Today in History for Nov. 1:
In 1512, Michelangelo's paintings in the Sistine Chapel in Rome were first exhibited to the public. Across the ceiling he painted themes of the Bible, including representations of creation, man's temptation and fall, as well as Noah and the flood.
In 1755, a huge earthquake rocked Lisbon. More than 30,000 people were killed in the Portuguese capital as the shock of the quake lasted for over six minutes. Another 20,000 died in the six-day-long fire that followed, and in smaller earthquakes that shook the area.
In 1788, Bishop Inglis opened an academy at Windsor, N.S., which became King's College.
In 1838, Lord Durham, Britain's high commissioner to North America, sailed for England to write what became known as the Durham Report. The report urged reuniting Upper and Lower Canada to accelerate the assimilation of the French. It also recommended the introduction of responsible government.
In 1850, Joseph Howe sailed to London to try to raise money to build a railway. The flamboyant Nova Scotia publisher and politician, never one to think small, started off with the idea of a railway between Halifax and Windsor, N.S. -- then a major provincial port -- but by the time he arrived in England he was prepared to use the idea of promoting immigration to support a plan for a railway from Halifax to Quebec and Portland, Me.
In 1858, Queen Victoria was proclaimed sovereign throughout India.
In 1893, a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald was unveiled in Hamilton.
In 1894, Czar Alexander III died in Russia.
In 1908, the government of Saskatchewan established a Department of Municipal Affairs.
In 1914, the British navy suffered a stinging defeat at the hands of the Germans during the "Battle of Coronel" off the coast of Chile. British Admiral Christopher Craddock was under orders to hunt down a German squadron of two battleships and three cruisers. In the ensuing battle, the admiral's flagship, "Good Hope," and another cruiser were sunk with no survivors.
In 1924, a franchise was granted to Boston, making the Bruins the first American-based team in the National Hockey League. By 1926, six of the 10 teams were from the United States.
In 1936, in a speech in Milan, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini described the alliance between his country and Nazi Germany as an "axis" running between Rome and Berlin.
In 1941, the Rainbow Bridge linking Niagara Falls, Ont., and Niagara Falls, N.Y., opened.
In 1945, British investigators announced proof "as conclusively as possible without bodies," that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler died on April 30, 1945.
In 1950, two Puerto Rican nationalists tried to force their way into Blair House in Washington, D.C. to assassinate U.S. President Truman. The attempt failed, and one of the pair was killed, along with a White House police officer.
In 1950, the Dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was proclaimed by Pope Pius XII.
In 1952, "Hockey Night in Canada" debuted on CBC Television. The first game saw the Boston Bruins edge the host Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2.
In 1952, the United States exploded the first hydrogen bomb, code-named "Ivy Mike," at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the mid-Pacific.
In 1955, Lester Pearson, then Minister of External Affairs, opened the "Canada Dam" at West Bengal, India.
In 1956, 39 miners died and 88 others survived when an explosion occurred at the No. 4 Cumberland coal mine in Springhill, N.S.
In 1959, Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens became the first NHL goalie to wear a mask on a permanent basis. After receiving a seven-stitch facial cut from a shot by the New York Rangers' Andy Bathgate, Plante returned to the Madison Square Garden ice with a plastic face mask he had made out of fibreglass and resin.
In 1961, the body of the now-disgraced Joseph Stalin was removed from Red Square in Moscow.
In 1964, 44 Cubans defected from a Cuban plane at Gander, Nfld.
In 1970, a cargo truck drove into a reception line at Karachi Airport in Pakistan, in an attack on the President of Poland. The driver missed him but killed Poland's deputy foreign minister and three other people.
In 1971, the "Toronto Sun" began publication. It was staffed mainly by former employees of the defunct "Telegram." "The Sun," a morning tabloid born 48 hours after the "Telegram" printed its final edition, hit the streets with an initial run of 75,000 copies. The 48-page paper leaned heavily on sports and entertainment coverage.
In 1985, Donald Getty was sworn in as the new premier of Alberta.
In 1987, Preston Manning was chosen leader of the federal Reform Party at its founding convention in Winnipeg. Manning remained leader until being ousted by Alberta cabinet minister Stockwell Day in 2000 after the party reorganized itself as the Canadian Alliance.
In 1987, former Quebec premier Rene Levesque died of a heart attack at age 65. The founder of the Parti Quebecois served as a war correspondent with U.S. forces during the Second World War. He joined Radio-Canada in 1946 as a radio and TV reporter. In 1960, he won a seat as a Liberal in the National Assembly and held several portfolios in the Lesage government until its 1966 defeat. In 1967, Levesque left the Liberals and united several separatist groups to form the Parti Quebecois, which took office in 1976. A 1980 referendum on sovereignty was defeated, thanks in part to a strong federalist campaign. Levesque gave up his leadership in 1985, and the party lost to the Liberals that December.
In 1990, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney appointed a 12-member commission on national unity called the Citizen's Forum on Canada's Future.
In 1990, McDonald's announced that Styrofoam containers would be replaced in its fast-food restaurants with wrapping that was more environmentally friendly.
In 1993, the EC union treaty came into force.
In 1995, the Ontario government launched a massive overhaul of Worker's Compensation Board beginning at the top by firing all 10 WCB board members.
In 1996, Canada's first diamond mine, a $750-million project, located 300 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife and owned by Australian-based BHP Diamonds, was given full approval by the federal government.
In 1996, Wally Crouter retired after 50 years as the morning show host on Toronto radio station CFRB. Prime Minister Jean Chretien and former prime minister Brian Mulroney were among those taking part in an on-air tribute.
In 1999, Ronald (Lasagna) Cross, died. He was one of the most visible native players in the 1990 Oka crisis that pitted Mohawks against police and eventually the Canadian army.
In 1999, Walter Payton, nicknamed "Sweetness," one of the NFL's most productive running backs, died at age 45.
In 2000, Chicago-based sports marketing executive Michael Lysko was named commissioner of the Canadian Football League. He was fired 16 months later on March 20, 2002.
In 2001, an arson fire destroyed the second-oldest Anglican church in Canada. The St. John's Church was built in Lunenburg, N.S., in 1754. Restoration of the church was completed in 2005.
In 2002, theft charges against Princess Diana's former butler were dropped after the Queen revealed Paul Burrell had told her years earlier that he had taken some of Diana's possessions for safekeeping. The Queen did not realize their 1997 conversation might be relevant until seeing coverage of the trial.
In 2005, Justice John Gomery released the first report of a federal sponsorship scandal inquiry that mainly blamed former bureaucrats but put Prime Minister Paul Martin in the clear.
In 2007, retired Air Force Brigadier Gen. Paul Tibbets, who had piloted the B-29 bomber "Enola Gay" that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, died in Columbus, Ohio, at age 92.
In 2010, 58 people were killed and dozens wounded when Iraqi security forces stormed a Baghdad church where militants had taken an entire congregation hostage for four hours.
In 2010, the San Francisco Giants defeated the Texas Rangers 3-1 in Game 5 to win the World Series and take the trophy home to the city by the Bay for the first time. The Giants last wore the crown in 1954, four years before they moved from New York.
In 2015, the Kansas City Royals rallied late yet again to defeat the New York Mets 7-2 in 12 innings in Game 5 to capture its second World Series title (1985). The Royals came back late in all four wins, and eight times overall in the post-season.
In 2016, Canadian comedy pioneer Dave Broadfoot, who was considered a national treasure for his political satire on the CBC's "Royal Canadian Air Farce," died at the age of 90.
In 2017, Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie announced he was stepping down after seven years. He said he would stay on as leader until a replacement was selected and would also continue on as the MLA for Cumberland South.
In 2017, the Houston Astros won their first World Series championship in franchise history with a 5-1 victory over the LA Dodgers in Game 7 at Dodger Stadium. Houston outfielder George Springer was named MVP.
In 2020, the Royal Canadian Legion named Debbie Sullivan of Saint John, N.B., as this year's Silver Cross mother. Her son, navy Lt. Chris Saunders, was killed at the age of 32 when a fire broke out aboard his submarine 16 years ago.
In 2021, the Royal Canadian Legion announced the name of this year's Silver Cross mother. Quebecer Josee Simard would lay the wreath at the National War Memorial on Remembrance Day on behalf of all mothers who've lost children in service to Canada. Simard is the mom of 21-year-old army corporal Karine Blais, who was killed when a roadside bomb struck the armoured vehicle she was driving near Kandahar, Afghanistan, just two weeks into her first tour of duty in 2009.
In 2021, the world reached a grim milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic, with a death toll that surpassed five million. The staggering figure was almost certainly an undercount because of limited testing and people dying at home without medical attention, especially in poor countries such as India.
In 2021, biotechnology company Novavax said Indonesia had given the world's first emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine. The two-dose vaccine uses a different technology than mRNA shots such as Pfizer and Moderna. Novavax doesn't require the extremely cold storage temperatures that some other vaccines need. Novavax also announced it had submitted its vaccine for approval in Canada.
In 2021, thousands of medical appointments across Newfoundland and Labrador were cancelled after a suspected cyberattack on the province's health system. Health Minister John Haggie says the so-called "brain'' of the network's data centre, operated by Bell, was damaged. Eastern Health CEO David Diamond said his agency lost everything from basic email to diagnostic images and lab results.
In 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the memory of Lytton, B.C., as he spoke at crucial United Nations climate talks in Scotland. Trudeau referenced the record-setting temperatures that set the stage for the devastating wildfire that swept through the village of Lytton in June, destroying much of the community. He called for global action in the fight against climate change. Trudeau also formally committed to a cap on emissions produced by Canada's oil and gas sector.
In 2022, Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. claimed his first American League Gold Glove Award as the league's top defensive player. His win came two seasons after he switched to first base after starting his career playing at third. Guerrero finished ahead of Minnesota's Luis Arraez and New York's Anthony Rizzo.
In 2023, the Ottawa Senators fired general manager Pierre Dorion. The team announced that hockey operations president Steve Staios would take over the job on an interim basis.
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The Canadian Press