Today in History for Oct. 30:
On this date:
In 1536, Denmark adopted Lutheranism as its official state religion.
In 1768, the first Methodist chapel in the New World was dedicated in New York City.
In 1846, the Great Western Railway was authorized to extend from Hamilton to Toronto.
In 1885, poet Ezra Pound was born in Hailey, Idaho.
In 1893, Sir John Abbott, Canadian prime minister from 1891-92, died in Montreal.
In 1899, the first 1,300 Canadian troops left Quebec City to fight with the British in the Boer War in South Africa.
In 1915, Sir Charles Tupper, the last surviving Father of Confederation, died in England at 94. He took part in the Charlottetown, Quebec and London conferences and was prime minister for a short period in 1896.
In 1917, the Montreal and Toronto stock exchanges adopted a minimum prices system.
In 1922, Benito Mussolini formed a Fascist government and became premier of Italy.
In 1929, Ontario voted to continue government control of liquor.
In 1938, the radio version of H.G. Wells's "War of the Worlds" was broadcast sending much of the United States into a panic. American actor Orson Welles narrated the story written by the English novelist about Martians invading Earth. Despite warnings to listeners that the broadcast was a hoax, the radio version, which included fictional news reports, was so realistic many were convinced an interplanetary war had started.
In 1941, the U.S. Congress repealed the country's "Neutrality Act," virtually putting the country on a war footing.
In 1956, the Conservatives under Robert Stanfield won the Nova Scotia election.
In 1961, the Soviet Union tested a hydrogen bomb with a force estimated at 58 megatons.
In 1961, the Soviet Communist Party Congress ordered the removal of Josef Stalin's body from Lenin's tomb in Red Square.
In 1964, 22-year-old Cassius Clay became the world heavyweight boxing champion, stopping Sonny Liston in the seventh round of their bout in Miami Beach. Clay announced soon after he was a member of the Nation of Islam and had changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
In 1971, the "Toronto Telegram" published its final issue after 95 years.
In 1972, 20-year-old Sean O'Sullivan was elected, at the time, as Canada's youngest Member of Parliament. He resigned his Hamilton-Wentworth seat in 1977 to become a priest. O'Sullivan died of leukemia in 1989 at the age of 37. (In 2011, 19-year-old NDP candidate Pierre-Luc Dusseault was elected in the Quebec riding of Sherbrooke.)
In 1974, the worst aviation accident in the history of Northern Canada occurred when 32 men died in the crash of an oil company aircraft off Rae Point, N.W.T. The Panarctic Oils Ltd. Lockheed Electra crashed into the ice off Melville Island as it attempted to land.
In 1974, Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the eighth round of their world heavyweight title bout in Kinshasa, Zaire, known as "Rumble in the Jungle." Ali became only the second boxer to regain the title.
In 1977, a 747 jumbo jet with 150 passengers aboard completed an around-the-world flight in a record time of 54 hours, seven minutes.
In 1980, Alberta cut its oil and natural gas production in response to the federal government's plans to increase taxes.
In 1982, the International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a freeze on the production, testing and deployment of nuclear weapons.
In 1984, the body of Polish priest Rev. Jerzy Popieluszko, an outspoken critic of Polish Communist authorities, was found in a reservoir near Warsaw. He had been abducted 11 days earlier by three members of Poland's secret police.
In 1991, a Canadian Forces Hercules C-130 on a routine supply mission crashed on Ellesmere Island in the high Arctic. Before rescuers arrived more than 33 hours later, five of the 13 people aboard had died, either from injuries or hypothermia.
In 1991, Israelis and Arabs began historic talks in Madrid aimed at overcoming four decades of hostility and war in the Middle East.
In 1992, Joseph Ghiz resigned as premier of Prince Edward Island.
In 1993, Paul Cardinal Gregoire, archbishop of Montreal from 1968-90, died at age 82.
In 1995, Quebecers rejected separation in a referendum that went down to the wire. The federalist side enjoyed substantial support in opinion polls early in the campaign, but the sovereigntists made huge gains when Bloc Quebecois Leader Lucien Bouchard replaced Premier Jacques Parizeau as the front man for independence. Days after a mammoth rally in Montreal drew thousands of Canadians from across the country, the "No" side won 50.6 per cent to 49.4 per cent for the "Yes" side. Parizeau blamed "money and the ethnic vote"” for the loss. The next day, he announced his intention to resign. He was later replaced as premier by Bouchard.
In 1998, in Nicaragua, a mudslide caused by hurricane Mitch killed at least 2,000 people on the slopes of the Casitas volcano in Posoltega.
In 2006, Cpl. Michael Seely of Fredericton was killed by insurgents while on patrol with U.S. forces in Iraq.
In 2006, a government task force recommended the Canadian Wheat Board give up its monopoly on Canadian wheat and barley sales and compete with other companies on the open market. (In October 2011, the Conservatives, then with a majority government, introduced legislation to do so, which passed in the House of Commons on Nov. 28 and took effect Aug. 1, 2012.)
In 2009, Sapper Steven Marshall, 24, was killed when he triggered an IED while on foot patrol in Afghanistan's Panjwaii district. Marshall, a combat engineer based in Edmonton, was the 133rd Canadian soldier to die during the Afghan mission.
In 2009, victims of Newfoundland and Labrador's worst public health scandal reached a $17.5-million settlement in their class-action lawsuit over hundreds of botched breast cancer tests.
In 2011, TMX Group's board of directors decided to support a $3.8-billion takeover bid from Maple Group Acquisition Corp., whose investors comprise 13 of Canada’s leading financial institutions and pension funds. On July 31, 2012, the Maple Group won control of TMX with a strong 91 per cent of shares tendered to its takeover offer.
In 2013, the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 in Game 6 to win their third World Series championship in 10 seasons, and their first at Fenway Park since Babe Ruth's team back in 1918. David Ortiz was named MVP.
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(The Canadian Press)
The Canadian Press
