Today in History for Jan. 11:
In 1569, England's first state lottery was held to raise money for the construction of harbours.
In 1693, an earthquake at Catania, Italy, killed 60,000.
In 1759, America's first life insurance company was founded. It was called the Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of Presbyterian Ministers.
In 1787, Sir William Herschel discovered the moons of the planet Uranus.
In 1805, the Michigan Territory was created by an act of U.S. Congress.
In 1815, Sir John A. Macdonald's birth was registered in Glasgow, Scotland. While he was actually born the day before, on Jan. 10, this is the day commonly cited to commemorate the birth of sa国际传媒's first prime minister. The leading figure in promoting Confederation, Macdonald served as prime minister from 1867-73 and from 1878 until his death in 1891. He advocated reciprocal trade agreements with the United States, worked for strong bonds with Britain and oversaw the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
In 1842, William James, the American psychologist and philosopher and author of "The Varieties of Religious Experience," was born.
In 1861, Vassar College for women was incorporated at Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
In 1896, Sir William Stephenson was born in Winnipeg. After careers as a wartime fighter pilot, inventor and businessman, Stephenson headed British counter-espionage in the Western Hemisphere during the Second World War. His telegraphic address, "Intrepid," became popularized as his code name. Stephenson died in 1989.
In 1897, Britain and the United States concluded a treaty to arbitrate the boundary between Alaska and sa国际传媒.
In 1908, the Grand Canyon National Monument was created with a proclamation by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. (It became a national park in 1919.)
In 1909, Britain and the United States signed a treaty establishing the International Joint Commission. The commission, made up of delegates from sa国际传媒 and the United States, manages the waters of the Great Lakes with particular attention paid to pollution issues.
In 1913, the first sedan-type automobile, a Hudson, went on display at a New York automobile show.
In 1914, the "Karluk," one of three ships commissioned by Canadian explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, was crushed by ice in the Bering Sea near Herald Island, north of Siberia. Stefansson had left the ship before the accident. Capt. Robert Bartlett led the crew to safety on the vessel "Wrangel I" which struggled through ice to Alaska, where the survivors were rescued on Sept. 7, 1914. Sixteen died during the ordeal.
In 1922, the discovery of insulin, used in the treatment of diabetes, was announced in Toronto. It was discovered by a research team composed of Frederick Banting, Charles Best, James Collip and J.J. Macleod.
In 1928, English writer Thomas Hardy died at age 87.
In 1933, in Hamburg, Germany, the Altona Confession was issued by area pastors, offering scriptural guidelines for the Christian life, in light of the confusing political situation and the developing Nazi influence on the state church.
In 1935, aviator Amelia Earhart began a trip from Honolulu to Oakland, Calif., that made her the first woman to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean.
In 1942, Japan declared war against the Netherlands, the same day Japanese forces invaded the Dutch East Indies during the Second World War.
In 1943, the United States and Britain signed treaties relinquishing extraterritorial rights in China.
In 1944, Count Galeazzo Ciano, son-in-law of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, and four others were executed in Verona for treason.
In 1947, the Canadian government lifted price controls on a wide list of goods, but retained controls on food, clothing, fuel and rent.
In 1949, San Diego, Calif., had the first snowfall in its 99-year weather history.
In 1964, American Surgeon General Luther Terry issued the first U.S. government report saying smoking may be hazardous to health.
In 1973, a bill to extend a ban on capital punishment for five years was introduced in the Commons. The first ban had been in effect from 1967-72. The bill received Commons approval on Oct. 24, 1973. Parliament extended the ban in 1976 and 1987.
In 1977, France created an international uproar by arresting, then releasing, Abu Daoud, a PLO member suspected of involvement in the slaying of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
In 1982, the CBC moved its national news to 10 p.m. from 11 p.m. and introduced "The Journal." The landmark show signed off for the last time on Oct. 30, 1992.
In 1983, Nikolai Podgorny, former Soviet president (1965-77), died at age 79.
In 1986, Canadian Gareth Wood was one of three explorers to reach the South Pole on foot. The group was retracing the route followed by Robert Scott in 1912.
In 1987, Norman (Baby) Yack, sa国际传媒's bantamweight boxing champion from 1930-38, died at age 71.
In 1989, the Charles Dubin inquiry into drugs in amateur sports, the result of the Ben Johnson scandal at the 1988 Olympics, opened in Toronto.
In 1989, after a protracted session at a conference in Paris, 149 countries, including sa国际传媒, condemned chemical warfare and promised to work toward an international agreement to forever outlaw the use, production or stockpiling of chemical weapons.
In 1992, Rita Johnston announced her resignation as leader of the sa国际传媒 Social Credit party in Vancouver.
In 1993, Henry Birks and Sons filed for bankruptcy protection. The jewelry chain eventually closed 34 stores across sa国际传媒 and sold its remaining 39 stores to an Italian company.
In 1994, Robert Bourassa stepped down as premier of Quebec, and was replaced by Daniel Johnson.
In 1995, a tentative deal was announced in the 103-day-old NHL players' lockout. Players ratified the contract two days later, after which Commissioner Gary Bettman announced a 48-game season would start on Jan. 20.
In 1995, Dylex, sa国际传媒's largest clothing retailer, announced plans to close 200 stores and slash 1,800 jobs after filing for bankruptcy protection.
In 1999, former Newfoundland premier Clyde Wells was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland.
In 1999, 44-year-old Nancy Kidd, a Toronto-Dominion Bank employee, was shot dead during an armed robbery at the bank's branch in Brampton, Ont. She was the first Canadian bank employee killed in a robbery since 1981.
In 2001, Lucien Bouchard announced his resignation as Quebec premier and Parti Quebecois leader.
In 2002, Ford Motor Co. announced it would close five assembly plants, including an Ontario truck plant in Oakville, Ont. This eliminated 12,000 jobs in sa国际传媒, the U.S and Mexico. It also announced it would no longer produce the Lincoln Continental luxury car, which it began making in 1940.
In 2005, another confirmed case of mad cow disease was discovered in sa国际传媒, the third in just over a year. But it was the first case of an animal infected after a feed ban was implemented in 1998, designed to prevent further cases.
In 2007, Real Madrid star David Beckham signed a five-year deal with the L.A. Galaxy of Major League Soccer. Industry experts cited the deal to be worth more than US$250 million in salary and commercial endorsements.
In 2007, former Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam was sentenced to life in prison for genocide and other crimes committed during his bloody, iron-fisted rule.
In 2008, Bank of America said it would buy Countrywide Financial for US$4.1 billion in stock in a deal rescuing America's biggest mortgage lender.
In 2008, five-time Olympic medallist sprinter Marion Jones was sentenced to six months in prison for lying to federal prosecutors about her steroid use and her role in a cheque-fraud scam.
In 2008, Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, died in New Zealand. He was 88. Hillary and his Nepalese mountain guide, Tenzing Norgay, reached the summit in 1953. After Everest, Hillary pioneered a new route to the South Pole. But despite his achievements, he always described himself as an ordinary beekeeper.
In 2009, philanthropist Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman, an RCAF pilot during the Second World War, a pioneer in sa国际传媒鈥檚 oil and gas industry and best known for bringing the NHL to Calgary, died at age 86.
In 2009, an Indonesian passenger ferry sank in a storm with about 250 passengers and 17 crew, 50 kilometres off western Sulawesi.
In 2010, former NBA star Jayson Williams pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated assault for accidentally shooting his limousine driver Costas Christofi to death in 2002. (On Feb. 23, he was sentenced to five years in prison.)
In 2010, former Major League Baseball player Mark McGwire finally admitted to what was widely speculated - that he had used steroids for a decade, including when he hit 70 homers in 1998.
In 2012, Dutchman Joran van der Sloot pleaded guilty in Peruvian court to the 2010 murder of 21-year-old business student Stephany Flores, who he met at a Lima casino. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison. (He was also suspected in killing 18-year-old Natalee Holloway, who on Jan. 12 was declared legally dead by an Alabama judge, more than six years after the teenager vanished on the Caribbean island of Aruba.)
In 2014, Ariel Sharon, the Israeli general and prime minister who was one of the country's most iconic and controversial figures, died eight years after suffering a stroke that left him in a coma. He was 85.
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In 2018, in a closed meeting with bipartisan lawmakers, U.S. President Donald Trump was reported to have questioned why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and "shithole countries" in Africa rather than from places such as Norway. Trump was widely criticized for the vulgar slur while the African Union demanded a retraction and an apology.
In 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed sa国际传媒 had granted asylum to an 18-year-old Saudi woman who fled alleged abuse and holed up in Thailand. Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun barricaded herself in an airport hotel room after she was stopped at a Bangkok airport by immigration police who denied her entry and seized her passport. She landed in Toronto the next day.
In 2019, three people were killed in Ottawa after a city double-decker bus, on an express route from downtown to the suburb of Kanata, plowed into Westboro station. The roof of the shelter cut through the right side of the bus's upper deck. The victims were identified as Bruce Thomlinson, 56, Judy Booth, 57, and Anja Van Beek, 65.
In 2020, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said a military investigation concluded that missiles fired due to human error caused the crash of a Ukraine International Airlines plane. A military statement added the plane was mistaken for a hostile target after it turned toward a sensitive military centre of the Revolutionary Guard.
In 2020, health authorities in the central Chinese city of Wuhan reported the first death from a new type of coronavirus. It would later become known as COVID-19.
In 2022, a federal judge said RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki flouted the law. Justice Jocelyne Gagne said Lucki failed to respond promptly to a watchdog report about alleged spying on anti-oil protesters. In her decision, Gagne said Lucki breached her duty under the RCMP Act by not submitting a response to the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission's interim report on the spying allegations "as soon as feasible.'' The ruling was a victory for the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, which argued there was a culture of complacency in the RCMP.
In 2022, a 101-year-old Metis war veteran was being remembered for his powerful legacy. Louis Roy died at a long-term care home in the northern Saskatchewan village of Ile-a-la-Crosse. He was one of the oldest veterans of the Second World War. Granddaughter Glenda Burnouf said Roy was a wealth of knowledge for her. Roy, who could speak Cree, English and French, served in the Saskatoon Light Infantry in England, Africa and Italy and later worked as a carpenter.
In 2023, "Embers'' was introduced as the new name for the Brownies branch of the Girl Guides of sa国际传媒. The organization made the decision to change the branch name after determining its previous name dissuaded some racialized girls and women from joining the outdoor adventure and activity group. CEO Jill Zelmanovits said current and former members chose "Embers'' in an online vote over "Comets.''
In 2024, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment named veteran sports and broadcasting executive Keith Pelley as its new president and CEO. Pelley had previously served as president of Rogers Media, the Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, TSN and the CFL's Toronto Argonauts.
In 2024, six-time Super Bowl winning coach Bill Belichick and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft confirmed reports Belichick is leaving the team. The 71-year-old's departure ended his 24-year tenure as the architect of the most decorated dynasty of the league's Super Bowl era. Belichick teamed up with quarterback Tom Brady to lead the Patriots to six Super Bowl victories, nine AFC titles and 17 division championships.
In 2024, former federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent died at the age of 87. Broadbent led the party for more than 14 years before stepping down in 1989. Broadbent, who was born in Oshawa, Ont., served as a member of Parliament for a riding in the area for 21 years, leading the federal NDP from 1975 to 1989.
In 2024, the sa国际传媒 Association of Chiefs of Police gathered with representatives from several departments at RCMP headquarters in Surrey to tout the introduction of body-worn cameras that would soon be worn by thousands of officers. RCMP Chief Superintendent Holly Turton said between 10,000 and 15,000 body cameras were set to be deployed across sa国际传媒 after field testing in Alberta and elsewhere.
In 2024, Meta offered $51 million to settle a class action lawsuit in four Canadian provinces. The lawsuit was launched over the use of some Facebook users' images in advertising on the social media site without their knowledge.
In 2024, the United States and British militaries launched a massive retaliatory strike against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, attacking more than a dozen sites used by the group. In a statement, U.S. President Joe Biden said sa国际传媒, along with other countries, supported the strikes. Biden said the strikes were in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea.
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The Canadian Press