Today in History for Jan. 18:
In 1535, Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conquistador, founded Lima, Peru.
In 1562, the Council of Trent, a counter-reformation commission established by the Vatican and headquartered in the northern Italian city, reconvened after a decade-long break following the revolt of Protestant princes against Emperor Charles V. In the meantime, all hope of reconciliation between Roman Catholics and Protestants had vanished.
In 1778, English navigator Captain James Cook reached the Hawaiian Islands, which he dubbed the ``Sandwich Islands.''
In 1801, James Evans, who created the Cree alphabet, was born in Kingston-upon-Hull, England. The Methodist minister served in various missions in Upper Canada (now Ontario), learning Ojibwa and translating and printing various texts.
In 1815, Konstantin von Tischendorf, who discovered and deciphered the Codex Sinaiticus (a fifth-century manuscript of Paul's epistles), was born in Germany.
In 1854, the other half of one of the most important conversations in history was born. American engineer Thomas A. Watson was summoned by Alexander Graham Bell via the first telephone on March 10, 1876.
In 1882, A. A. Milne, the English author best known for his children's classic ``Winnie the Pooh,'' was born.
In 1904, Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier delivered perhaps the most misquoted speech in Canadian history. Laurier told the Canadian Club of Ottawa the 19th century was the century of the United States, then added, ``I think we can claim that it is Canada that shall fill the 20th century.'' To this day, Laurier is often quoted -- erroneously -- as saying, ``the 20th century belongs to Canada.''
In 1908, the Sovereign Bank, the first Canadian bank to advertise for business, closed its doors. Eventually, all depositors were paid off.
In 1911, the first landing of an aircraft on a ship took place as Eugene Ely landed his plane on the deck of the ``USS Pennsylvania'' in San Francisco Harbour.
In 1912, British explorer Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole. Delayed by sickness and bad weather, he and four companions arrived to learn they'd been beaten to the Pole by a month by Norwegian Roald Amundsen. Scott and his men died on the return journey.
In 1917, the Canadian government introduced income tax as a temporary wartime measure.
In 1919, the Paris Peace Conference to end the First World War opened in Versailles, France. The conference was charged with remaking the map of Europe as well as dealing with the devastation of the war.
In 1936, English novelist-poet Rudyard Kipling died at age 70. His writings reflected a romantic view of British imperialism -- his best-known works are ``The Jungle Book'' and ``Captains Courageous.''
In 1943, the Soviet Union announced it broke the Nazi siege of Leningrad that began in September 1941.
In 1949, Charles Ponzi, engineer of one of the most spectacular swindles in history, died destitute in the charity ward of a hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at age 66.
In 1950, Canadian auto racer Gilles Villeneuve was born in Berthierville, Que. He won six Formula One races for Ferrari before being killed in a crash during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix. In 1997, his son Jacques became the first North American to win the Formula One title.
In 1957, a trio of B-52's completed the first non-stop, round-the-world flight by jet planes, landing at March Air Force Base in California after more than 45 hours aloft.
In 1960, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker confirmed that Canada would control the use of nuclear weapons stored in this country. But Diefenbaker told the Commons that the nuclear weapons would be under U.S. ownership.
In 1967, Albert DeSalvo, who claimed to be -- but was never convicted of being -- the Boston Strangler, was convicted in Cambridge, Mass., of armed robbery, assault and sex offences. Sentenced to life in prison, he was stabbed to death by a fellow inmate in 1973.
In 1967, Yellowknife was named the capital of the Northwest Territories.
In 1971, the Quebec government required English-language schools in the province to teach French as a second language.
In 1972, Frank Moores became the first Progressive Conservative premier of Newfoundland. He held office until 1979.
In 1982, a British parliamentary committee reported that it would be proper for Parliament to adopt legislation revising the Canadian Constitution.
In 1982, four Thunderbird jet aircraft collided in flight over Indian Springs, Nev., during a close-formation drill, killing all four pilots, It was the worst accident in the history of the U.S. Air Force's precision flying team.
In 1982, the city of Los Angeles declared it was Bob and Doug McKenzie Day. The ``SCTV'' duo (played by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis) had a brief fling with stardom in the U.S. via their ``Great White North'' LP and ``Strange Brew'' movie.
In 1984, fire swept through an undersea coal mine at Takada, Japan, killing at least 83 people.
In 1985, Ontario Premier William Davis announced that a sports stadium with a retractable roof would be built in downtown Toronto at a cost of $150 million. The SkyDome, which opened in 1989, ended up costing $500 million. The stadium was renamed the Rogers Centre in 2005 after Rogers Communications Inc. acquired it for $25 million.
In 1987, Andre Bissonette was forced to resign as secretary of state for transport over an apparent $3 million land speculation deal in the minister's St. Jean-sur-Richleau riding linked to a federal defence project. He was later acquitted of criminal charges.
In 1988, residents of Prince Edward Island voted 59.4 per cent in favour of a bridge or tunnel connecting them to the mainland. The Confederation Bridge opened on May 31, 1997.
In 1990, Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry was arrested in an FBI sting operation on drug-possession charges. Barry was later convicted of a misdemeanour and served a brief jail term before regaining office.
In 1996, major league baseball approved regular-season inter-league play for the 1997 season, the first since 1900.
In 1998, Toronto Archbishop Aloysius Ambrozic was appointed a cardinal by Pope John Paul. He served for 16 years before announcing his retirement at the age of 76. Pope Benedict named Monsignor Thomas Collins -- Archbishop of Edmonton -- to lead the archdiocese of Toronto. (On. Jan 6, 2012, Collins was appointed a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI.)
In 2000, Industry Minister John Manley announced the federal government would kick in 25 per cent of an aid package for Canadian NHL teams. The rest of the money was to come from other levels of government and the league. But the offer touched off a storm of criticism and was withdrawn a few days later.
In 2001, Al Waxman, the ebullient, cherub-faced star of more than a thousand TV, radio, theatre and film performances, died of complications following heart bypass surgery. He was 65.
In 2001, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Saskatchewan farmer Robert Latimer must serve at least 10 years in prison for the second-degree murder of his 12-year-old severely disabled daughter in 1993. (On Dec. 6, 2010, he was granted full parole.)
In 2002, the Canadian dollar closed at a record low 62.02 cents US.
In 2002, a 10-year civil war in Sierra Leone was declared officially over. An estimated 50,000 people were killed and it shattered the country's economy.
In 2003, tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated in Canadian cities and around the world against a possible U.S.-led war on Iraq.
In 2004, Conrad Black announced the sale of his stake in Hollinger Inc. to a British firm headed by twin British tycoons, Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, for $600 million.
In 2010, Zakaria Amara, the main organizer of a plot to set off three massive bombs at the Toronto Stock Exchange and other high-profile targets in Ontario, was sentenced to life in prison. Earlier, Amara's accomplice, 22-year-old Saad Gaya, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The two were among 18 men and youths rounded up in 2006 and charged in what became known as the Toronto 18 terror plot.
In 2016, Suncor Energy reached a friendly takeover deal with Canadian Oil Sands after bumping up its all share offer by 12 per cent, bringing the total price tag to $4.24 billion, plus $2.4 billion in COS debt.
In 2018, Bruce McArthur, a 66-year-old self-employed landscaper, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the presumed deaths of Selim Esen and Andrew Kinsman, who disappeared from Toronto's gay village in 2017. (He was later charged with six more counts of first-degree murder after police discovered dismembered skeletal remains hidden at the bottom of large planters.)
In 2019, BuzzFeed reported that two unidentified law enforcement officials claimed U.S. President Donald Trump directed his personal attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress and that Cohen regularly briefed Trump and his family on the Trump Tower project in Moscow _ even as Trump said he had no business dealings with Russia. BuzzFeed said Cohen told special counsel Robert Mueller that Trump personally instructed him to lie about the timing of the project in order to obscure Trump's involvement.
In 2020, Newfoundland and Labrador was hit with what Environment Canada called was a record snowfall of 76.2 centimetres. That number broke a previous record of 68.4 centimetres that fell on April 5, 1999. The storm forced the closure of St. John's airport, and thousands of residents lost power.
In 2020, six major airports in Canada and the U.S. took precautionary measures involving travellers from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, telling them to inform a border service officer if they were experiencing flu-like symptoms.
In 2020, Buckingham Palace gave an unprecedented blessing to Harry and Meghan for their so-called royal resignations. The palace said they would no longer be called ``royal highness'' or receive public funds. A statement said they would also repay some 2.4 million pounds of taxpayers' money that was spent renovating their home near Windsor Castle.
In 2021, Transport Canada gave the green light for Boeing 737 Max jets to return to service in Canadian airspace. The jets were grounded worldwide in 2019 following two crashes -- one in the sea off Indonesia and one in Ethiopia. Hundreds were killed in the crashes, including 18 Canadians. Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the planes will be permitted to fly as long as they meet conditions Ottawa set out in December, including allowing pilots to disable a faulty warning system that was found to be central to the crashes.
In 2024, a planned 10-year investment, costing $36 billion, aimed to expand B.C.'s electrical system by the public energy utility, Crown-owned BC Hydro. Premier David Eby said the investment will see economic opportunities and a steady power supply brought to the province.
In 2024, Canada's financial intelligence agency sounded the alarm over illicit cash getting laundered through online gambling sites. In a newly published bulletin, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada said prospective money launderers had been buying prepaid cards with their shady cash and depositing the funds into gambling accounts.
In 2024, a recent cold snap in B.C. and on the Prairies put the spotlight on electricity grids in Canada and their dependability during extreme weather conditions. During the deep freeze, Alberta residents received an emergency alert urging them to reduce power use to avoid potential rotating blackouts.
In 2024, Kensington Palace said Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, was hospitalized after undergoing planned abdominal surgery and would remain at the private London Clinic for up to two weeks. Meanwhile, Buckingham Palace said 75-year-old King Charles would undergo a "corrective procedure" for an enlarged prostate.
In 2024, a 22-year-old man from Villagedale, N.S., faced three charges under the Forests Act for allegedly lighting the largest wildfire in the province's recorded history. The Barrington Lake fire that started southwest of Shelburne the previous May torched 23,000 hectares of land.
In 2024, the U.S. Justice Department said police officers who responded to the May 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, failed to treat it as an active shooter situation. The report identified “cascading failures” in the handling of one of the deadliest massacres at a school in American history. Nineteen children and two staff members died as police stood around in a hallway.
In 2024, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Nunavut Premier PJ Akeeagok and other signatories finalized what is formally called the "Nunavut Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement." The agreement transferred powers over public lands, waters and the non-renewable resources each contain to the territory and away from the federal government. It was the largest land transfer in Canadian history. The Northwest Territories and Yukon went through similar processes, known formally as devolution, years ago.
In 2024, Space-X launched Turkey's first astronaut along with astronauts from Sweden and Italy to the International Space Station. The Falcon rocket blasted off from Florida, carrying the three aviators and their escort, a former NASA astronaut. The two-week mission would cost each of their countries an estimated $55 million or more.
In 2024, hockey players in Newfoundland and Labrador would once again be lining up to shake hands after their games. Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador, the governing body for amateur hockey in the province, reversed a controversial decision to end the custom because it sometimes led to altercations.
----
The Canadian Press