Today in History for May 21:
On this date:
In 427 B.C., philosopher Plato was born.
In 1471, King Henry VI of England was executed during the "Wars of the Roses." Henry of the House of Lancaster, the only child of Henry V and Catherine of Valois, was born Dec. 6, 1421. He married Margaret of Anjou in 1445. The union produced one son, Edward, who was killed in battle one day before Henry's death. Edward IV of the House of York became king.
In 1632, Otto Blumhardt, one of the earliest Lutheran missionaries to Africa, died. He took the message of Jesus Christ to several primitive jungle tribes, learning their languages, caring for the sick and training the young. He was known as the "Father of the Jungle."
In 1690, John Eliot, English missionary to the Indians in Massachusetts, died at age 85. He developed an interest in Indian language and customs, and began to preach to the Indians in 1646, at first in English but within a year in their own tongue, Algonkian. He published a catechism for them in 1654 and by 1658 translated the Bible into Algonkian, the first Bible to be printed in North America. He planned towns for Indian converts, away from the white towns, in areas where they could preserve their own language and culture and live by their own laws.
In 1738, Charles Wesley was converted to evangelical Christianity, becoming a co-founder of Methodism. He wrote hundreds of hymns such as "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing."
In 1765, the first agricultural exhibition in Canada was established at Windsor, N.S.
In 1780, Elizabeth Fry, Quaker minister, prison reformer and nurse, was born in Norwich, England. The great public work of her life dates effectively from the formation of the association for the improvement of the female prisoners in Newgate prison in April, 1817. Today there are Elizabeth Fry Societies in many countries, including Canada, working with and for women and girls in the justice system.
In 1785, Canada's first jury trial under British common law took place in what is now Quebec City.
In 1840, New Zealand was declared a British colony.
In 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross.
In 1901, Capt. John Claus Voss left Victoria in the Tilikum, a Nootkan Indian canoe, on a voyage to England. He sailed via Australia and New Zealand and arrived in England on Sept. 2, 1904.
In 1923, prohibition took effect in Prince Edward Island.
In 1927, American Charles Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget Field outside Paris after his historic solo flight across the Atlantic. Lindbergh's trip from Long Island, N.Y., lasted 33-and-a-half hours. It's considered one of the great milestones in aviation history.
In 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean as she landed in Northern Ireland, about 15 hours after leaving Newfoundland.
In 1939, King George VI unveiled the National War Memorial in Ottawa.
In 1945, Syria and Lebanon proclaimed their independence from France.
In 1953, a tornado hit Sarnia, Ont., killing five people, flattening the downtown section and causing $4 million in damage.
In 1956, the first U.S. hydrogen bomb to be dropped from an airplane was released over the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.
In 1965, Ontario's flag was proclaimed.
In 1969, a judge in Los Angeles sentenced Sirhan Sirhan to death for the assassination of U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy the previous June. Sirhan's sentence was later commuted to life in prison.
In 1982, Britain announced its troops had attacked the Falkland Islands and established "a firm bridgehead" while fighting Argentine forces.
In 1985, Patti Frustaci of Riverside, Calif., gave birth to septuplets -- seven babies -- after receiving fertility drugs.
In 1986, Canada-U.S. free trade talks began. Even before this meeting, there had been controversy over what might be discussed. External Affairs Minister Joe Clark had repeatedly stressed that social programs would not be on the table, but the Americans had said everything -- from the auto pact to programs such as medicare and unemployment insurance -- would be raised.
In 1990, Environment Minister Lucien Bouchard praised the cause of Quebec separation and quit the federal cabinet and Conservative caucus. He later formed the Bloc Quebecois, but left to lead the Parti Quebecois and serve as premier of Quebec from 1996-2001.
In 1991, a suicide bomber assassinated former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi at an election campaign rally in southern India.
In 1998, the Montreal-based Seagram Company announced it was buying the world's biggest music company, Polygram NV, in a deal worth US$10.6 billion.
In 2000, legendary British stage and film actor Sir John Gielgud died at age 96.
In 2003, 2,300 people died after a 6.7-magnitude earthquake in Algeria. More than 9,000 were injured. Entire villages east of the capital of Algiers were flattened.
In 2003, at the World Health Organization in Geneva, representatives of more than 190 countries, including Canada, unanimously adopted a sweeping treaty aimed at controlling and diminishing the use of tobacco. (the U.S. was not a signatory). The accord provided for restrictions on tobacco advertising and sponsorship, tougher health warnings, limits on language like "low-tar" and "light" and restrictions on public smoking.
In 2008, a Quebec court ruled that BCE Inc.'s $35 billion sale to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan would be unfair to bondholders.
In 2009, Linda Fleming, a 66-year-old woman with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, became the first person to die under Washington State's new assisted suicide law.
In 2011, speaking from the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI bestowed a historic blessing upon the 12 shuttle "Endeavour" astronauts circling Earth during the first-ever papal call to space.
In 2016, Exaggerator won the 141st running of the Preakness Stakes, the second jewel in thoroughbred horse racing's Triple Crown. Canadian-owned Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist finished third.
In 2017, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, that wowed crowds for 146 years with its "Greatest Show on Earth," performed its last show, at the Nassau County Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y.
In 2017, Sweden captured gold at the world hockey championship with a 2-1 shootout victory over two-time defending champion Canada.
In 2018, Maddie Poppe was crowned the winner of ABC's inaugural "American Idol," the first champion since FOX TV cancelled the music competition juggernaut in 2016.
In 2018, LeBron James moved past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (2,356) for the most field goals in NBA playoff history.
In 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would send $75 million to organizations that help Indigenous people living in urban areas and off reserves. The government had previously promised $15 million in funding for services such as counselling, health care, food and supportive housing.
In 2020, the Honda Indy Toronto was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement came a week after race promoters said the event would not be run on its originally scheduled dates of July 10-12.
In 2021, Ontario resumed use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 but only as a second dose. The province's chief medical officer said health risks posed by the vaccine are low.
In 2022, Australia's centre-left opposition party toppled the Conservative government. Prime minister-elect Anthony Albanese used his election victory speech to promise sharper reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. He also acknowledged Indigenous People's rights.
In 2022, Canada's trade minister and trade ministers from four other countries walked out of an APEC economic meeting in Bangkok when Russia's minister got up to speak, a protest against the invasion of Ukraine.
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The Canadian Press
