Today in History for Oct. 29:
On this date:
In 1618, Sir Walter Raleigh was executed in London on charges of treason against King James I. Raleigh had defied the King's instructions by attacking the Spanish while on an expedition to search for the fabled "Golden Land."
In 1835, the Morse alphabet code for telegraphy was patented.
In 1867, a hurricane sank more than 50 vessels at the Caribbean island of St. Thomas, drowning 1,000.
In 1897, Joseph Goebbels, Nazi leader and propagandist, was born in Germany.
In 1923, the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed.
Also in 1923, Canada's "Bluenose" defeated the "Columbia" in an international boat race.
In 1929, the "Great Depression" began when the New York stock market virtually collapsed. A total of 16.4 million shares changed hands on what is known as "Black Tuesday," the most disastrous day in the history of the New York Stock Exchange. The Toronto Stock Exchange also suffered huge losses. Canada was particularly affected by the ensuing collapse in world trade because one-third of its economy depended on exports. The four western provinces, which depended almost exclusively on primary-product exports, were the most affected.
In 1936, John Diefenbaker was chosen leader of the Saskatchewan Conservative party.
In 1952, the International Joint Commission approved a joint Canada-United States application for permission to develop 2.2- million horsepower of electric energy on the international section of the St. Lawrence River.
In 1956, in the belief that Russian tanks had left their city for good, citizens of Budapest celebrated. Rioting had grown a week before into a full-scale revolt against Russian occupying forces and Communist secret police. But the celebrations were premature -- soon afterwards eight Russian divisions entered Budapest and placed Janos Kadar in power. About 150,000 Hungarians fled into exile.
In 1956, during the Suez Canal crisis, Israel invaded Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
In 1958, rescue workers in Springhill, N.S., found 12 coal miners alive seven days after they were buried in a cave-in.
In 1958, the first implantable heart pacemaker was inserted into the chest of Swedish cardiac patient Arne Larson in Stockholm.
In 1961, Syria seceded from the United Arab Republic to form the Syrian Arab Republic.
In 1964, Tanganyika and Zanzibar became known as Tanzania when they united.
In 1967, Expo 67, which opened in Montreal on April 27, closed with a final attendance total of more than 50 million.
In 1972, Palestinian guerrillas hijacked a German airliner and gained the release of three people seized in the massacre at the Munich Olympics.
In 1975, a man hijacked a Toronto transit subway train, demanding to be taken to Queen's Park station.
In 1979, on the 50th anniversary of the great stock market crash, anti-nuclear protesters tried but failed to shut down the New York Stock Exchange.
In 1984, General Motors workers in Canada, who had gone on strike almost two weeks earlier, voted overwhelmingly in favour of a three-year settlement with the automaker.
In 1998, U.S. Senator John Glenn, 77, began an encore performance in space when the shuttle "Discovery" blasted off. Thirty-six years earlier, Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth.
In 1998, the CRTC ordered cable companies across Canada to carry TVA, Quebec's most popular French-language television network.
In 1998, fire broke out during a disco party in Goteborg, Sweden, killing 63 people.
In 1998, South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission released a report calling apartheid a crime against humanity.
In 1999, Anthony Vincent, a Canadian diplomat best known for his role in the hostage crisis in Lima in 1996, died in Montreal at age 59.
In 1999, China declared the Falun Gong spiritual movement a dangerous cult.
In 1999, 16 years after their fight began, federal public servants won a pay equity deal. The Chretien government agreed to pay 200,000 mostly female, former and current employees between $3.3- and $3.6 billion.
In 1999, at least 55 young people were killed in a fire at a crowded beer bar in Inchon, South Korea.
In 1999, India's Eastern Orissa state was hit by one of the most powerful cyclones ever, with winds up to 250 km/h, killing an estimated 10,000 people over the next few days.
In 2004, former ballet dancer Norodom Sihamoni was crowned as Cambodia's new king in an ornate ceremony, replacing his father Norodom Sihanouk, one of Asia's longest-serving and best-known rulers.
In 2006, a Nigerian airliner slammed into the ground moments after takeoff from Abuja airport, killing 98 of the 104 people on board.
In 2007, a Moscow court sentenced Alexander Pichushkin, convicted of 48 murders, to life imprisonment, ending one of Russia's worst serial killer cases.
In 2008, Ottawa software developer Momin Khawaja, 29, who was the first person to be charged under Canada’s Anti-Terrorism Act, was found guilty on seven counts for allegedly participating in a plot to bomb targets in Britain. Khawaja was convicted of five charges of financing and facilitating terrorism and two Criminal Code offences related to building a remote-control device that could trigger bombs.
In 2009, Quebec and New Brunswick reached a proposed deal that would see Hydro-Quebec buy the majority of NB Power's assets for $4.8 billion. In March 2010, the deal was dead, with Quebec pulling out over unanticipated costs.
In 2009, former Rwandan businessman Desire Munyaneza was found guilty in Federal Court in Montreal, on charges relating to atrocities he committed during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years - the toughest penalty under Canadian law. Munyaneza, 42, was the first person to be convicted under Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act.
In 2009, in what was believed to be the largest number of murder convictions ever produced at a single criminal trial in Canada, six members of the Bandidos biker gang charged in the 2006 mass slaying of eight rivals were all found guilty on multiple counts of first-degree murder. The jury returned 44 verdicts of first-degree murder and four of manslaughter.
In 2010, a U.S. court overturned two of Conrad Black's 2007 convictions, but did not acquit him of them, and upheld a serious count of obstruction of justice and one other fraud charge. (In September 2011, he returned to prison to complete the last 13 months of his sentence.)
In 2011, a suicide bomber struck a NATO convoy in Kabul killing 17 people, including Master Cpl. Byron Greff of Lacombe, Alta. He was the first Canadian to die in Afghanistan since the combat mission ended in July and the new Afghan army training mission began.
In 2011, a freak snowstorm began that eventually knocked out power to more than 3.2 million homes and businesses across the U.S. northeast with close to 60 cm of snow falling in some areas. It was blamed for at least six deaths and four states declared a state or emergency. The storm made its way into the Maritimes as mostly wind-whipped rain.
In 2012, superstorm Sandy, the downgraded hurricane that morphed with two wintry systems, made landfall near Atlantic City, N.J. The 1,600 km-wide hybrid of rain and high wind caused major flooding and killed more than 100 people in 10 states. It swamped lower Manhattan with a 13-foot surge of seawater, devastated New Jersey coastal communities and left over 8.5 million people without power. Airports in the path of the storm were closed, grounding over 18,000 flights worldwide. Hurricane Sandy killed 72 people in the Caribbean before making its way up the Atlantic Coast.
In 2012, Gen. Tom Lawson was officially appointed as chief of the defence staff, taking over Canadas' highest military post from Gen. Walt Natynczyk.
In 2013, Sears Canada announced it was closing its flagship location in Toronto's Eaton Centre, as well as four other stores. In November, it announced another 800 job cuts. (In 2017, the national retailer first sought protection from its creditors and then was unable to find a buyer. Sears was granted court approval to begin the liquidation of its remaining stores as it prepared to shut its doors for good after 65 years.)
In 2013, the world's first Bitcoin ATM went into operation in a Vancouver coffee shop allowing customers to exchange cash for the decentralized online currency.
In 2014, the San Francisco Giants captured their third World Series title in five years with a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals in Game 7. Giants ace Madison Bumgarner was named Series MVP. In three appearances, he went 2-0 with one save, 31 strikeouts, and a 0.25 ERA.
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(The Canadian Press)
The Canadian Press
