Category: Éphémérides (anglais)

Earliest traceable patient, a 55-year-old man, develops symptoms of a novel coronavirus (Covid-19) in Wuhan, China.

Lucien Bouchard struck by flesh-eating bacteria; doctors will be forced to amputate his left leg.

Benazir Bhutto named 1st female Prime Minister of a Muslim country (Pakistan).

American tennis icon Chris Evert wins her 1,000th career professional match.

“Beverly Hills Cop” directed by Martin Brest and starring Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold premieres in Los Angeles.

“Tootsie” directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange premieres in Hollywood.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono release “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” in US.

Rosa Parks, a black seamstress in Montgomery, AL, refused to give up her seat to a white man. Mrs. Parks was arrested marking a milestone in the civil rights movement in the U.S.

Hugh Hefner publishes 1st edition of Playboy magazine, featuring Marilyn Monroe as the magazine’s 1st centerfold.

In Denmark, it was announced that the first successful sex-change operation had been performed.

Leningrad mayor Sergey Kirov is assassinated and Joseph Stalin uses it as an excuse to begin his Great Purge of 1934-38.

Game of Bingo invented by Edwin S Lowe.

The Boston Bruins beat fellow expansion Montreal Maroons, 2-1 at Boston Arena; first NHL game to be played in the United States

Ford Motor Co. began using a new movable assembly line that ushered in the era of mass production.

The first drive-in automobile service station opened, in Pittsburgh, PA.

1st Israeli kibbutz founded, Deganya Alef.

Cinema Omnia Pathe, world’s 1st cinema, opens (Paris)

“The Great Train Robbery”, the 1st Western film, released.

Sherlock Holmes first appears in print in “Study in Scarlet” by Arthur Conan Doyle.

UNESCO adds Belgian beer to its Cultural Heritage List

Exxon and Mobil sign a USD$73.7 billion agreement to merge, thus creating ExxonMobil, the world’s largest company.

“Schindler’s List”, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, and Ralph Fiennes, premieres in Washington, D.C. (Academy Awards Best Picture 1994).

Czech tennis star Ivan Lendl is first player to make over $10 million in career earnings.

“Thriller”, 6th studio album by Michael Jackson is released (Grammy Award Album of the Year 1984, best-selling album of all time, Billboard Album of the Year 1983).

The motion picture “Ghandi” had its world premiere in New Delhi.

Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” released, sells 6 million copies in 2 weeks.

The Folies Bergère stages its first revue in Paris.

The first-ever international football match takes place at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, between Scotland and England.

“Rolling in the Deep” single is released by Adele (Billboard Song of the Year 2011, Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year 2012).

Expos pres Claude Brochu agrees to buy club from Charles Bronfman.

Bill Gates adopted the name Microsoft for the company he and Paul Allen had formed to write the BASIC computer language for the Altair.

Atari announces the release of Pong, the first commercially successful video game.

Trans-Canada Airlines DC-8F with 111 passengers and 7 crew crashes in woods north of Montreal 4 minutes after takeoff from Dorval Airport; there are no survivors; no satisfactory explanation to Canada’s worst air disaster.

Great Britain & France decide to jointly build the Concorde supersonic airliner.

The U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution that called for the division of Palestine between Arabs and Jews.

Montreal Canadiens beat Toronto 7-1 in the first hockey game played in the new (old) Montreal Forum.

Sir James Jay invents invisible ink.

British boxer Tyson Fury beats Ukrainian Vladimir Klitschko by unanimous decision to win WBA, WBO, IBF, IBO, The Ring magazine and lineal heavyweight titles; ends Klitschko’s 9 year reign as champion.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” 1st of the Hobbit film series, directed by Peter Jackson, starring Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen, premieres in Wellington, New Zealand.

WikiLeaks released to the public more than 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables. About 100,000 were marked “secret” or “confidential.”

Margaret Thatcher resigned as prime minister of Britain.

Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci arrived in New York after escaping her homeland through Hungary.

Bobby Orr plays his last game for the Boston Bruins.

Montreal Symphony Orchestra gives first performance.

NHL goalie Georges Vézina collapses in a game; dies of tuberculosis 4 months later; tended goal for the Canadiens 1910-25 without missing a game; Canadiens donated the Vézina Trophy to the NHL in his honour.

Pierre Corneille’s “Tite et Berenice” premieres in Paris.

Canada wins its first Davis Cup title, defeating Australia with wins by Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Davis Cup is the equivalent of the world championship by the nation in tennis.

Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce their engagement.

“Frozen”, the highest-grossing animated film of all time, starring Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell, is released.

The Canadian House of Commons approves a motion tabled by Prime Minister Stephen Harper recognizing the Québécois as a nation within Canada.

The first partial human face transplant (Isabelle Dinoire) is completed in Amiens, France.

The Beatles release their album “Magical Mystery Tour”.

Gordie Howe becomes the first hockey pro to play in 1,000 NHL games.

“The Mask of Zorro” directed by Fred Niblo and starring Douglas Fairbanks is shown in New York – 1st American superhero film.

Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel’s will establishes the Nobel Prize.

First streetcars in Montreal make their debut.

The College of Pennsylvania became the University of Pennsylvania. It was the first legally recognized university in America.

Race winner Max Verstappen celebrates on the podium during the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. With his 19th victory in 2023, 26-year-old Max Verstappen pushed back his own record for most wins in a single year.

DC superhero film “Aquaman” directed by James Wan starring Jason Momoa and Amber Heard premieres in London

Supersonic airplane the Concorde makes its last ever flight, returning to Bristol, England.

Queen Elizabeth II had volunteered to start paying taxes on her personal income.

Guy Lafleur announces he will retire from hockey; after 518 goals and 14 years of service with the Montreal Canadiens.

Viola Léger puts on her first performance of Antonine Maillet’s ‘La Sagouine’ for a Moncton radio station.

Fab Four have their first recording session under name The Beatles

“The Price Is Right” debuts on NBC.

1st polaroid camera (model 95) sold for $89.75 in Boston at the Jordan Marsh department store..

The motion picture “Casablanca” had its world premiere at the Hollywood Theater in New York City.

English archaeologist Howard Carter opens Tutankhamun’s virtually intact tomb in Egypt.

The National Hockey League (NHL) was officially formed in Montreal, Canada.

“Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll is published in America.

1st national Thanksgiving in America.

The New York Times names its “25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century (so far)”, with Denzel Washington at No. 1.

Louis Vuitton (LVMH) buys jeweler Tiffany & Co. for over $16 billion.

Lionel Messi becomes the UEFA Champions League all-time top scorer

Disney release “Frozen: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” (Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media 2015, 2014 Billboard Album of the Year).

The Czech parliament voted to split the country into separate Czech and Slovak republics beginning January 1, 1993.

Lech Wałęsa wins Poland’s first popular election.

René Lévesque sworn in as Premier of Quebec, replacing Robert Bourassa.

A Requiem Mass was held for John F. Kennedy at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.

Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” opened in London.

US Congress commission looks into “impeachment” of President Andrew Johnson. Three presidents have been impeached in U.S. history: Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998, and Donald Trump in 2019.

Marguerite Bourgeoys starts teaching in Montreal; the following year she will open Montreal’s first school in a converted stable.

Taylor Swift wins six awards at American Music Awards including Artist of the Decade.

Freddie Mercury died of complications from aids at his home in London’s Holland park aged 45.

Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald live on national television.

Wilt Chamberlain pulls down 55 rebounds in a game (NBA record).

Air Force One, 1st US Presidential airplane, christened.

US bombers based on Saipan begin 1st attack on Tokyo.

Anti-conscription riots in Montreal and Quebec City, after Mackenzie King’s announcement that 16,000 conscripts would be sent to England.

Charles Darwin, a British naturalist, published “On the Origin of Species.” It was the paper in which he explained his theory of evolution through the process of natural selection.

First train crosses the new Victoria Bridge to the south shore.

Sumatran rhino officially declared extinct in Malaysia after last known specimen, 25-year-old Iman, dies of cancer in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.

Susan Boyle releases her debut album “I Dreamed a Dream” (biggest selling album worldwide 2009, 2010 Billboard Album of the Year)

The first smartphone, the IBM Simon, is introduced at COMDEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Freddie Mercury, 45, confirms he has AIDS the day before he dies.

Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” released, sells 6 million copies in 2 weeks.

Apneist Jacques Mayol is the first man to reach a depth of 100m undersea without breathing equipment.

Cat Stevens releases his fourth studio album “Tea for the Tillerman” featuring singles “Wild World and “Father and Son”.

The first edition of “Life” was published.

Pierre de Coubertin launches plan for Modern Olympic Games.

The first jukebox made its debut in San Francisco, at the Palais Royale Saloon.

Anne Hébert marries Étienne Jonquet; first marriage on record in the colony.

Patrick Roy’s #33 jersey is retired by the Montreal Canadiens.

Angela Merkel becomes the first female Chancellor of Germany.

“Toy Story”, the first feature-length film created completely using computer-generated imagery.

Mike Tyson became the youngest to wear the world heavyweight-boxing crown. He was only 20 years and 4 months old.

Juan Carlos I proclaimed King of Spain as monarchy restored after 31 years

Beatles release “Beatles” (White Album), their only double album.

Lyndon B. Johnson sworn in as the 36th US President after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

U.S. President Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, TX. Texas Governor John B. Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson was inaugurated as the 36th U.S. President.

XVI Summer Olympic Games open in Melbourne, Australia; first to be staged in Southern Hemisphere and Oceania, as well as first to be held outside Europe and North America.

RCA Records make its best investment paying $35,000 to Sun Records for Elvis Presley’s contract.

In Paris, “Bolero” by Maurice Ravel was first performed publicly.

1st snowmobile patent granted to Carl Eliason (Sayner, Wisconsin)

Arthur Knight patents steel shaft golf clubs.

The SOS distress signal is adopted in Berlin.

English pirate Edward Teach (a.k.a. “Blackbeard”) was killed during a battle off the coast of North Carolina. British soldiers cornered him aboard his ship and killed him. He was shot and stabbed more than 25 times.