Category: Éphémérides (anglais)

Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church becoming the first pope to do so since 1415.

Princess Diana agrees to divorce her estranged husband, Prince Charles, calling it the saddest day of her life.

Gulf War ends after Iraq accepts a ceasefire following their retreat from Kuwait.

losing of the 15th Winter Olympic Games in Calgary. Canada won two Silver Medals, in Singles Figure Skating, as well as Bronze in Ice Dancing, Womens Downhill and Womens Super G.

26th edition of the Grammy Awards: Michael Jackson wins 8 Grammys, a record.

Final TV episode of “M*A*S*H” airs (CBS); record 125 million watch in the US.

U2 release their third studio album “War” featuring protest song “Sunday Bloody Sunday”.

Ottawa, Ontario, Parliament creates VIA Rail Canada Inc.; Crown corporation to operate passenger rail service.

Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada.

DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invents nylon.

US authorizes its third COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, a one-shot vaccine.

Dow Jones Index suffers its biggest points fall in history closing down 1,190.95 in New York amid concerns about COVID-19.

Britain’s House of Lords agreed to give a monarch’s first-born daughter the same claim to the throne as any first-born son. This was the end to 1,000 years of male preference.

17th Winter Olympics end in Lillehammer, Norway; Canada takes home three Golds – Myriam Bédard for Biathlon (2) and Jean-Luc Brassard for Moguls Freestyle Skiing.

Singer James Brown is released from prison.

Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder record the single “Ebony & Ivory”.

Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones rock group is arrested by the RCMP and charged with possession of heroin with intent to traffic and possession of cocaine; police seize 22 grams of heroin, 5 grams of cocaine and narcotics paraphernalia; Richards is released on $25,000 bail; later found guilty, but released on condition the Stones play two benefit concerts for the blind.

New Orleans held its first Mardi Gras celebration.

Vienna, Austria, Ludwig van Beethoven premieres his Eighth symphony.

Henry IV crowned King of France.

Saudi Arabia bars overseas pilgrims from accessing religious sites of Mecca and Medina because of COVID-19 fears for 1st time in living memory.

City of Venice in Italy introduces a day visitors tax.

84th Academy Awards: “The Artist” wins five Oscars and becomes the first silent film to win since 1927.

Terrorist bomb explodes at World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring over 1,000.

Dallas Cowboys fire coach Tom Landry after a 29-year career.

Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album goes #1 and stays #1 for 37 weeks.

Beatles release “Beatles Again” aka “Hey Jude” album.

Adolf Hitler opens first factory for production of the Volkswagen – the People’s Car in Saxony, Germany.

New York City installed traffic lights.

Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.

Winter Olympics: Marit Bjoergen (Norway) becomes the most successful winter athlete of all time (15 medals) with gold in the 30k cross country.

Switzerland’s 1st legal brothel opens in Zurich.

Silver speculator Bruce McNall, hockey star Wayne Gretzky and entertainer John Candy jointly buy CFL Toronto Argonauts; Gretzky and Candy are later financially embarrassed by the bankruptcy of McNall.

People Power Revolution: President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos flees the nation after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the Philippines’ first woman president.

Cassius Clay, a 7-1 underdog, knocks out Sonny Liston in the 7th round to become World Heavyweight Boxing Champion for the first time; later known as Muhammad Ali.

Beatles release their 1st single in US “Please Please Me”.

The New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens played in the first hockey game to be televised in the U.S. The game was aired on W2WBS in New York with one camera in a fixed position. The Rangers beat the Canadiens 6-2.

Austrian immigrant Adolf Hitler gets German citizenship.

In New York City, the first pneumatic-powered subway line was opened to the public.

Washington DC, Samuel Colt patents the first revolving barrel multishot firearm.

Russia attacks the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Vladimir Putin announced this military operation, in the Donbas region, to “demilitarize the country”.

United Nations-backed COVAX initiative begins delivering vaccines to middle and low income countries with first AstraZeneca shipment to Ghana.

Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein found guilty of rape and a criminal sexual act in landmark case that ignited #MeToo movement.

Men’s big air snowboarding event makes Olympic debut at Pyeongchang; Canada’s Sébastien Toutant is inaugural gold medallist.

Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba due to ill health after nearly fifty years.

Cuba’s parliament named Raul Castro president. His brother Fidel had ruled for nearly 50 years.

Britain’s Prince Charles announces engagement to Lady Diana Spencer.

Beatles begin filming “Help” in Bahamas.

The first nylon bristle toothbrush was made. It was the first time that nylon yarn had been used commercially.

The Nazi Party is founded.

In Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an area was leased to the U.S. for a naval base.

Tiger Woods had a near fatal car accident south of Los Angeles, injuring both legs.

First major COVID-19 outbreak in Europe in Italy with 152 cases and three deaths, prompting emergency measures, locking down 10 towns in Lombardy.

Hip Hop artist Eminem releases his first major record album ‘The Slim Shady LP’ (Grammy 2000 – Rap album).

Goaltender Patrick Roy makes his NHL debut for the Montreal Canadiens.

First presentation of Juno Awards to honour the best Canadian recording artists in Toronto, Ontario; the award is named after CRTC Chairman and later CBC/SRC President Pierre Juneau.

Luciano Pavarotti makes his debut at the Vienna State Opera in “La traviata”.

US Marines raise American flag on top of Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima. Photo of which by Joe Rosenthall later became iconic, inspiring the Marine Corps War Memorial sculpture.

Walt Disney’s animated movie “Pinocchio” was released.

Rotary Club founded by lawyer Paul Percy Harris and three others in Chicago, Illinois.

The U.S. acquired control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million.

“The Times” of London publishes world’s 1st classified ad.

Johannes Gutenberg prints his first Bible (estimated date).

Wife of drug cartel boss “El Chapo” Emma Coronel Aispuro arrested in the US on drug trafficking charges and conspiring to free her husband from prison

US wins Olympic women’s ice hockey gold medal for the first time in 20 years with a 4-3 shootout victory over Canada in Pyeongchang.

Jay-Z becomes 1st rapper to be inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Dolly the Sheep, world’s first cloned mammal (from an adult cell) is announced by the Roslin Institute in Scotland.

Health Canada project finds traces of cigarette smoke compounds in fetal hair; first biochemical proof that even offspring of non-smoking mothers are affected by passive smoke.

Czech brothers Anton & Peter Stastny score 8 points each in a game for the NHL Quebec Nordiques.

Miracle on Ice: In Lake Placid, New York, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4-3.

Rock group Genesis release their 1st record “Silent Sun”

Elvis Presley has his first hit in Billboard’s top 10: Heartbreak Hotel.

1st artificial rabbit used at a dog race track (Emeryville, California).

“Lady Windermere’s Fan” by Oscar Wilde premieres at St James Theatre, London.

Organized baseball’s first game was played in San Francisco, CA.

Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa-2 touches down on asteroid Ryugu on mission to collect rock samples.

The Legend of Zelda, the first game of The Legend of Zelda series, was released in Japan on the Famicom Disk System.

Malcolm X was assassinated in New York City at the age of 39 by assassins identified as Black Muslims.

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is incorporated.

The Chicago White Sox and NY Giants play their first night baseball exhibition game.

1st issue of “New Yorker” magazine published.

Quebec the first province to establish government control of liquor; for a period of time Quebec is the only jurisdiction in North America with no prohibition of alcohol.

The first telephone book is issued in New Haven, Connecticut.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish “The Communist Manifesto” in London.

Kristen Stewart is the first American actress to win a French César Award as Best Supporting Actress for “Clouds of Sils Maria”.

Marie-Philip Poulin scores in overtime to lead Canada to a 3-2 win over the US and 4th consecutive Olympic women’s ice hockey gold medal at the Sochi Winter Games.

During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the club ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 300 others.

Quebec’s Czech rookie brothers Peter and Anton Stastny each score first career NHL hat-tricks in Nordiques’ 9-3 win at Vancouver; Peter adds 3 assists and Anton 2

US astronaut John Glenn launched him into earth orbit in Mercury capsule Friendship VII; first American.

Jimi Hendrix (16), rock and roll guitarist, plays his first gig in the Temple De Hirsch synagogue basement, Seattle. He is fired from the band after the 1st set due to “wild” playing.

Government issues Canada’s first Family Allowance cheques.

Batman & Robin comic strip premiers in US newspapers.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened in New York City.

Rossini premieres his opera The Barber of Seville in Rome.

Fidel Castro resigned the Cuban presidency. His brother Raul was later named as his successor.

Patrick Roy reaches 300 victories as the NHL Avalanche beat Edmonton Oilers 7-5; second youngest goaltender and 12th overall to reach the mark.

The Soviet Union launched the Mir space station.

Canned & bottled Cherry Coke introduced by Coca-Cola.

Gaetan Boucher wins 2 Gold (1000m & 1500m) and a Bronze medal in Speedskating at Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo.

US 5th Fleet launches invasion of Iwo Jima against the Japanese with 30,000 US Marines.

1st prize inserted into a Cracker Jack box.

Thomas Alva Edison patented a music player (the phonograph).