Author: Buzznews

British General Election won by Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party in landslide win with 80 seat majority.

American Media Inc. publisher of “National Enquirer” admits paying hush money to mistresses of US President Donald Trump

Paul Martin becomes Prime Minister of Canada after resignation of Jean Chretien.

Jean Chrétien names Lise Thibault as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec; first woman and first handicapped person to hold the post.

“Rainman” directed by Barry Levinson and starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise premieres in New York (Best Picture 1989).

DC-8 crashes near Gander, Newfoundland; 258 die

Oiler Wayne Gretzky notches another NHL record, reaching his 50 goal mark in only 39 games.

“Saturday Night Fever”, a film starring John Travolta, premieres in NYC.

Arthur Ashe becomes 1st black to be ranked #1 in tennis.

Guglielmo Marconi sends the first transatlantic radio signal, from Poldhu in Cornwall to Newfoundland, Canada.

Opening of the Victoria Bridge to rail traffic, as first passenger train crosses the iron tubular structure.

1st Canadian coins circulated (1 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent & 20 cent).

Washington, DC, was established as the capital of the United States.

In Vienna, 22-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven received one of his first lessons in music composition from Franz Joseph Haydn.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg is named Time magazine’s Person of the Year

“Playboy” magazine publishes its last nude issue, features Pamela Anderson on the cover.

World’s first male sex organ transplant procedure by a team from Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.

Bernard Madoff arrested and charged with securities fraud in $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

More than 150 countries agreed at a global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan, to control the Earth’s “greenhouse gases.”

Muhammad Ali fought his last fight. He lost his 61st fight to Trevor Berbick.

“Magnum P.I.” starring Tom Selleck premieres on CBS.

Che Guevara speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. An unknown terrorist fires a mortar shell at the building during the speech..

Elvis Presley’s “Blue Hawaii” album goes #1 & stays #1 for 20 wks.

Joe DiMaggio (New York Yankees) announced his retirement from major league baseball. DiMaggio only played for the Yankees during his 13-year career.

Camilien Houde (right) re-elected Mayor of Montreal after release from Camp Petawawa.

“Mona Lisa” recovered 2 years after it was stolen from the Louvre Museum

France’s King Louis XVI goes on trial, accused of high treason and crimes against the state.

Voltaire’s “Brutus” premieres in Paris.

1st fully electric commercial plane, a DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver seaplane, completes test flight in Vancouver.

Bob Dylan is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature at a ceremony he does not attend in Stockholm.

Uruguay becomes the first country to legalize the growth, sale, and use of marijuana.

US President Barack Obama accepts the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.

“Out of Africa”, based on the book by Isak Dinesen, directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford premieres in Los Angeles (Best Picture 1986).

Expos trade Gary Carter to the New York Mets.

Superman: The Movie, directed by Richard Donner and starring Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman and Margot Kidder premieres at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C..

Lucasfilm Ltd. is founded as a film and television production company by George Lucas in San Francisco, California.

In Oslo, Norway, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the youngest person to receive the award.

Edward VIII signs Instrument of Abdication, giving up the British throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

Canadian Northern Railroad finishes building tunnel under Mount Royal.

The first Nobel prizes were awarded.

“Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain is first published in the UK and Canada.

Canada approves the Pfizer/ BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady breaks Peyton Manning’s record for most touchdown passes in NFL history (582).

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” directed by Rian Johnson, starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Adam Driver premieres in Los Angeles.

Funeral for French rock star Johnny Hallyday draws hundreds of thousands onto Paris streets.

“Brokeback Mountain” film released, directed by Ang Lee, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, based on story by Annie Proulx.

Britain’s Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their separation.

Lech Wałęsa wins Poland’s 1st direct presidential election in Poland.

Pope John Paul canonizes Marie-Marguérite d’Youville, founder, in 1755, of the Sisters of Charity of the Hôpital Général (Soeurs grises or Grey Nuns).

Montreal subway trains collide, killing one passenger and destroying 36 Metro cars.

Jim Morrison arrested on stage for disturbing the peace at the New Haven Arena, Connecticut, making him the 1st rock star to be taken into custody during a performance.

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” first Peanuts animated special premieres on CBS in the US.

“Lawrence of Arabia,” by David Lean had its world premiere in London.

First post office in Canada opens in Halifax.

The UK begins vaccinating for COVID-19 using the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine

With the second launch of the SpaceX Dragon, SpaceX becomes the first privately held company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft..

Mario Lemieux announced to the Pittsburgh Penguins that he planned to return to the National Hockey League (NHL) as a player at age 35. He would be the first modern owner-player in U.S. pro sports.

Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine declared the Soviet national government to be dead. They forged a new alliance to be known as the Commonwealth of Independent States. The act was denounced by Russian President Gorbachev as unconstitutional.

Flyers’ Ron Hextall becomes 1st goalie to actually score a goal.

Mafia mobster Frank Cotroni sentenced to 8 years in prison.

John Lennon is murdered by Mark David Chapman in front of The Dakota in New York City.

“The Deer Hunter”, starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep, premieres in Los Angeles (Academy Awards Best Picture 1979)

XVI Summer Olympic Games close in Melbourne, Australia; start of an Olympic tradition – amidst international tensions, athletes mingle together, parade.

US and Britain declare war on Japan, US enters World War II.

Université Laval receives a royal charter; founded by Bishop Laval in 1663 as the Seminary of Quebec; North America’s oldest French University.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s 7th Symphony in A, premieres in Vienna with Beethoven conducting.

Bob Dylan sells his entire songwriting catalog of more than 600 songs to the Universal Music Publishing Group for over $300 million

Naples’ pizza spinning given UNESCO intangible heritage status along with Germany’s organ music, Kyrgystan’s Kok boru and India’s Kumbh festival.

The Conservative Party of Canada is officially recognized after the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

Palestine Liberation Organization delegation lead by Yasser Arafat proclaims the State of Palestine, recognizing the existence of the State of Israel for the first time.

President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees Haiti.

“Star Trek: The Motion Picture” first movie of the series premieres directed by Robert Wise, starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.

Paul McCartney & Wings release “Band on the Run” in the UK.

Apollo 17 launched, the final manned lunar landing mission.

Jean Béliveau appointed Captain of the NHL Canadiens.

Imperial Japanese Navy with 353 planes attack the US fleet at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii, killing 2,403 people.

Canada the first of the Western allies to declare war on Japan, Finland, Hungary, and Rumania; shortly after Japanese bomb US base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. US, Britain and other allied countries follow the next day.

Swimmer Johnny Weissmuller set a world record in the 150-yard freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 25 and 2/5 seconds. He went on to play “Tarzan” in several movies.

Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. constitution becoming the first of the United States.

Benediction and opening of the Quebec Seminary.