Today in History for April 9:
In 1682, French explorer Robert de La Salle claimed the Mississippi River Basin for France.
In 1799, British scientist Sir Humphrey Davy discovered the anaesthetic properties of nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas.
In 1865, the American Civil War ended when Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered at the Appotomatox Court House in Virginia to Union commander Ulysses S. Grant.
In 1870, German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann began excavations in Turkey, where he found the ruins of the ancient city of Troy.
In 1917, four Canadian divisions began an assault on Vimy Ridge in northeast France. British and French troops had been unsuccessful in earlier attempts to capture the ridge, a key German defensive position. By April 14, the Canadians had won the battle, earning them recognition as an elite force among the Allies and Germans. Almost 3,600 Canadians were killed in the fighting.
In 1931, Richard Hatfield, New Brunswick's longest-serving premier, was born at Woodstock, N.B. He was known for promoting national unity and linguistic equality and worked for the patriation of the Constitution and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. After setting a record for holding a premier's office, his reputation was tarnished by persistent questions about his private life. His Conservatives lost every seat in the 1987 election and Hatfield immediately resigned the leadership. He died in 1991.
In 1940, German forces invaded Denmark and Norway during the Second World War.
In 1942, during the Second World War, American and Philippine defenders on the Bataan peninsula capitulated to Japanese forces. The surrender was followed by the infamous ``Bataan Death March,'' which claimed nearly 10,000 lives.
In 1945, German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged by the Gestapo, after discovering his plot to kill Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Bonhoeffer's last recorded words were, ``This is the end -- for me, the beginning of life.''
In 1945, Canadian troops cut off all land escape routes for Nazi soldiers trapped in the Netherlands.
In 1947, a series of tornadoes in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas claimed 181 lives.
In 1959, U.S. space agency NASA named the seven astronauts for the Mercury space missions -- Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton.
In 1963, Sir Winston Churchill, at the age of 88, became the first honorary American citizen.
In 1965, the Houston Astrodome, the world's first domed stadium, opened.
In 1969, the British-French supersonic aircraft Concorde made its first test flight from Bristol to Fairford, Gloucestershire, U.K. The flight lasted 22 minutes.
In 1983, the space shuttle ``Challenger'' ended its first mission with a safe landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
In 1984, the House of Commons passed the Canada Health Act, which prohibits user fees and extra-billing.
In 1987, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the constitution does not guarantee the right to strike.
In 1990, the major league baseball season opened a week late because of a labour dispute.
In 1992, ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega was convicted in Miami of drug and racketeering offences.
In 1992, Britain's Conservatives under John Major scored a come-from-behind election victory. The Tories were the only party to win four straight British elections during the 20th century.
In 1995, Montreal-based Seagram acquired 80 per cent of entertainment conglomerate MCA from Matsushita Electric Industrial of Japan for US$5.7 billion.
In 1996, most Defence Department activities across the country ground to a halt while personnel searched for documents related to the ill-fated Somalia peacekeeping mission. The one-day search was ordered after it appeared computer log entries were missing. Up to 85,000 documents were turned over to the federal inquiry looking into the Somalia affair.
In 2002, an estimated one million people lined the streets of London to bid a final farewell to the Queen Mother, who died 10 days earlier at age 101. Following her funeral at Westminster Abbey, the mother of Queen Elizabeth was interred at Windsor Castle, just west of London.
In 2003, U.S. tanks and troops poured into the heart of Baghdad as Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's government collapsed under a blistering three-week onslaught. U.S. forces met little Iraqi resistance as they took over swathes of the city. Iraqis cheered as Saddam Hussein's 12-metre statue in Baghdad's Firdos Square was toppled.
In 2003, Richard ``Dic'' Doyle, editor-in-chief of ``The Globe & Mail'' for two decades, and a senator, died at age 80.
In 2005, Prince Charles married long-time lover Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor's Guildhall attended by their children, siblings and other family members -- but not Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth.
In 2007, Queen Elizabeth rededicated the restored Vimy Memorial in France, commemorating Canada's most famous battle of the First World War, at a ceremony attended by more than 20,000 people, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper and French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin.
In 2008, 59-year-old Justice Michel Bastarche announced that he would step down from the Supreme Court of Canada, effective June 30th, after more than a decade on the top court's bench.
In 2009, in a 7-0 ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada said that governments have the right to sift through personal garbage without warrant once it reaches a person's property line.
In 2010, a commemoration at the National War Memorial marked the 93rd anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and was a formal tribute to Canada's First World War veterans. The ``End of an Era'' ceremony followed the death of John Babcock, Canada's last-known veteran of the Great War and the final flesh-and-blood link to the 1914-1918 conflict.
In 2010, President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling coalition won Sri Lanka's first post-war parliamentary elections, further consolidating his political dominance after the battlefield defeat of the Tamil Tigers in 2009.
In 2012, Wiebo Ludwig, eco-warrior to some, terrorist to others, and was for decades a polarizing figure in the debate over northern Alberta's oil and gas industry, died at the age of 70 after a battle with esophageal cancer.
In 2017, Canada's Brad Gushue completed a perfect run at the world men's curling championship with a 4-2 victory over Sweden in the gold medal game.
In 2017, at the Masters, Sergio Garcia overcame a late round two-shot deficit against Justin Rose and birdied the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to capture his first career major, ending an 18-year drought.
In 2018, U.S. federal agents with search warrants raided the office of U.S. President Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen, seizing records on topics including a $130,000 payment made to porn actress Stormy Daniels who says she had sex with Trump more than a decade ago.
In 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the will of the Liberal caucus was very clear when he ejected former cabinet ministers Jane Philpott and Jody Wilson-Raybould, but he admitted he made the decision on his own. Philpott said Trudeau violated the Parliament of Canada Act by acting unilaterally and not holding the required vote by the full caucus to remove a member. Commons Speaker Geoff Regan told Philpott he would consider her argument and report back to the House later.
In 2020, Statistics Canada reported the economy lost a staggering 1,011,000 jobs in March, marking the worst single-month change in more than 40 years. The jobless rate shot up from 5.6 per cent in February to 7.8 per cent as the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold. Most of the losses were in the private sector, with the greatest employment declines in the 15-to-24 age group.
In 2021, officials with Buckingham Palace announced the death of the Queen's 99-year-old husband -- Prince Philip. The royal couple were married in 1947, and Philip was the longest-serving consort in British history. Struggling with failing health, he retired from public engagements in 2017.
In 2022, the federal government committed an additional $100 million to help with the worsening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Canada had now provided $245 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, with $145 million to be allocated to United Nations organizations, the Red Cross Movement and to non-governmental organizations. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said Canada had already approved more than 30,000 applications under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel program.
In 2024, Turkey announced it was restricting the export of dozens of products to Israel, including aluminum, steel, construction materials and chemical fertilizers over Israel's military actions in Gaza.
In 2024, Europe's highest human-rights court became the first international court to ever rule on climate change. The European Court of Human Rights ruled its member nations have an obligation to protect their citizens from the ill effects of climate change, siding with a group of more than 2,000 senior Swiss women.
In 2024, a judge in suburban Detroit sentenced the parents of school shooter Ethan Crumbley to at least 10 years in prison. Judge Cheryl Matthews says Jennifer and James Crumbley failed to take steps that could have prevented a runaway train – referring to the killing of four students at Oxford High School in 2021. The Crumbleys were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and became the first parents convicted in a U.S. mass school shooting.
In 2024, King Charles was presented with the first new banknotes with his portrait on them. The presentation at Buckingham Palace followed a long tradition of the new monarch receiving the first issue of the newly-printed bills.
In 2024, the U.S. won the She Believes Cup final in a dramatic match against Canada. Canada scored late to tie the game at 2-2 after 90 minutes. But the American squad downed the Canadian side 5-4 in a penalty shootout.
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The Canadian Press