1674 - Dutch formally cede New Netherlands (New York) to English

1852 - Hugh Allan founds Montreal Ocean Steamship Company (Allan Line)

1852 - Bishop's College in Lennoxville, Quebec chartered as a university

1853 - The Great Western Railway line from Niagara to Hamilton was opened

1856 - Cyrus Field opens telegraph line from New York to Newfoundland

1864 - Austrian Archduke Maximilian became emperor of Mexico

1871 - Following seven months of searching, foreign correspondent to the "New York Herald" Henry M. Stanley succeeded at last in locating Scottish missionary David Livingstone in Ujiji, Central Africa. Stanley prefaced his encounter with these words: 'Dr. Livingstone, I presume.'

1918 - Independence of Poland proclaimed by Jozef Pilsudski

1919 �?Parliament met for the last time in the Victoria Museum used as a consequence of the 1916 fire that destroyed the Parliament buildings in Ottawa

1926 - Vincent Massey takes up his position as Canada's first Ambassador to the United States

1928 - Michinomiya Hirohito is enthroned as the 124th Japanese monarch in an imperial line dating back to 660 B.C.

1931 - Cobourg actress Marie Dressler wins the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Min and Bill

1932 - Foster Hewitt calls the play by play as the Maple Leafs play to a 1-1 tie against Boston; his first hockey night in Canada broadcast

1963 - Gordie Howe takes over NHL career goal lead at 545

1969 - "Sesame Street" premieres on PBS TV

1975 - Ore ship Edmund Fitzgerald & crew of 29 lost in storm on Lake Superior

1979 �?A train wreck involving deadly chemicals forced the evacuation of thousands in Mississauga

1983 - Amway Canada and US parent Amway Corporation fined $25 million for defrauding government of over $28 million in import duties; largest fine in Canadian history

1997 - Blue Jays' right-hander Roger Clemens wins the American League Cy Young Award for an unprecedented fourth time

Birthdays

1483 - Martin Luther, Eisleben Germany - founded Protestantism
1668 - Francois Couperin, Paris France - composer/organist: Concerts Royaux
1683 - George II - King of England (1727-60)
1697 - William Hogarth, London England - painter/engraver: A Rake's Progress
1730 - Oliver Goldsmith, Pallas Ireland - author/dramatist: She Stoops to Conquer, The Vicar of Wakefield
1759 - Frederich von Schiller, Germany - poet/lyricist: Ode to Joy
1845 - Sir John SD Thompson, Halifax NS - 4th PM of Canada (1892-94)
1879 - Vachel Lindsay, Springfield IL - poet: Johnny Appleseed
1911 - Harry Andrews, Kent England - actor: Equus, Man of La Mancha
1922 - Constance Beresford-Howe, Montreal - author: The Book of Eve
1923 - John Allen Livingston, Hamilton Ont - author/naturalist: Rogue Primate
1925 - Richard Burton [Richard Walter Jenkins], Pontrhydyfen Wales - actor: Cleopatra, Virginia Woolf
1934 - Norm Cash, Eldorado Texas - baseball player: Detroit Tigers
1935 - Pippa Scott, Los Angeles - actress: Virginian, Mr Lucky
1935 - Roy Scheider, Orange NJ - actor: All That Jazz, Jaws
1937 - Albert Hall, Boothton Alabama - actor: Trouble in Mind, Ryan's 4
1943 - Corinne Cote-Levesque, Alma Que - journalist/sovereigntist: widow of Rene Levesque
1944 - Dave Loggins, singer: Please come to Boston
1944 - Tim Rice - lyricist: Chess Moves, 1 Night in Bangkok
1945 - Donna Fargo, NC - singer: Happiest Girl in Whole USA
1946 - Alaina Reed, Springfield Ohio - actress: Rose Lee Holloway-227
1948 - Greg Lake - musician: Emerson, Lake & Palmer-Tarkus
1949 - Ann Reinking, Seattle Wash - dancer/actress: All the Jazz, Micki & Maude
1950 - Jack Scalia, Brooklyn NY - actor: Berrengers, Hollywood Beat
1954 - Fernando Allende, Mexico - actor: El Lobo Negro, The Phoenix
1954 - Kevin Spraggett, Montreal - chess grandmaster: first Canadian to advance to quarterfinals of World Chess festival
1955 - Jack Clark Pennsylvania - baseball player: Giants, Cards, Yanks, Padres
1956 - Sinbad [David Atkins] - comedian/actor: Different World, At the Apollo
1959 - MacKenzie Phillips, Alexandria VA - actress: Julie-1 Day at a Time
1969 - Ed Ward, Edmonton Alberta - NHL player: Quebec Nordiques, Calgary Flames
1973 - Cale Hulse, Edmonton Alberta - NHL player: New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames

 

 

Psychiatrist

 

John went to a psychiatrist: "I've got problems. Every time I go to bed, I think there's somebody under it. I'm scared. I think I'm going crazy."
 
"Just put yourself in my hands for one year," said the shrink. "Come talk to me three times a week, and we should be able to get rid of those fears."
 
"How much do you charge?" John asked warily.
 
"Each visit is $150," replied the doctor.
 
"Well, I'll sleep on it."
 
Six months later the doctor bumped into John on the street: "Why didn't you ever come to see me about those fears you were having?"
 
"Well, one hundred and fifty bucks a visit three times a week for a year is an awful lot of money! A friend at work cured me for nothing. I was so happy to have saved all that money that I went and bought myself a new pickup!"
 
"Is that so? And how, may I ask, did your friend cure you?"
 
"He told me to cut the legs off the bed!"