrels began nibbling on my equipment, I just had to pack it all in.'

 

Mrs. Smith leaned forward. 'Do you mean they actually chewed on your, uh...equipment?' 

 

'It's true, Ma'am, yes. Well, if you're ready, I'll set-up my tripod  and we can get to work right away.' 

 

'Tripod?' 

 

'Oh yes, Ma'am. I need to use a tripod to rest my Canon on. It's much too big to be held in the hand very long.'

 

Mrs. Smith fainted.