1520 - Ferdinand Magellan enters the Pacific Ocean with three ships, becoming the first European explorer to reach the Pacific from the Atlantic

1582 - William Shakespeare, 18, and Anne Hathaway, 26, pay a 40-pound bond for their marriage license in Stratford-upon-Avon

1877 - Wilfrid Laurier first elected to the House of Commons as MP for the riding of Quebec East

1885 - Cabinet orders creation of Banff Hot Springs Reserve (today, Banff National Park); consisting of 10 square miles on the northern slopes of Sulphur Mountain surrounding three hot springs

1861 �?Half an acre of land purchased for $50 for the first school in Coningsby

1895 - America's first auto race starts; 6 cars, 55 miles, winner averages 7 MPH

1905 - Sinn Fein, a political party dedicated to independence for all of Ireland, is founded in Dublin by Irish nationalist Arthur Griffith

1907 - Scrap-metal dealer Louis B. Mayer opens a small movie theater in Haverville, Massachusetts

1919 - US born Lady Nancy Astor elected first female member of British Parliament

1920 - The Mask of Zorro opens, starring Douglas Fairbanks

1925 - Famed NHL goalie Georges Vezina collapses in a game & dies of TB 4months later

1925 - Country-variety show The Grand Ole Opry debuts on radio, live from Nashville, Tennessee

1929 - Ernie Nevers scores all 40 pts for Chicago Cards vs Bears (NFL record)

1934 - Montreal Symphony Orchestra gives first performance

1943 - The first conference between the leaders of the three major Allied powers, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin, begins in Teheran, Iran

1945 - Manitoulin Island gets permanent highway bridge linking it with the rest of Ontario; end of ferry service except from Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula

1948 �?The first Byelorussian Canadian Alliance was established in Toronto

1948 - "Hopalong Cassidy" premiers on TV

1958 - George "Punch" Imlach becomes coach of NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs

1958 �?The Ladies Auxiliary to Erin Legion Branch #442 was awarded its charter

1970 - FLQ terrorists Jacques Cossette, Jacques Lanctôt, Marc Charbonneau and Pierre Séguin allowed to leave for Cuba after they hand over British trade commissioner James Cross

1975 - Wings release "Venus & Mars/Rock Show" medley

1979 - New York Islanders' Billy Smith the first NHL goaltender to score; his team 4-3 lost to Colorado

1981 - Bear Bryant wins his 315th game to out distance Alonzo Stagg & become US college football's winningest coach

1982 - Hugh Campbell's CFL Edmonton Eskimos beat Toronto Argonauts 32-16 to win 70th Grey Cup game and their 5th straight

1989 - Confronted by the collapse of communist regimes in neighboring countries and growing protests in the streets, officials of the Czechoslovakian Communist Party announce that they will give up their monopoly on political power

Birthdays

1628 - John Bunyan, England - cleric/author: Pilgrim's Progress
1632 - Jean-Baptiste Lully [Giovanni Battista Lulli], Florence Italy - composer: Le mariage forcé, Amadis de Gaule
1757 - William Blake, London England - poet/painter: Songs of Innocence & Experience, Jerusalem
1820 - Friedrich Engels, Barmen Germany - social philosopher: Marx's collaborator in founding scientific socialism
1851 - Albert Henry George Grey, 4th Earl, St James's Palace London - diplomat: donated the Grey Cup for Canadian football supremacy
1884 - Cal Bricker, Toronto - dentist/track athlete: set a world long jump record of 24' 1.5" at the 1908 Olympic trials, a mark that stood for 27 years
1895 - Jose Iturbi, Valencia Spain - pianist: Pequena danza Espanola
1901 - Carlyle Clare Agar, Lion's Head, Ontario - helicopter pioneer: founder of Okanagan Air Service
1925 - Gloria Grahame, Los Angeles - actress: Sue-Rich Man Poor Man
1925 - Virginia Hewitt, Shreveport La - actress: Carol-Space Patrol
1929 - Berry Gordy Jr, Detroit - record company owner: Motown
1931 - Hope Lange, Redding Ridge CT - actress: Ghost & Mrs Muir
1931 - Ramsay Cook, Alameda Saskatchewan - historian: Canada and the French Canadian Question, The Maple Leaf Forever
1941 - Laura Antonelli, Pola Yugoslavia - actress: Wifemistress, Divine Nymph
1942 - Paul Warfield - NFL player: Cleveland, Miami, Memphis
1943 - Randy Newman, Los Angeles - singer: Short People, I Love LA, Raindrops
1949 - Alexander Godunov, Russia - composer/dancer: Bolshoi; defected 1979
1949 - Paul Shaffer, Thunder Bay Ont - orchestra leader: SNL, David Letterman
1950 - Ed Harris, Tenafly NJ - actor: Right Stuff, Swing Shift, Walker, Coma
1959 - Judd Nelson - actor: Breakfast Club
1963 - Kevin Dineen, Quebec City - NHL player: Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes
1966 - Benoit Hogue, Repentigny Quebec - NHL player: Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning

 

 

 

Dead Mule
       
A preacher went to his church office on Monday morning and discovered a dead mule in the church yard. He called the police.
 
Since there did not appear to be any foul play, the police referred the preacher to the health department.
 
They said since there was no health threat that he should call the sanitation department.
 
The sanitation manager said he could not pick up the mule without authorization from the mayor.
 
Now the preacher knew the mayor and was not to eager to call him. The mayor had a bad temper and was generally hard to deal with, but the preacher called him anyway.
 
The mayor did not disappoint. He immediately began to rant and rave at the pastor and finally said, "Why did you call me anyway? Isn't it your job to bury the dead?"
 
The preacher paused for a brief prayer and asked the Lord to direct his response. He was led to say, "Yes, Mayor, it is my job to bury the dead, but I always like to notify the next of kin first!"