On this day in history
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Source: HistoryNet.com
0757: Stephen II ends his reign as Catholic Pope.
1514: Copernicus makes his first observations of Saturn.
1564: William Shakespeare is baptized.
1610: Samuel de Champlain arrives at Tadoussac on his fourth voyage to Canada.
1778: Captain James Cook sets sail from Nootka Sound in HMS Resolution and HMS Discovery, heading north west and tracing the coast of British Columbia and Alaska.
1900: A chimney fire spreads in high winds, causing a massive conflagration that levels two thirds of Hull, Quebec; spreads across the river, destroying most of the Ottawa lumber yards in LeBreton Flats; kills 7, causes $10 million in losses, with 15,000 people losing their homes; called the worst fire in Canadian history.
1912: Grand Trunk Railway opens the Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa.
1918: Women in Nova Scotia awarded the right to vote and hold provincial office.
1929: The first non-stop flight from England to India is completed.
1931: New York Yankee Lou Gehrig hits a home run but is called out for passing a runner, the mistake ultimately costs him the home run record.
1983: The Dow Jones Industrial Average breaks 1,200 for first time.
1986: The world’s worst nuclear disaster occurs at the Chernobyl power plant in the Soviet Union.
1994: Nelson Mandela wins the presidency in South Africa’s first multiracial elections.
2009: First cases of the 2009 H1N1 (Swine Flu) confirmed in Canada; declared a pandemic by the WHO on June 11.
