Today in History for May 15:
In 1248, Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden laid the cornerstone for a cathedral in Cologne, Germany. The Gothic masterpiece, which was not completed until 1880, was hit 14 times by bombs during the Second World War but did not collapse. Today it is a UNESCO world heritage site.
In 1556, Protestant leader John Knox appeared at the Church of Blackfriars in Edinburgh to face charges of heresy. The Catholic bishops had hoped to humble him. Instead he turned the tables and scored a stunning triumph. He later led the Reformation in Scotland.
In 1718, James Puckle, a London lawyer, patented the world's first machine-gun.
In 1800, Britain's King George III escaped two assassination attempts in one day.
In 1814, during the war of 1812, about 500 U.S. troops crossed the border into Canada from Erie, Pa., and destroyed the town of Port Dover.
In 1879, a protective tariff was adopted by Canada as national policy.
In 1885, the North-West Rebellion ended when Metis leader Louis Riel surrendered in Batoche, Sask.
In 1912, the boundaries of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec were extended.
In 1919, the Winnipeg General Strike began and the city was paralyzed for about six weeks. An armed charge by the North West Mounted Police on June 21, which became known as "Bloody Saturday," killed one and injured 30, with one of the injured later dying of gangrene. The Robson Commission, which later investigated the walkout by 30,000 workers, found it had been aimed only at improving wages and labour's bargaining position. But most government bodies feared a Bolshevik revolution was brewing. A number of labour leaders were jailed under wartime sedition laws, which were not repealed until 1936.
In 1930, registered nurse Ellen Church, the first airline stewardess, went on duty aboard an Oakland-to-Chicago flight operated by Boeing Air Transport (a forerunner of United Airlines).
In 1940, the first nylon stockings went on sale in Wilmington, Delaware, where 780,000 pairs were sold the first day. The material was developed by a scientist at DuPont, which is based in Wilmington.
In 1941, New York Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio began his record 56-game hitting streak with a single off Edgar Smith of the Chicago White Sox.
In 1944, 14,000 Jews from Munkacs, Hungary, were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi occupied Poland.
In 1948, the day-old state of Israel was attacked by Transjordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.
In 1956, an RCAF airplane crashed into the Grey Nuns' Home for the Aged at Orleans, Ont., killing 15 people, including 11 Roman Catholic nuns.
In 1957, Britain detonated its first atomic bomb in the Pacific.
In 1970, the International Olympic Committee expelled South Africa. The ban was lifted in 1993 after South Africa moved toward a multi-racial democracy.
In 1972, U.S. Democratic presidential candidate George Wallace was shot and left paralyzed while campaigning in Maryland.
In 1988, Soviet troops began their withdrawal from Afghanistan, almost nine years after their invasion.
In 1991, French President Francois Mitterrand appointed Edith Cresson to be the country's first female prime minister.
In 1992, Olympia and York Developments asked the courts for bankruptcy protection for its Canadian properties. The world's largest commercial landlord had been hit hard by declining real estate prices.
In 1995, China conducted an underground nuclear test, just days after it had agreed to an extension of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
In 2006, the U.S. restored full diplomatic relations with Libya.
In 2006, Iraqi officials formally charged Saddam Hussein with crimes against humanity, including the torture of women and children, murder and the illegal arrest of 399 people in a crackdown against Shiites in the 1980's. He was later executed.
In 2007, Reuters Group PLC and Thomson Corp. agreed on terms for a merger to create one of the world's largest financial news providers.
In 2011, nearly all of the 7,000 residents of Slave Lake, Alta. had to flee when two wind-whipped wildfires damaged or destroyed a third of the town. There were no reports of deaths or injuries. (In November, the Alberta government announced that arson was the cause of the forest fire and turned the file over to the RCMP.)
In 2018, Seattle Mariners All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano was suspended 80 games for violating baseball's joint drug agreement. Cano tested positive for Furosemide, a diuretic.
In 2018, Washington State Court of Appeals ruled that photographs from the scene of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's 1994 death will not be made public.
In 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was at the table in Paris as a dozen countries, Facebook, Google and Twitter vowed to work to keep internet platforms from being used to spread hate, organize extremist groups and broadcast terror attacks. The guidelines dubbed the "Christchurch Call'' were named for the New Zealand city where 51 people were killed in a March attack on mosques that was broadcast live on Facebook. The tech companies committed to measures to prevent the spread of terrorist or violent extremist content.
In 2020, Slovenia became the first European country to proclaim an end to its COVID-19 outbreak, saying the virus was under control and there was no longer a need for extraordinary health measures. (The country would see a resurgence of the virus in October that continued into 2021.)
In 2020, Newfoundland and Labrador's education minister said schools in the province would remain closed for the rest of the school year over the COVID-19 pandemic. Brian Warr said students would continue their studies through Google Classroom and other online tools.
In 2020, German photographer Astrid Kirchherr, who shot some of the earliest and most striking images of the Beatles, died at 81.
In 2021, a little more than a year after he and his 13-year-old daughter were killed in a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of nine people, Kobe Bryant was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame. His widow, Vanessa Bryant, accepted the honour on his behalf, saying she was sure the L.A. Lakers legend was laughing in heaven, because she was about to praise him in public.
In 2022, David Milgaard, the victim of one of Canada's most notorious miscarriages of justice, died at 69. Milgaard was only 16 when he was charged in the murder of Saskatoon nursing aide Gail Miller and spent 23 years in prison on a wrongful conviction.
In 2024, a miniature poodle named Sage won the top prize at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. Sage bested six other finalists to claim the best-in-show award at the U.S.'s most illustrious canine event. More than 2,500 dogs from about 200 breeds and varieties entered the show.
In 2024, former federal Liberal leader, historian and writer Michael Ignatieff won the US$54,000 Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences. The Spanish prize organizers honoured Ignatieff for his critical reflections on major conflicts. Ignatieff has written more than 20 books and has taught and researched at many of the world's leading universities, including Harvard, Cambridge and Oxford.
In 2024, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the federal government was buying the historic Quebec Bridge that connects Quebec City with the south shore of the St. Lawrence. The deal the government reached with CN Rail will see Ottawa spend $1 billion over 25 years to repair, repaint and maintain the bridge. CN and the Quebec government retain responsibility and ownership of the rails and roadway on the longest cantilever bridge in the world, which is crossed by 33,000 vehicles a day.
In 2024, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times in the stomach and gravely wounded after a political event in the town of Handlova. Fico survived the attack and recovered after multiple surgeries.
In 2024, social media giants reached a deal with the B.C. government in an effort to keep people informed during emergency situations like wildfires. Meta, Snapchat, TikTok and X offered to provide B.C. and other emergency organizations with advertising support to relay safety information during the wildfire season. Meta cut off news feeds the previous year in response to the federal government's Online News Act, which forces companies to pay news organizations when their stories are shared online.
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The Canadian Press
