Today in History for Feb. 20:
On this date:
In 1666, explorer Rene-Robert La Salle arrived in New France and settled at Montreal.
In 1725, the earliest recorded scalps were taken in New Hampshire, when white bounty hunters killed 10 sleeping natives.
In 1790, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II died. This left a leadership vacuum that eventually led to a series of revolutions that resulted in the end of the Christian empire.
In 1792, U.S. President George Washington signed an act creating the U.S. Post Office.
In 1887, future diplomat and governor general Vincent Massey was born in Toronto. He died Dec. 30, 1967.
In 1906, an appeal court upheld the conviction of a Woodstock, Ont., woman on a charge of practising voodoo.
In 1930, the federal government transferred responsibility for British Columbia's natural resources to the province.
In 1938, British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigned to protest the Munich Pact with Germany's Adolf Hitler.
In 1945, the federal government issued Canada's first family allowance cheques.
In 1958, Secretary of State Ellen Fairclough became the first female acting prime minister when John Diefenbaker was away campaigning in Newfoundland.
In 1959, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker cancelled the Avro Arrow jet program. The decision resulted in the layoff of nearly 14,000 people at the Avro plant at Malton, Ont. Developed by A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. (commonly known as Avro Canada), the Arrow (also known as the CF-105) was an advanced, all-weather supersonic interceptor jet.
In 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth after blasting off aboard the "Friendship 7" Mercury capsule. He completed three orbits.
In 1980, U.S. President Jimmy Carter formally advised the Soviet Union the U.S. would boycott the Summer Olympics in Moscow. Canada also boycotted the Games.
In 1985, the first U.S. cruise missile test took place in Canadian airspace. The unarmed missile was released from a B-52 bomber over the Beaufort Sea. The self-propelled projectile took less than an hour to reach the Primrose Weapons Range in northern Alberta.
In 1992, painter A.J. Casson, who immortalized small Ontario towns in watercolour, died in Toronto at age 93. He was the last surviving member of the Group of Seven artists.
In 1993, after 21 years as an MP, Joe Clark announced he would not seek re-election. The constitutional affairs minister led the Tories for seven years and was prime minister from June, 1979 to March, 1980. He became Tory leader again in 1998 and regained a Commons seat in 2000.
In 2000, Ujjal Dosanjh was elected leader of the B.C. NDP, becoming the country's first Indo-Canadian premier. But he was defeated in an election the following year by the Liberals under Gordon Campbell.
In 2002, Isabelle Charest of Rimouski, Que., became the first Canadian to win medals in three consecutive Winter Olympics. The short-track speed skater won a bronze medal in the women's 3,000-metre relay in Salt Lake City. She had claimed a silver medal in the 1994 relay and a bronze in the same event in 1998. Another short-track speed skater, Marc Gagnon, matched Charest's winning streak three days later.
In 2003, 100 people were killed and 200 were injured in an inferno at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I. Pyrotechnics ignited highly flammable foam around the club's stage. The rock band "Great White" was playing at the time. In 2006, both "Great White's" tour manager and the night club owners pleaded guilty to setting off pyrotechnics.
In 2005, Hunter S. Thompson, the acerbic counterculture writer who popularized a new form of journalism in books such as "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," committed suicide. He was 67.
In 2013, Canadian Forces reservist Maj. Darryl Watts avoided jail for his role in a deadly training accident in Afghanistan in 2010, but was demoted to lieutenant and received a severe reprimand.
In 2014, the Canadian women's hockey team won its fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal, overcoming a two-goal deficit to the U.S. in the final minutes of regulation. Marie-Philip Poulin tied the score 2-2 with 55 seconds left in the third period and then scored the golden goal on a power play in overtime.
In 2018, at the Pyeongchang Games, Canada's ice dance darlings Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir reclaimed gold in their final Olympic appearance with a personal-best score of 122.40 for the free skate, and a world-record combined score of 206.07. It was their fifth career Winter Games medal, making them the most decorated Olympic figure skaters in history; Calgary skier Cassie Sharpe won gold in the women's freestyle halfpipe.
In 2019, the Trudeau government voted down an Opposition motion for a public inquiry into the SNC-Lavalin scandal. Former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould -- who was at the heart of the firestorm -- abstained from voting, explaining it was not appropriate since the matter involved her personally. Some Opposition members demanded that Prime Minister Trudeau and the current Justice Minister David Lametti also abstain but they registered votes against the motion, which was defeated 160 to 134.
In 2019, "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett was charged with felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report. Smollett, who is black and gay, told Chicago police he was attacked by two masked men who he said beat him, made racist and homophobic comments, poured some unknown chemical substance on him and looped a rope around his neck before fleeing. The 36-year-old turned himself in the next day. Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Smollett sent a racist and homophobic threatening letter to himself at the Fox studio lot before the attack because he was dissatisfied with his salary.
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The Canadian Press
