Today in History for Dec. 29:
In 1170, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, was murdered on the altar of Canterbury Cathedral by knights of King Henry II.
In 1813, the British burned Buffalo, N.Y., during the War of 1812.
In 1837, the American ship "Caroline," which had been supplying William Lyon Mackenzie's rebels, was set on fire by the British and sent over Niagara Falls. At least one American was killed and a difficult diplomatic impasse between Britain and the United States followed.
In 1845, Texas became a U.S. state.
In 1851, the first American Young Men's Christian Association was organized, in Boston.
In 1877, employees of Canada's Grand Trunk Railroad went on strike, in support of members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers who had been fired. The strike was broken by the use of militia and non-union workers.
In 1890, the last battle in the American-Indian wars took place at Wounded Knee Creek, S.D. About 350 half-starved Sioux gathered on the Pine Ridge Reservation for a Ghost Dance, a religious ceremony in which the Indians believed their dead would rise again and lead them to good hunting grounds. When the Sioux refused to hand over their weapons to the 7th Cavalry, the troops opened fire. About 150 Indians, half of them women and children, and 25 soldiers, died in the battle.
In 1908, the first gold coin and sovereigns were minted in Canada.
In 1916, Grigory Rasputin, the so-called "Mad Monk" who'd wielded great influence with Czar Nicholas II, was murdered by a group of Russian noblemen in St. Petersburg.
In 1919, Sir William Osler, who's been called the most influential physician in history, died in Oxford, England at age 70. Known as "the father of clinical medicine," the Ontario native was a pioneer in emphasizing a patient's state of mind in achieving a cure. His 1892 medical text, "The Principles and Practice of Medicine," was considered authoritative for over three decades.
In 1921, William Lyon Mackenzie King succeeded Arthur Meighen as prime minister of Canada. King led the Liberal party for 25 years and was prime minister for more than 21 years. He resigned from office in 1948 at age 74. He died on July 22, 1950.
In 1934, Japan formally denounced the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922.
In 1940, German aircraft dropped thousands of incendiary bombs on central London during the Second World War, causing the worst fire damage in the British capital since the Great Fire of 1666. St. Paul's Cathedral survived, but eight other ancient churches were badly damaged.
In 1944, Canadian pilot Dick Audet shot down five enemy planes in 10 seconds during the Second World War.
In 1952, a six-kilogram kidney stone was removed from an 80-year old woman by a doctor in London, England. At the time, it was the largest recorded in medical history.
In 1967, Parliament abolished the death penalty, except for the killing of prison guards or police officers, for a five-year trial period. The legislation was renewed in 1973, before hanging was totally abolished in 1976. Canada's last executions were in 1962.
In 1969, European industries and services were paralyzed by a major influenza epidemic.
In 1970, Roy Ivor, 91, internationally known naturalist, lost his bird sanctuary at Mississauga, Ont., in a fire.
In 1972, an Eastern Airlines TriStar jet crashed on approach to Miami International Airport, killing 101 people.
In 1975, 11 people were killed and 74 injured when a bomb exploded in a baggage claim area at the La Guardia airport in New York.
In 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan imposed trade sanctions on the Soviet Union to protest the imposition of martial law in Poland following the rise of Solidarity, the independent trade union movement.
In 1989, Canada became the first country to ban smoking on domestic flights.
In 1989, writer Vaclav Havel was elected as president of the Czech Republic as politicians voted to end the Communist party's 40-year monopoly of power.
In 1991, Susan Wright, one of Canada's best-known stage actresses, died in Stratford, Ont., at age 44.
In 1992, Fernando Collor de Mello resigned as president of Brazil minutes before the opening of his impeachment trial.
In 1996, distinguished Canadian poet Dorothy Livesay died at age 87.
In 1998, four tourists, including one Canadian, were killed by their kidnappers after Yemeni troops stormed a remote mountain hideaway where they were being held by Islamic extremists.
In 2008, Israel called an "all-out war" against Hamas as its air attacks killed more than 300 people in Gaza in three days, the bloodiest fighting between Israelis and Palestinians since the 1967 war.
In 2008, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina won a landslide victory in Bangladesh鈥檚 first election in seven years.
In 2008, Canada's junior hockey team won The Canadian Press team of the year for its gold medal win at the World Jr. Championship.
In 2009, Const. Eric Czapnik, 51, was stabbed to death outside an Ottawa Hospital, becoming the first Ottawa police officer to die in the line of duty since 1983. A Mountie under suspension was arrested in the attack. (In 2012, Kevin Gregson was found guilty of first-degree murder.)
In 2009, China executed a British man (Akmal Shaikh) convicted of drug smuggling in its first execution of a European citizen in half a century.
In 2010, police in Denmark and Sweden halted an imminent terrorist attack by arresting five men who planned to shoot as many people as possible at the Jyllands-Posten newspaper's Copenhagen newsdesk, which published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005.
In 2011, Jennifer Heil, Canada's most successful female freestyle skier, was named The Canadian Press female athlete of the year. She ended her career earlier in the year with an unexpected sweep of the moguls and dual moguls gold medals at the world championships.
In 2011, fed-up voters in Jamaica threw out the ruling party and delivered a landslide triumph to the opposition People's National Party and its leader, former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.
In 2013, Michael Schumacher, the most successful driver in Formula One history, suffered a serious head injury while skiing in the French Alpine resort of Meribel. The German driver was placed in a medically induced coma. In June 2014, he left a French hospital no longer in a coma and transferred to neighbouring Switzerland to continue his recovery.
In 2017, Canada lost 4-3 in a shootout to the United States in international hockey's first outdoor game in Orchard Park, N.Y.
In 2018, the first North Atlantic right whale calf of the winter season was spotted off the Florida coast heading north with its mother, a known resident of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said on Facebook that the two endangered whales were sighted near the mouth of the state's St. Johns River.
In 2020, Independent Sen. Elaine McCoy, who was appointed to the chamber in 2005 after a career in Alberta politics, died at the age of 74. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney paid tribute to McCoy, calling her a persuasive and unapologetic advocate for the province's workers and energy sector.
In 2021, Rideau Hall released the names of the 135 newest additions to the Order of Canada. Among the list of recipients was former senator Murray Sinclair, the noted Indigenous advocate who chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into residential schools. Also on the list was author Yann Martel, known for his book ``Life of Pi'' released two decades ago.
In 2021, Damian Warner beat out sprinter Andre De Grasse and soccer star Alphonso Davies to win the Lionel Conacher award as The Canadian Press male athlete of the year. The 32-year-old from London, Ont., won decathlon gold in dominating fashion at the Tokyo Olympics.
In 2021, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of helping American financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. The verdict capped a month-long trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens.
In 2021, a Canadian woman was among seven people in custody in Hong Kong after police raided an online pro-democracy news organization. Two male editors who worked at Stand News were charged with conspiracy to publish a seditious publication, a day after the outlet said it would cease operations following the Wednesday morning raid. Five others being detained for questioning included Hong Kong-born-Canadian pop singer and board member Denise Ho.
In 2021, Canada's border agency temporarily closed two ports of entry in the Atlantic region due to COVID-19. The CBSA said the affected offices were in Bathurst, New Brunswick and Charlottetown, P.E.I. Spokeswoman Judith Gadbois-St-Cyr said service at the small offices was being suspended because of COVID infections and close contacts among staff.
In 2023, sports editors selected the Canadian men's basketball team as The Canadian Press sports team of the year. Led by NBA star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Canadians won their first-ever FIBA World Cup medal, defeating the United States for bronze in September, and qualified for next year's Summer Olympics in the process.
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The Canadian Press
