Today in History for May 8:
On this date:
In 615, Pope St. Boniface IV, who sanctioned moral and material improvements for the lower clergy, died. He also consecrated the pagan temple of Agrippa called the Pantheon to the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints, thus instituting All Saints Day on Nov. 1.
In 1521, Roman Catholic Jesuit priest St. Peter Canisius, known as the "Hammer of Protestantism," was born in Nijmegen, Holland. He led the Counter-Reformation in German lands.
In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River.
In 1620, Samuel de Champlain sailed for Canada, accompanied by his wife.
In 1794, Antoine Lavoisier, the father of modern chemistry, was executed on the guillotine during France's "Reign of Terror."
In 1828, Henri Dunant, founder of the Red Cross, was born in Geneva.
In 1882, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Assiniboia and Athabaska were formed as districts of the Northwest Territories.
In 1886, Coca-Cola was served for the first time, at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta.
In 1902, a volcanic eruption on the Caribbean island of Martinique destroyed the city of St-Pierre within minutes. Only two of the 30,000 inhabitants survived.
In 1906, the University of Alberta was founded in Edmonton.
In 1906, American desperado Bill Miner held up a CPR train in Kamloops, B.C. But Canada's first train robbery netted Miner only $15, and he was captured a few days later. The story inspired the 1983 film, "The Grey Fox."
In 1945 -- V.E. (Victory in Europe) Day. The Second World War ended in Europe with the unconditional surrender of all German land, sea and air forces. The surrender was signed the previous day by German envoys in a schoolhouse at Rheims, France.
In 1950, 10,000 people were forced out of the Red River Valley south of Winnipeg. An approaching flood caused $25 million in damage before the crisis ended on May 25.
In 1973, militant natives who had held the South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee for 10 weeks surrendered.
In 1974, the Conservatives and NDP defeated Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's minority Liberal government in a no-confidence motion brought against the budget in the House of Commons. The Liberals won a majority in the ensuing election.
In 1978, David R. Berkowitz pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courtroom to murder, attempted murder and assault in connection with the "Son of Sam" shootings that had terrified New Yorkers.
In 1982, Canadian Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve died in a racing accident in Belgium. He was 32.
In 1984, Canadian Forces Cpl. Dennis Lortie sprayed the Quebec National Assembly with machine-gun fire, killing three and wounding 13 before surrendering several hours later. He was sentenced to life in prison, but was paroled in 1995.
In 1984, the Soviet Union announced it would boycott the Los Angeles Olympics, charging the U.S. did not intend to ensure the athletes' security.
In 1986, the fourth supplement to the Oxford Dictionary was published. It included the words yuppie, self-service and security blanket.
In 1987, Ottawa unveiled the $1 coin. Made of nickel, copper and recycled tin, it was dubbed the loonie because of the loon engraved on its flip side.
In 1990, the Estonian parliament declared the birth of the Estonian Republic and dropped the words Soviet Socialist from its name.
In 1994, in Zurich, Canada beat Finland 2-1 in a shootout to win its first world hockey championship in 33 years.
In 1996, actress Julie Andrews turned down her Tony nomination for "Victor/Victoria" to protest her overlooked colleagues, including her husband, director Blake Edwards.
In 1996, South Africa's Constitutional Assembly voted 420-2 to approve a new constitution, completing the country's evolution from apartheid to democracy. The constitution included a bill of rights which banned discrimination based on race, gender or sexual orientation and established the right to adequate housing, food, water, education and health care.
In 1997, Calgary-based Bre-X Minerals filed for bankruptcy protection after losing most of its value when its Indonesian gold "find" was revealed to be a fraud.
In 2005, the new Canadian War Museum was officially opened in Ottawa.
In 2005, Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash became the first Canadian to win the NBA's most valuable player award. He was named MVP again in 2006.
In 2007, Andre Boisclair resigned as leader of the Parti Quebecois after a crushing electoral defeat and after only 18 months on the job.
In 2007, Northern Ireland's 12-member coalition government led by Protestant leader Ian Paisley and Catholic leader Martin McGuinness took office, heralding a new era after four decades of conflict that left 3,700 dead, and tens of thousands maimed.
In 2008, Vladimir Putin was overwhelmingly confirmed as Russia's new prime minister, a day after his hand-picked predecessor Dmitry Medvedev was sworn in as the country's new president.
In 2009, in what was called a Canadian first, doctors at the Hospital for Sick Children and Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto said they had performed a procedure on a fetus inside the womb to reverse heart failure before delivery.
In 2010, London's Harrods department store, controlled by Mohamed Al Fayed for the last 25 years, was sold to Qatar Holding for a reported C$2.2 billion. The company was the fifth owner since Henry Charles Harrod started the business as a small grocery shop in 1849.
In 2013, Jodi Arias was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2008 brutal stabbing and shooting death of her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in his suburban Phoenix home. The trial was a made-for-the-tabloids drama, garnering daily coverage by the cable news networks. (She was sentenced to life in prison.)
In 2018, a judge sentenced a young man who killed four people and injured seven others in La Loche, Sask. in January 2016 to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years. The teenager, sentenced as an adult, can't be named because he is appealing the sentence.
In 2018, President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Iran nuclear accord and abruptly restored harsh sanctions.
In 2018, Quebecor Inc. signed a deal to buy the remaining stake in Quebecor Media Inc. held by the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec for $1.69 billion.
In 2018, Seattle Mariners leftie James Paxton threw a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays to become just the second Canadian (Dick Fowler, 1945) to pitch one in the major leagues and the first to do it on Canadian soil.
In 2019, Federal Crown prosecutors stayed the breach-of-trust case against the military's former second-in-command, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman. The criminal case over alleged leaks of government secrets had been expected to play out during the fall federal-election campaign. The Crown said there was no reasonable prospect of conviction. Norman's lead lawyer, Marie Henein, praised the prosecutors' decision, saying they had "acted in the highest traditions of the bar." Norman was suspended as vice-chief of the defence staff with the R-C-M-P alleging he had leaked government secrets to a Quebec shipyard and a CBC journalist about a $700-million naval contract. The investigation culminated in 2018 with Norman being charged with breach of trust for allegedly trying to influence cabinet's decision-making around the contract to lease a temporary naval support ship from the shipyard.
In 2019, the union representing Canada's auto workers claimed partial victory after General Motors Canada announced its Oshawa, Ont., plant - slated to close at the end of December 2019 - would be converted to a part-stamping and autonomous vehicle testing facility. Unifor and GM Canada said the transition would cost $170 million and save 300 of the 2,600 union jobs at the plant, with the potential to grow and attract more jobs as the facility attracts new customers.
In 2019, veteran quarterback Ricky Ray announced his retirement. The 39-year-old was coming off a season-ending neck injury suffered while playing with the Toronto Argonauts. Ray has played 17 seasons of pro football, 16 in the CFL. Ray left the CFL as one of its most prolific passers. He stood second in career passing percentage (68.16 per cent), behind only Trevor Harris (70.36), who remained active with the Edmonton Eskimos.
In 2019, Jim Fowler, a naturalist who rose to fame on the long-running television show "Wild Kingdom," died at 89. A spokesperson for Mutual of Omaha, which sponsored the show, said Fowler died peacefully at his home in Norwalk, Connecticut, surrounded by family. The show debuted in 1963. Fowler began as an assistant and later took over from Marlin Perkins as host. He also made appearances with exotic animals on talk shows, including "The Tonight Show."
In 2020, Statistics Canada reported the country's economy lost nearly two-million jobs during the first full month of the COVID-19 lockdown. But despite the unemployment rate skyrocketing to 13.0 per cent in April, the news was still better than what economists had predicted. Financial markets data firm Refinitiv said on average, economists had expected the loss of four million jobs and an unemployment rate of 18 per cent.
In 2020, Magician Roy Horn of the famed Las Vegas act Siegfried & Roy died of COVID-19 complications. Horn, who was 75, announced in April he'd tested positive for the virus. Horn was critically injured when one of the act's white tigers attacked during a performance at the Mirage hotel-casino in 2003. The attack ended the long-running production that attracted sold out crowds. Siegfried Fischbacher said the world has lost one of the greats of magic and he had lost his best friend. The two first teamed up in 1957.
In 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reopened Canada's embassy in Kyiv in an unannounced visit to Ukraine, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in person for the first time since Russia began its invasion in late February. Appearing with Zelenskyy at a news conference, Trudeau expressed unwavering support for the embattled country. He also announced $50 million in new Canadian military support for Ukraine, including drone cameras, satellite imagery, small arms and ammunition, as well as funding for demining operations.
In 2023, the federal government said it was expanding a project it launched during the pandemic to offer temporary workers in the agriculture and food sector a pathway to permanent residency. Family members of workers who make it into the program would be given open work permits so they can earn a living while they're in Canada.
In 2023, Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government passed a health reform bill that was designed to cut long wait lists and a surgical backlog of more than 200,000 cases.
In 2023, Canada expelled a Toronto-based Chinese diplomat who Canada's spy agency alleged was involved in a plot to intimidate Conservative MP Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong.
----
The Canadian Press