Today in History for Nov. 2:
In 1164, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket began a six-year self-imposed exile in France. Once a close friend of England's Henry II, Becket had become an outspoken opponent of the king's royal policies.
In 1533, evangelist John Calvin was forced to flee from Paris after writing a series of Reformation pamphlets and sermons. With police on his trail, Calvin lowered himself from a window on bedsheets and escaped Paris dressed as a farmer. For the next three years, he wandered around under assumed names, finally settling in Geneva, where he became one of the leading theologians of the Reformation.
In 1755, Marie Antoinette was born in Vienna.
In 1796, Six Nations natives authorized Chief Brant to sell their land.
In 1833, William Lyon Mackenzie was expelled from the Upper Canada legislature for the third time.
In 1869, Louis Riel seized Fort Garry in Winnipeg during the Red River Rebellion.
In 1889, North Dakota and South Dakota were made the 39th and 40th U.S. states.
In 1911, the citizens of Montreal contributed $1.5 million to McGill University.
In 1917, British foreign secretary Arthur Balfour issued a declaration calling for the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." This formal recognition planted a concept that eventually led to the establishment of the modern state of Israel.
In 1920, one of the first commercial radio stations in North America, KDKA in Pittsburgh, began broadcasting from a makeshift shack atop one of Westinghouse Electric's manufacturing buildings. About 1,000 listeners heard the first election results ever broadcast on radio -- and learned that Warren Harding had defeated James Cox in the U.S. presidential race.
In 1924, a crossword puzzle appeared for the first time in the British newspaper "Sunday Express."
In 1930, Haile Selassie was crowned emperor of Ethiopia.
In 1935, Lord Tweedsmuir was sworn in as governor general of Canada and held the post until he died in 1940. He had been well known as John Buchan, writer of fiction, poetry and history. Among his famous works are "Lord Minto" and "The Thirty-Nine Steps." He instituted the Governor General's Awards for literature in 1937.
In 1936, the Canadian Department of Transport was established.
In 1936, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. was created to replace the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission. The CBC was given power to regulate private stations and also disseminate Canadian culture to counter the growing American influence in broadcasting. In 1952, it expanded beyond radio into television. The CBC provides programming in both official languages.
In 1947, wartime rationing of food, nylon, gasoline and other items ended in Canada.
In 1947, Howard Hughes piloted his huge wooden flying boat, the Hughes H4 Hercules (dubbed the "Spruce Goose" by detractors), on its only flight, which lasted about a minute over Long Beach Harbor in California.
In 1948, Harry S. Truman was elected president of the United States. Despite deep divisions within the Democratic party over Truman's efforts to protect civil rights, he narrowly beat Republican candidate Thomas E. Dewey, who had been favoured to win the election.
In 1963, South Vietnamese President Ngo Dihn Diem was assassinated in a military coup.
In 1964, a United Nations peacekeeping conference began in Ottawa.
In 1970, the federal and Quebec governments offered rewards of up to $75,000 for information leading to the arrest of the kidnappers of James Cross and Pierre Laporte.
In 1971, Dr. Gerhard Herzberg of the National Research Council of Canada received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work in molecular spectroscopy.
In 1976, former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter became the first candidate from the Deep South since the Civil War to be elected U.S. president as he defeated incumbent Gerald R. Ford.
In 1978, the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association sold 17-year-old centre Wayne Gretzky, along with forward Peter Driscoll and goalie Eddie Mio, to the Edmonton Oilers for $850,000.
In 1982, Conservatives returned with landslide victory in the Alberta provincial election.
In 1983, the first minivan rolled off Chrysler's assembly line in Windsor, Ont.
In 1983, U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed a bill establishing a federal holiday in the United States on the third Monday of January in honour of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
In 1991, Brent Shelton and John Ash set a world record in Regina by performing CPR for 130 hours.
In 1992, CBC-TV moved its flagship newscast to 9 p.m. from 10 p.m. The program's name was changed from "The National" and "The Journal" to "Prime Time News," and Pamela Wallin was brought in to co-anchor with Peter Mansbridge. The experiment in early newscasting failed, however, and the program was returned to the 10 p.m. slot in the fall of 1994 after ratings lagged.
In 1993, at least 700 homes were destroyed and 180,000 acres of land charred in a week of wildfires and blazes in southern California.
In 1994, M. G. Vassanji won the first Giller Prize, Canada's newest and largest award for fiction, for his book "The Book of Secrets."
In 1994, at least 475 people were killed in a freak chain of events in Egypt during torrential rains. Most died when a fuel train derailed on a rain-loosened track. The fuel was ignited by electrical wires and floodwaters carried "winds of fire" through the southern town of Darunka. Dozens of others were swept away in flash floods.
In 1995, Ontario Education Minister John Snobelen announced that starting in 1997, Ontario high schools would drop Grade 13.
In 1999, the Alberta government agreed to pay $82 million to 247 people who underwent forced sterilization between 1929-72.
In 1999, the Hong Kong government and Walt Disney announced a deal to create a theme park in one of the outlying islands of Hong Kong. "Hong Kong Disneyland" opened in September 2005.
In 2000, Russian chess master Garry Kasparov lost his world championship crown to former pupil Vladimir Kramnik, failing to win a single game in the 16-match tournament.
In 2000, American astronaut Bill Shepherd and two Russian cosmonauts became the first residents of the International Space Station after being rocketed into space aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
In 2003, Gene Robinson was consecrated as bishop of New Hampshire, the Anglican movement's first openly homosexual bishop.
In 2003, Iraqi insurgents downed a U.S. helicopter near Fallujah, killing 16 American soldiers in the bloodiest single attack on the Americans since the war ended.
In 2004, Republican George W. Bush won a second term as U.S. president, defeating his Democratic rival John Kerry in a cliffhanger election.
In 2009, a U.S. federal bankruptcy judge in Phoenix, Ariz., approved the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to the NHL for roughly US$140 million. The sale ended a lengthy, contentious court fight pitting the NHL against Jerry Moyes and Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie.
In 2009, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla began their 11-day royal tour of Canada in Newfoundland. The visit, their first as a married couple, also included stops in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec.
In 2009, Afghan President Hamid Karzai was declared the victor of the country's presidential election (on Aug. 20) as a run-off vote was cancelled after his opponent, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew.
In 2010, cash-strapped allies Britain and France struck a historic defence deal aimed at preserving military muscle, pledging to deploy troops under a single command, share aircraft carriers and collaborate on once fiercely guarded nuclear programs.
In 2014, two Canadian CF-18s involved in the American-led bombing campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) launched their first air strikes since deploying to the region. (The newly elected Liberal government ended the bombing campaign in February 2016 in favour of a bigger contingent of soldiers to train local forces and more humanitarian aid and help for refugees. In all, Canadian jets had conducted 251 raids - 246 in Iraq and five in Syria.)
In 2016, the Chicago Cubs completed a comeback from a 3-1 World Series deficit to capture its first championship since 1908, outlasting the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in 10 innings of a Game 7 thriller at Progressive Field.
In 2018, five weeks after New Brunswickers went to the polls, the minority Liberal government of Premier Brian Gallant fell on a confidence vote. Progressive Conservative leader Blaine Higgs became the premier-designate after meeting with Lt.-Gov. Jocelyne Roy Vienneau and said he wanted the transition of power to occur as quickly as possible.
In 2018, police said officers were hurt and 12 people charged after a rally to protest a controversial debate featuring former White House strategist Steve Bannon in Toronto. The charges included trespassing, disorderly conduct and assault of a police officer.
In 2018, the Trump administration announced the return of all U.S. sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal. The sanctions covered Iran's shipping, financial and energy sectors.
In 2020, former federal cabinet minister Peter MacKay announced he is quitting politics. MacKay had been spending the fall pondering his political future after finishing second to Erin O'Toole in the party leadership contest.
In 2020, for the first time, an HIV self-test was approved for use in Canada. The one-minute, finger-prick blood test manufactured by Richmond, B.C.-based bioLytical Laboratories was granted a medical device licence by Health Canada. Experts have said self-testing is critical to increasing access to life-extending treatments and preventing the spread of infection in Canada.
In 2020, Canadian aviation pioneer Max Ward died. A family friend said he collapsed at his home in Edmonton and died in hospital, 20 days short of his 99th birthday. Northerners still credit Ward for helping to open up the Northwest Territories when he worked as a Yellowknife bush pilot. He built his business into a regional carrier then into Wardair, at one time Canada's largest charter airline.
In 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cast Canada as a world leader in fighting climate change. He said other countries were beginning to see that Canada's carbon pricing plan is an extremely powerful weapon. On his final day at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, he challenged the world to follow Canada's lead and have 60 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions covered by a price on pollution in 2030.
In 2021, the new premier of Manitoba was sworn into office. Heather Stefanson became premier after the governing Progressive Conservatives recently chose her as their new leader.
In 2021, U.S. health officials gave the final go-ahead to Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for younger children. An advisory panel with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unanimously decided Pfizer's shots should be given to children ages five to 11.
In 2021, a teen found guilty of sexually assaulting another student at an all-boys Catholic school in Toronto avoided prison. Instead, he was given a two-year probationary sentence. A judge found the youth guilty in June of gang sexual assault and sexual assault with a weapon. A teen was sodomized with a broom handle in a locker room at St. Michael's College School in 2018.
In 2021, there was a new U.S. ambassador to Canada -- David Cohen. The Senate just confirmed the tech executive who once served as chief of staff to the mayor of Philadelphia. Cohen was nominated in July by U.S. President Joe Biden.
In 2021, the Atlanta Braves won their first World Series since 1995, posting a 7-0 shellacking of the Houston Astros in Game 6. Jorge Soler hit his third home run of the Series, and Max Fried threw six innings in the signature pitching performance of the Series. The loss left Houston's 72-year-old Dusty Baker -- a fan favourite -- still seeking his first title as a manager.
In 2023, Montreal-based broadcaster TVA Group said it was laying off nearly one-third of its workforce as the company contended with declining audiences and ad revenues. It said the shift involved overhauling its news division and ending its in-house entertainment content production.
In 2023, Clare's Law went into effect in Newfoundland and Labrador. The law allows people at risk of intimate partner violence to get information about their partner's history and lets police proactively disclose information to someone they feel is at risk.
In 2023, the Texas Rangers won their first World Series in the franchise's 63-season history. Texas beat fellow wild-card entry the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 to take the championship in five games.
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The Canadian Press
