1755 - First post office in Canada opens in Halifax, NS, along with subsidized direct mail communication with Great Britain by ship; origin of Cunard Line

1783 - First execution at England’s Newgate Jail

1793 - Noah Webster establishes New York's first daily newspaper, The Minerva

1835 - The newly created Texan Army takes possession of the city of San Antonio, an important victory for the Republic of Texas in its war for independence from Mexico

1843 - George Mountain founds Bishop's University at Lennoxville, Quebec as a liberal arts college

1851 - George Williams opens Young Men's Christian Association [YMCA] branch in Montreal; first in North America

1854 - Lord Tennyson's poem, "Charge of the Light Brigade" published by The Examiner

1862 - Numismatic Society of Montreal founded; Canada's first coin club; Adélard Boucher named first president

1878 - First St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba railway train arrives at Winnipeg late this evening after 30 hour trip from St. Paul, Minnesota; end of Kitson's Red River Transportation Company stern wheelers

1883 - New Brunswick adopts Eastern Standard Time (until 1902)

1902 - American League announces purchase of grounds for a stadium in New York

1903 - The town of Rainy River, Ontario was incorporated

1916 - Canadian Pacific inaugurates the 8 km long Connaught Tunnel through Macdonald Mountain in the Selkirk Range, eliminating the old climb over Rogers Pass and 8 km of snow sheds that protected the main CPR line from frequent avalanches caused by up to 15 metres of snow each winter; Canada's longest rail tunnel took two years to blast, and cost $2 million

1926 - USGA legalizes steel shaft golf clubs

1926 - Young clarinettist Benny Goodman records his first solo, 16 bars of a song called "He's the Last Word."

1929 - 18-year-old Ginger Rogers makes her Broadway debut, in Top Speed. She went on to become one of Hollywood's wealthiest and most adored actresses

1931 - Spain becomes a republic

1931 - Baseball cuts squad from 25 to 23 players & National League continues to prohibit uniform numbers

1939 - Quebec adopts a new coat of arms and the motto, 'Je me souviens' [I Remember]

1941 - China declares war on Japan, Germany & Italy

1941 - British Special Operations Executive (SOE) opens Camp X (STS - Special Training School - 103) in Whitby Ontario, as a special school for spies and special operatives, mostly Canadians or Americans; SOE also operates Hydra station, to handle top-secret British transatlantic radio intelligence; closes in 1943; James Bond author Ian Fleming one of the graduates

1944 - Victor Barbeau and others found the Académie canadienne-française; changed its name to the Académie québécoise in 1992

1944 - Abasand Oils Ltd. refinery completed; starts operating on Dec. 16; Bituminous Sands Permit No. 1 originally granted to Max Ball and associates' Canadian Northern Oil Company in 1930

1948 - UN General Assembly unanimously approves Convention on Genocide

1957 - Canada's Lester B. Pearson accepts the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo; awarded for his work in setting up the UN peacekeeping force used in Suez

1960 - First broadcast of "Coronation Street" on British ITV

1961 - SS Colonel Adolf Eichmann found guilty of war crimes in Israel

1961 - Tanganyika gains independence from Britain takes name Tanzania

1961 - Wilt Chamberlain of NBA Philadelphia Warriors scores 67 points vs New York

1963 - Zanzibar gains independence from Britain

1963 - The first Supremes album, "Meet The Supremes", is released

1963 - The last American-made Studebaker was produced, and the factory in South Bend, Indiana, closed forever, shifting production to Hamilton, Ontario. Three years later Studebaker's Canadian factories shut down, and the Studebaker passed into history

1965 - "A Charlie Brown Christmas" premieres

1967 - Nicolae Ceausescu becomes President (dictator) of Romania

1968 - Doug Engelbart demonstrates first computer mouse at Stanford

1973 - The Royal Canadian Air Farce first airs on CBC Radio

1978 - First game of the Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL), Chicago Hustle vs Milwaukee Does

1984 - Los Angeles Ram Eric Dickerson rushes 215 yards for season record 2,003 yards

1987 - In the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip, the first riots of the Palestinian intifada, or "shaking off" in Arabic, begin one day after an Israeli truck crashed into a station wagon carrying Palestinian workers

1990 - Lech Walesa, founder of the Solidarity trade union, wins presidential election in Poland

1992 - Bill Wyman retires from the Rolling Stones

1992 - British Prime Minister John Major announces the formal separation of Charles, Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne, and his wife, Princess Diana. Major explained that the royal couple were separating "amicably"

 

Birthdays

1608 - John Milton, London England - poet: Paradise Lost
1848 - Joel Chandler Harris, US - journalist: created Uncle Remus stories
1876 - Berton Churchill, Toronto - actor: played in almost 140 B movies in the 1930s and 1940s
1883 - Douglas Fairbanks, Denver, Colorado - actor: Robin Hood, The Thief of Baghdad, The Iron Mask; co- founded the film-producing company United Artists, Inc., in 1919
1886 - Clarence Birdseye - frozen vegetable king: Birdseye
1890 - Laura Salverson [Goodman], Winnipeg - author: When Sparrows Fall, Johann Lind, The Dark Weaver
1894 - Eddie Dowling, Woonsocket RI - actor: Anywhere USA
1897 - Hermione Gingold, London England - actress: Gigi, Music Man
1898 - Emmett Kelly, Sedan Kansas - circus clown: Weary Willie
1899 - Jean de Brunhoff, France - children's book author: Babar the Elephant
1902 - Margaret Hamilton, Cleveland Ohio - actress: Wicked Witch - Wizard of Oz
1909 - Douglas Fairbanks Jr, NY City - actor: Ghost Story
1911 - [William] Broderick Crawford, Philadelphia Pennsylvania - actor: All the King's Men, Highway Patrol, Hunter, Liar's Moon
1913 - Frances Reid, Wichita Falls TX - actress: Alice-Days of our Lives
1916 - Kirk Douglas [Issur Danielovitch] Amsterdam, New York - actor: Gunfight at the OK Corral, 7 Days in May
1922 - Redd Foxx, St Louis Missouri - comedian: Sanford & Son, Redd Foxx Show
1925 - Dina Merrill, NY City - actress: Operation Petticoat, Butterfield 8
1928 - Dick Van Patten, Queens NY - actor: Tom Bradford-8 is Enough
1928 - Gordon Fisher, Montreal - publisher: built his family's Southam Inc. into one of the largest newspaper chains in Canada
1929 - John Cassavetes, NY City - actor: Dirty Dozen, Rosemary's Baby
1930 - Buck Henry, NY City - screenwriter/comedian: Saturday Night Live, Get Smart
1934 - Dame Judi Dench, York England - actress: As Time Goes By, Goldeneye-"M", Her Majesty Mrs Brown-Queen Victoria
1934 - [Amos] Junior Wells, Memphis Tennessee - blues singer: In My Younger Days
1934 - Al Kaline, Baltimore Maryland - baseball outfielder: Detroit Tigers
1935 - Christopher Pratt, St John's, Nfld - painter, printmaker
1938 - [David] Deacon Jones - NFL defensive end: Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, Washington Redskins
1941 - Beau Bridges, Los Angeles California - actor: Hotel New Hampshire, 5th Musketeer
1942 - Dick Butkus, Chicago Illinois - NFL hall of fame linebacker (Chicago Bears)/sportscaster
1942 - Joe McGinniss, Rye NY - author: Selling of the President 1968
1943 - Rick Danko, Simcoe, Ontario �?singer/ bassist/ songwriter: Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks, The Band
1945 - Michael Nouri, Washington DC  - actor: Beacon Hill, Bay City Blues
1948 - Ron Vawter, Latham NY - actor: Philadelphia, Empire City, Twister
1949 - Thomas O Kite Jr, Austin TX - PGA golfer
1950 - Joan Armatrading, St Kitts - singer: Back to the Night
1952 - Michael Dorn - actor: Worf - Star Trek Next Generation
1953 - John Malkovich, Christopher Illinois - actor/director: Killing Fields
1953 - World B Free - NBA player: Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors
1957 - Donny Osmond, Ogden Utah - singer: Osmond Brothers, Donny & Marie
1960 - Juan Samuel, San Pedro de Macoris - baseball player: New York Yankees, Blue Jays
1961 - Joe Lando, Los Angeles California - actor: Byron Sully-Dr Quinn
1963 - Barry Wilburn - NFL player: Philadelphia Eagles
1965 - Brad Savage, Livdnia MI - actor: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
1966 - Dana Murzyn, Regina Saskatchewan - NHL player: Vancouver Canucks
1969 - Allison Smith Bronx NY - actress: Jennie-Cagney & Lacey, Kate & Allie
1969 - Jakob Dylan, NY City - Bob Dylan's son/singer: The Wallflowers-One Headlight
1971 - Petr Nedved, Libercec Czechoslovakia - NHL center: Pittsburgh Penguins
1971 - Chris Boniol - NFL player: Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles
1971 - Clifton Abraham - NFL player: Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1973 - Tony Batista, Puerto Plata Dominican Republic - baseball player: Oakland A's
1975 - Joshua Rudoy - actor: Harry & the Hendersons

 

 

Call Answer

 

"Hello, you have reached an office that thought it was so smart getting all it's employees cordless phones. The person you are trying to reach is here right now, staring at me as I answer this call and searching desperately for their cordless phone in the mess on their desk.
 
"It won't matter if they find it since they didn't leave it on the charger last night and the battery is dead. So you might as well leave a message with me and I'll have them call you after the 4 hour handset recharge period is completed."