Today in History for Feb. 22:
On this date:
In 1630, colonists in America got their first taste of popcorn.
In 1732, George Washington, the first president of the United States, was born. He died in 1799.
In 1819, Spain ceded Florida to the United States.
In 1851, the newspaper "The Bytown Packet" changed its name to "The Ottawa Citizen."
In 1857, the founder of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Lord Baden-Powell, was born in Britain. He died in 1941.
In 1879, Frank Winfield Woolworth opened a five-cent store in Utica, N.Y. The store failed. A few months later, he opened a five-and-dime store in Lancaster, Pa. -- the first in an international chain.
In 1886, the "Times of London" became the first British newspaper to include a personals column on its classified page.
In 1903, author Morley Callaghan was born in Toronto. He died Aug. 25, 1990.
In 1924, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge delivered the first radio broadcast from the White House as he addressed the country over 42 stations.
In 1934, Frank Capra's romantic comedy "It Happened One Night," starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, opened at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
In 1954, American evangelist Billy Graham began a three-month crusade in London. He filled an 11,000-seat arena every night of his tour and was mobbed by crowds wherever he went. More than two million attended the meetings.
In 1959, the inaugural Daytona 500 race was held in Daytona Beach, Fla. Although Johnny Beauchamp was initially declared the winner, the victory was later awarded to Lee Petty.
In 1969, Barbara Jo Rubin became the first female jockey to win a race at an American thoroughbred track when she rode "Cohesian" to a neck victory over "Reely Beeg" in the ninth race at Charles Town in West Virginia.
In 1976, Joe Clark was elected the federal Conservative leader by defeating, among others, Brian Mulroney. His party defeated Pierre Trudeau's Liberals in May 1979 and formed a minority government, making Clark, then 40, Canada's youngest-ever prime minister, and the first native westerner to hold the post. His government was defeated in the Commons six months later and he lost the February 1980 election to the Liberals. Clark remained Tory leader until being deposed by Mulroney in 1983, but became leader again in 1998, before stepping down in mid-2003.
In 1977, in the first speech by a Canadian prime minister to the U.S. Congress, Pierre Trudeau said Canada would remain united despite Quebec's bid for separation.
In 1980, martial law was declared in Afghanistan.
In 1980, one of the greatest upsets in hockey history took place at the Lake Placid Olympics. Known as "The Miracle on Ice," the United States shocked the heavily-favoured Soviet Union 4-3 in a medal-round game. The seventh-seeded Americans went on to beat Finland 4-2 two days later to claim only their second Olympic hockey title.
In 1984, a 12-year-old Houston boy known only as David died. He spent most of his life in a plastic bubble because he had no immunity to disease, and died 15 days after being removed from the bubble for a bone-marrow transplant.
In 1987, pop artist Andy Warhol died in a New York hospital at age 58.
In 1995, Bloc Quebecois leader Lucien Bouchard returned to Ottawa for the first time since losing part of a leg to flesh-eating disease in late 1994. The separatist received a standing ovation in the Commons.
In 1997, Scottish researchers reported they had cloned an adult mammal for the first time. They made a lamb named Dolly using DNA from an adult sheep. The announcement prompted debate on the ethics of the procedure and sparked calls to ban human cloning. (She died Feb. 14, 2003).
In 2002, hog farmer Robert Pickton was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the disappearance of 50 women from Vancouver. (In December 2007, he was found guilty on six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years; an appeal was unsuccessful; 20 other counts of second-degree murder were stayed because he was already serving the maximum sentence.)
In 2007, Justin Trudeau, son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, announced plans to run for the federal Liberals in the Montreal riding of Papineau in the next election. He won the nomination on the first ballot on April 29. He won the riding in the October 2008 federal election -- defeating a Bloc Quebecois incumbent. He was sworn in as an MP on Nov. 6, 2008. In April 2013, he was elected party leader and in 2015 became prime minister with a Liberal majority win in the general election.
In 2009, a gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in northern China in Shanxi province, killing at least 74 miners and trapping dozens more.
In 2010, at the Vancouver Olympics, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir captured Canada's first ever gold medal in ice dance. At age 20 and 22 respectively, they also became the youngest in Olympic history to win the gold in the discipline.
In 2011, a midday magnitude-6.3 earthquake hit Christchurch, New Zealand, collapsing buildings and sending rubble tumbling onto cars and people. At least 184 people were killed in one of the island nation's worst earthquakes in 80 years.
In 2012, a packed train slammed into a shock-absorbing barrier at the end of a platform at Buenos Aires' Once station, killing 50 people and injuring at least 550 morning commuters as passenger cars crumpled behind the engine.
In 2015, "Birdman," a surreal comedy starring Michael Keaton as an actor fleeing his superhero past, won the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu), Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography. Eddie Redmayne won for Best Actor for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything" and Julianne Moore was named Best Actress for her performance as an academic with early onset Alzheimer's in "Still Alice."
In 2018, Canada's gold-medal streak in Olympic women's hockey ended with a gut-wrenching 3-2 shootout loss to the rival Americans at the Pyeongchang Winter Games. Canada had won four straight golds, losing only in 1998 to the U.S. when women's hockey made its Olympic debut.
In 2018, after 11 hours of deliberation, a Winnipeg jury acquitted Raymond Cormier, 56, of second-degree murder in the death of First Nations teenager Tina Fontaine, whose body, wrapped in a blanket and weighed down by rocks, was pulled from the Red River eight days after she was reported missing in August 2014. Cormier was charged more than a year later.
In 2018, the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Calgary Flames 7-3 to earn its 84th point of the year - a NHL record for an expansion team in its inaugural season.
In 2018, Nanette Fabray, the vivacious actress, singer and dancer who became a star in Broadway musicals and on television, died at age 97. She won a Tony in 1949 for the musical "Love Life" and was nominated for another for "Mr. President." She starred opposite Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in the hit 1953 film "The Band Wagon." Her TV roles included playing Bonnie Franklin's mother in the hit 1980s sitcom "One Day at a Time."
In 2019, the National Energy Board endorsed an expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline following a reconsideration of its impact on marine life off the B.C. coast. The energy regulator said an increase in tanker traffic resulting from the pipeline would hurt southern resident killer whales and increase greenhouse gas emissions but it said those consequences could be justified in light of what would be the pipeline's benefits, which are in the best interests of the country.
In 2019, police charged New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft with misdemeanour solicitation of prostitution. They said they had videotape of the 77-year-old paying for a sex act inside an illicit massage parlour. The charge came amid a widespread crackdown on sex trafficking in the area surrounding Palm Beach County. The Patriots won the Super Bowl earlier that month in Atlanta.
In 2020, Afghanistan passed a grim milestone in the long-running war. A United Nations report said more than 100-thousand civilians had been killed or hurt in the 10 years since the agency began documenting casualties in Afghanistan. The report came at the same time a seven-day "reduction of violence" agreement between the U.S. and Taliban took effect.
In 2020, the charity founded by Canadian Catholic figure Jean Vanier condemned his alleged sexual abuse of six women. A report released by L'Arche International after an internal investigation said Vanier engaged in sexual relations with the women as they were seeking spiritual direction. Vanier died last year at the age of 90.
In 2020, David Ayres, a 42-year-old emergency backup goalie and full-time zamboni driver, helped the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3. Ayers, who hails from Whitby, Ont., was called into action after Hurricanes netminders James Reimer and Petr Mrazek were injured. The ex-junior goalie made eight saves.
In 2020, U.S presidential nominee Bernie Sanders enjoyed a resounding victory in Nevada's caususes that gave supporters hope he could win the Democratic nominaton. Former vice-president Joe Biden took second place, but told supporters in Las Vegas that he was going to win the nomination. He eventually would, and was elected president in November 2020.
In 2021, the United States reached the milestone of half-a-million deaths from COVID-19. The number of 500,000 lives lost nearly matches the number of Americans killed in the Second World War, Korea and Vietnam combined. President Joe Biden held a sunset moment of silence and a candle-lighting ceremony at the White House, saying Americans must "resist becoming numb to the sorrow.''
In 2021, the House of Commons voted unanimously in favour of a Conservative motion declaring China's actions against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province as genocide. Dozens of Liberal MPs supported the Conservative motion, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and all of his cabinet ministers abstained from the vote.
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The Canadian Press
