Author: Buzznews

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.

World’s 1st penis 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.

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..

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

US President Donald Trump officially recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, announcing plans to move US embassy there.

NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.

Bruce Firestone heads group awarded new National Hockey League franchise, Ottawa Senators, for 1992-93 season; an original NHL team, the Senators started operating in 1917; but moved to St. Louis as the Eagles in 1934.

The worst mass shooting in Canadian history occurred when Marc Lépine gunned down 14 women at the University of Montreal’s school of engineering. The man then killed himself.

Simone de Beauvoir receives the Prix Goncourt prize in French literature.

Agnes McPhail 1890-1954 is elected to the House of Commons for the United Farmers of Ontario in the first election in which all Canadian women exercise their right to vote.

More than 1,600 people died when two munitions ships collided in the harbor at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Alphonse Desjardins opens the first credit union in North America, les Caisses populaires Desjardins.

London becomes the world’s first city to host licenced taxicabs.

13th Amendment of the United States Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery

First recorded appendectomy performed by Claudius Amyand at St George’s Hospital in London.

Arrest of Huawei Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou for possible violation of Iran sanctions in Canada.

Former NFL star O.J. Simpson is sentenced to 33 years in prison for kidnapping and armed robbery.

Quebec police arrest Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang chief Maurice ‘Mom’ Boucher on suspicion of the murder of two prison guards; fail to get a conviction one year later.

Astronauts begin repair of Hubble telescope in space.

Roberta Bondar, Marc Garneau, Steven Maclean, Kenneth Money, Robert Thirsk and Bjarni Tryggvason chosen as Canada’s first six astronauts for Space Shuttle work.

The Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe Trophy and Bill Masterson Trophy are all stolen from the NHL Hall of Fame; later recovered.

Historic bus boycott begins in Montgomery Alabama by Rosa Parks.

Prohibition ends in the US when 21st Amendment to the US Constitution ratified,

Hector Berlioz’s “Symphonique Fantastique” premieres in Paris.

The trial of France’s King Louis XVI began.

Christopher Columbus discovered Hispaniola (now Haiti).

Ownership group Seattle Hockey Partners led by billionaire businessman Davis Bonderman is unanimously granted an NHL license by the Board of Governors; to start play 2020-21 season at KeyArena.

US Supreme Court allows President Trump’s travel ban to come into effect for 6 mostly Muslim countries.

English rock group Led Zeppelin officially disbands, following the death of drummer John Bonham on September 25.

The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida.

The University of Toronto beats Toronto Parkdale, 26-6, in the 1st Grey Cup game, before 3,807 fans.

J. Ambrose O’Brien founds the Canadian Athletic Club; in 1917 will be a founding member of the NHL, as the Club de Hockey Canadien (CHC).

Britain’s Observer newspaper was first published.

Jean Racine’s “Alexandre le Grand” premieres in Paris.

Spotify say Drake the most streamed star of the 2010s with 28 billion streams.

Goalie Patrick Roy fired by Montreal Canadiens GM Réjean Houle; traded 3 days later to the Colorado Avalanche for Jocelyn Thibault.

“Do They Know It’s Christmas” single written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure and sung by Band Aid is released in the UK.

In Bhopal, India, more than 2,000 people were killed after a cloud of poisonous gas escaped from a pesticide plant. The plant was operated by a Union Carbide subsidiary.

Singer Presents…Elvis is a televised concert aired by NBC. It marked Presley’s return to live performance after seven years.

In Cape Town, South Africa, a team of surgeons headed by Dr. Christian Barnard, performed the first human heart transplant on Louis Washkansky. Washkansky only lived 18 days.

The Beatles meet future manager Brian Epstein.

Opening of the Autoroute des Laurentides from Montreal.

First train crosses the new Quebec Bridge.

Gillette patented the KC Gillette Razor. It was first razor to feature a permanent handle and disposable double-edge razor blades.