1307 - William Tell shoots apple off his son's head

1477 - William Caxton publishes Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres, the first book to be printed in England

1497 - Bartolomeu Dias discovers Cape of Good Hope

1626 - In Rome, the newly completed St Peter's Basilica was consecrated by Urban VIII. St. Peter's; the largest church in Christendom, with a length of 619 feet

1837 - William Lyon Mackenzie decides on a coup d'etat for December 7; to create a republican government in Canada that would petition for union with the United States

1865 - Mark Twain publishes "Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"

1883 - American and Canadian railroads begin using Sanford Fleming's Standard Time scheme of four continental time zones to end the confusion of dealing with thousands of local times

1912 - Albania declares independence from Turkey

1929 - Cape Breton earthquake sends huge 15.2 metre tidal wave to Newfoundland; kills 27 people on Burin Peninsula

1932 - Al Jolson makes his debut as radio host on Kraft Music Hall

1936 �?The Toronto Globe bought the Mail and Empire to become the Globe and Mail

1942 - Guy Bieler parachutes inside France to act as secret agent; first Canadian Army secret agent inside France

1943 - First US ambassador to Canada, Ray Atherton, nominated

1959 - Board of Broadcast Governors rules Canada's TV stations must have 45% Canadian content from April 1, 1961; 55% Canadian content after April 1, 1962

1960 - Just two weeks after the 1961 DeSoto, first sold in 1928, was introduced to an uninterested market, Chrysler announced the termination of the DeSoto marque

1961 - Saskatchewan legislature passes law giving citizens of that province Canada's first prepaid medical care plan

1963 - Nova Scotia government closes last segregated school for blacks in the province

1966 - This was the last required meatless Friday for American Roman Catholics, in accordance with a decree made by Pope Paul VI earlier this year

1975 - Queen's Park passes law to lower the speed limit on highways and to make the wearing of seat belts mandatory

1976 - Spain's parliament establishes democracy after 37 years of dictatorship

1978 - People's Temple leader Jim Jones leads hundreds of his followers in a mass murder-suicide at their agricultural commune in remote northwestern Guyana

1980 - "Heaven's Gate" premiers

1981 - Hudson's Bay Company announces closure of its 65 Ontario catalogue stores

1991 - Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon free Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite after more than four years of captivity

1992 - RCMP seize record 4,323 kilos of cocaine with a street value of $2.7 billion. The Canadian military, with the help of the US DEA, track the plane from South America, then chase it with jet fighters and military helicopters over New Brunswick, forcing it to land at a remote Quebec airstrip

 

Birthdays

1787 - Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre, Cormeilles-en-Parisis - developed a method of photography
1836 - William Schwenck Gilbert, London England - composer: Gilbert & Sullivan-H.M.S. Pinafore
1874 - Clarence Shepard Day, NY City - author: Life with Father
1881 - Percy Lesueur - hockey player/inventor: large goalie glove
1899 - Eugene Ormandy [Blau], Budapest Hungary - conductor: Philadelphia Orchestra
1901 - George Gallup, Jefferson Iowa - pollster: Gallup Poll
1908 - Imogene Coca, Philadelphia PA - actress: Your Show of Shows, Grindl
1909 - Johnny Mercer, Savannah GA - lyricist: Moon River, That Old Black Magic
1912 - Arthur Peterson, Mandan ND - actor: Major-Soap, Crisis
1919 - Jocelyn Brando, San Francisco CA - actress: Ugly American
1921 - Peter Pocklington - NHL owner: Edmonton Oilers
1923 - Alan B. Shepard, East Derry New Hampshire - astronaut: first American in space, riding the tiny Freedom 7 capsule; spent a record 33.5 hours on the surface of the moon
1926 - Dorothy Collins, Windsor Ont - singer: Your Hit Parade
1939 - Brenda Vaccaro, Brooklyn NY - actress: Cactus Flower, Sara, Paper Dolls
1939 - Margaret Eleanor Atwood, Ottawa Ont - author: The Handmaid's Tale, The Blind Assassin
1941 - David Hemmings, England - actor: Blow-up, Barbarella
1942 - Linda Evans, Hartford - actress: Dynasty, Big Valley, Beach Blanket Bingo
1943 - Susan Sullivan, NY City - actress: Having Babies, Falcon Crest
1945 - Glen Walken, Astoria Queens - actor: Leave it to Larry
1947 - Jameson Parker, Baltimore MD - actor: American Justice, Simon & Simon
1948 - Andrea Marcovicci, NY City - actress: Gloria-Berrengers, Fran-Trapper John
1950 - Elizabeth Perkins - actress: About Last Night, Big
1974 - Chloë Sevigny, Darien Connecticut - actress: Boys Don’t Cry, American Psycho

 

 

Odd News Reports.....
 
"The license fee for altered dogs with a certificate will be $3 and for pets owned by senior citizens who have not been altered the fee will be $1.50."
 
"Dr. Benjamin Porter visited the school yesterday and lectured on 'Destructive Pests.' A large number were present."
 
"The sewer expansion project is nearing completion but city officials are holding their breath until it is officially finished."
 
"The ladies of the county medical society auxiliary plan to publish a cookbook. Part of the money will go to the Samaritan Hospital to purchase a stomach pump."