Today in History for March 7:
In 1274, Thomas Aquinas, considered one of the most significant theologians of all time, died. He's best known for his Summa Theologiae or A summation of Theological Knowledge.
In 1530, Pope Clement VII rejected Henry VIII's request to divorce Catherine of Aragon. Henry later declared himself supreme head of England's church.
In 1657, the sale of liquor to Canadian natives was prohibited by King Louis XIV of France.
In 1793, during the French Revolutionary Wars, France declared war on Spain.
In 1800, Hull, Que., was founded by Philomen Wright. The city on the north bank of the Ottawa River, opposite the national capital, was named after Hull, England, from where Wright's parents had emigrated.
In 1842, Queen's University opened at Kingston, Ont.
In 1854, American Charles Miller patented a sewing machine to stitch button holes.
In 1867, the New Brunswick legislature rejected Confederation.
In 1875, composer Maurice Ravel was born in Cibourne, France.
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received a U.S. patent for the telephone.
In 1878, the University of Western Ontario was incorporated in London.
In 1926, the first successful trans-Atlantic radio-telephone conversations took place between New York and London.
In 1936, Nazi Germany violated the "Treaty of Versailles" by occupying the Rhineland. Under the treaty, the region was to remain under control of the Allied nations for five to 15 years after the end of the First World War, with Germany forbidden to militarize the area. But after the last Allied troops, the French, withdrew in 1930, Adolf Hitler moved quickly to build up troops there.
In 1945, during the Second World War, U.S. soldiers captured and crossed the key bridge over the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany.
In 1946, "The Lost Weekend" was named Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Ray Milland won the Best Actor award for his role in that movie. Joan Crawford was named Best Actress for her role in "Mildred Pierce."
In 1963, the FLQ began its campaign of violence by hurling Molotov cocktails at three armouries.
In 1964, at a parish church in Rome, Pope Paul VI celebrated mass in Italian instead of Latin, implementing one of the most significant changes of the Second Vatican Council -- worship in the vernacular.
In 1965, the first U.S. combat troops landed in South Vietnam, at Da Nang.
In 1965, Roman Catholic churches in Canada celebrated mass in English, instead of Latin, for the first time.
In 1969, FLQ member Pierre-Paul Geoffroy pleaded guilty to charges of making and placing bombs, conspiracy, theft and possession of dynamite in connection with 31 bombings in the Montreal area. He received life sentences on each of 124 charges. Geoffroy said he made and planted bombs on orders of a member of the Front de Liberation du Quebec.
In 1972, Yukon Territory gave 13 square kilometres of land to the Northwest Territories as compensation for a surveying error made when the boundary between the two was drawn up. Commissioner Stuart Hodgson of the Northwest Territories announced the land, on the slopes of Mount Logan, would be used to create the Norah Willis Michener game preserve in honour of the wife of Gov. Gen. Roland Michener.
In 1977, an election victory by Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto sparked charges of vote-rigging and months of violence that ended when the army seized power in July and jailed Bhutto. He was later convicted of murder and executed.
In 1985, American Victor Farris, the holder of more than 200 patents, including one for paper milk cartons, died.
In 1988, television writers in the United States went on strike, shutting down production of television and movies for 22 weeks.
In 1990, the U.S. announced a more informative food-labelling system that would require the disclosure of the fat, fibre and cholesterol content of nearly all packaged foods.
In 1999, director Stanley Kubrick, died at age 70 just after completing his last film, "Eyes Wide Shut." He also directed such classic movies as "Dr. Strangelove," "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "A Clockwork Orange."
In 2000, Vancouver prosecutors charged Boston Bruins defenceman Marty McSorley with assault with a weapon for slashing Vancouver Canucks forward Donald Brashear on the head during a game the previous month. McSorley was later convicted and received a conditional discharge.
In 2000, the Vatican formally unveiled Pope John Paul's sweeping apology for 2,000 years of sins by the Roman Catholic church, which the Pope formally delivered on March 12. The document acknowledged sins against women, the poor, dissidents, ethnic groups and the unborn, but did not acknowledge sins by the church itself or its popes.
In 2004, an investiture ceremony was held in Concord, N.H., for V. Gene Robinson, the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop.
In 2005, more than 130 prisoners died in a prison fire in Higuey, Dominican Republic, after rival drug gangs set bedding ablaze and blocked a cell block entrance.
In 2006, Ontario's 9,000 college teachers and other staff walked off the job to push for smaller class sizes and more full-time faculty. The strike, affecting 150,000 students, ended 18 days later after teachers and college officials agreed to arbitration to settle their contract dispute.
In 2007, British MPs voted in favour of an elected House of Lords.
In 2008, Leon Greenman, the only Englishman sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, died in London at age 97.
In 2009, Hamilton MPP Andrea Horwath was elected leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party. Horwath, 46, became the first woman to lead the party after winning the four-candidate race on the third ballot. She succeeded Howard Hampton, who stepped down after 13 years as leader.
In 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Director. Her film "The Hurt Locker" also won in five other categories including the Best Picture.
In 2011, the CRTC approved telecom giant BCE's $1.3-billion purchase of CTVglobemedia in a move that further integrated Canada's broadcasting industry.
In 2011, Warner Bros. Television fired Charlie Sheen from the successful and highly lucrative sitcom "Two and a Half Men" following the hard-living actor's bouts of wild partying, repeated hospitalizations and a bitter media campaign against his studio bosses.
In 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he should have been aware of an "erosion of trust" between his office and former minister of justice Jody Wilson-Raybould over the SNC-Lavalin controversy, but he stopped short of apologizing to her. He said as prime minister and leader of the federal ministry, he should have been more aware. Wilson-Raybould claimed she was improperly pressured to stop a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin and was punished for her refusal to give in by being moved out of the Justice portfolio to Veterans Affairs in an early January cabinet shuffle. She resigned from cabinet shortly after the controversy erupted.
In 2020, the Women's world hockey championships in Nova Scotia were cancelled over the growing spread of the novel coronavirus. It was the second time the women's worlds were cancelled, after the 2003 tournament scheduled for Beijing was called off because of the SARS outbreak.
In 2020, former provincial cabinet minister Steven Del Duca was officially chosen as the new leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. Del Duca took over from former premier Kathleen Wynne, who stepped down after a dismal election result in 2018.
In 2020, Canadian health officials urged people to avoid cruise ship travel, after a cruise liner with 237 Canadians aboard reported 21 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
In 2020, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the entire region of Lombardy and a number of provinces in other regions had been put under lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19.
In 2021, radio and television personality Dick Smyth, whose commentary filled Canadian airwaves for decades, died at age 86. The veteran broadcaster's career spanned an array of influential stations, such as CKLW AM in Windsor, Ontario and 1050 CHUM in Toronto. Smyth had many critics, however, as his controversial opinions were often divisive. He died in Huntsville, Ontario.
In 2021, an epidemiologist in St. John's said there were multiple factors behind the COVID-19 outbreak that derailed Newfoundland and Labrador's election. Dr. Patrick Parfrey said the highly contagious COVID-19 variant that was first detected in the United Kingdom spread quickly among young people. He said those young people likely experienced few symptoms and had no idea they were carrying the virus. He also said those young people were often in situations where physical distancing is hard to enforce, such as after-school sports and activities.
In 2021, Carla Wallenda died at age 85. She was a member of ''The Flying Wallendas'' high-wire act and the last surviving child of the famed troupe's founder. The family said she died in Sarasota, Florida. Wallenda was the daughter of Karl Wallenda and began appearing in the family's act at an early age. She began topping the family's seven-person pyramid at age 15. She performed until she was 81, even after her father, a husband and other family members died in falls.
In 2021, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey included talk of racist attitudes toward their son, Meghan's thoughts of suicide, news that then-Prince Charles isn't taking his son's calls -- and a baby gender reveal. Meghan says when she was pregnant with son Archie, there were concerns and conversations about how dark the boy's skin might be. The couple refused to say who made the comments on the grounds that revealing the name would be "very damaging.'' Meghan said at one point she told Harry she didn't want to be alive anymore. She said when she went to a senior royal staffer to ask for help for her mental health, she was told it would be bad for the family if she did. The couple also revealed they're expecting a baby girl this summer. Meghan says it wasn't so much the royal family members themselves who treated her poorly, but the people behind the institution, saying the Queen has always been "wonderful'' to her. However, she does say some in the palace were willing to lie to protect other members of the family. Harry disputed rumours he intentionally blindsided his grandmother with his decision to step away from his royal duties, saying he has too much respect for Queen Elizabeth to do that. Harry reiterated that racism was "a large part'' of the reason the couple left Britain -- and he blamed what he called the "toxic'' British tabloid press.
In 2022, Canada won six medals at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, bringing its total haul to 12 so far. Tyler Turner from Campbell River, B.C., won Canada's first-ever Paralympic gold medal in snowboarding, Brian McKeever skied to his 14th victory and Natalie Wilkie from Salmon Arm, B.C. won the women's 15-kilometre cross-country ski race. Lisa DeJong of Sherwood Park, Alta., won silver in the women's snowboard cross race, Brittany Hudak from Prince Albert, Sask., won bronze in the women's 15-kilometre cross-country ski race and alpine skier Alana Ramsay won bronze in super combined.
In 2022, Netflix and TikTok suspended most of their services in Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
In 2022, the official global death toll from COVID-19 topped six million.
In 2022, a principal organizer of the "Freedom Convoy'' demonstration in Ottawa, Tamara Lich of Alberta, was released from an Ottawa jail on a $25,000 bond. She'd been held since her arrest Feb. 17 when police shut down the three-week occupation in the capital. Demonstrators were protesting a range of COVID-19 restrictions implemented by provincial and federal governments.
In 2024, the Calgary Stampede was banned from taking part in the city's 2024 Pride parade. Calgary Pride's communications manager said it's because of the decades of abuse some community members experienced at the hands of a former staff member at the Young Canadians School of Performing Arts. The school is operated by the Calgary Stampede Foundation. Phillip Heerema admitted he used his position at the school to lure and groom six boys into sexual relationships between 1992 and 2013.
In 2024, Sweden ended decades of neutrality and officially became the 32nd member of NATO. Concerns about Russian aggression in Europe spiked following Russia鈥檚 2022 invasion of Ukraine, prompting Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance.
In 2024, Ottawa police identified the six victims of a mass killing in the suburb of Barrhaven as members of a family from Sri Lanka and a friend also from Sri Lanka who was living with them. A 19-year-old Sri Lankan international student Febrio De-Zoysa faced six first-degree murder charges after two adults and four children were found dead in a south Ottawa home. Police said the children ranged in age from two months to seven years old. The children's mother and a 40-year-old man who was a family acquaintance were killed in the attack on March 6 in Barrhaven.
In 2024, Niagara Falls theme park Marineland was found guilty under Ontario's animal cruelty laws of three charges related to its care of black bears. A court found it guilty of failing to comply with three orders issued by the province's Animal Welfare Services related to the living conditions of three young black bears. An agreed statement of facts said Marineland kept the three young bears in cramped enclosures with no climbing structures or water features in June 2021.
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The Canadian Press
