Today in History for July 5:
In 1810, one of the greatest showmen of all time, Phineas T. Barnum, was born in Bethel, Conn.
In 1811, Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain.
In 1814, during the War of 1812, Canadian and British forces were defeated by an invading American army at the "Battle of Chippewa," south of Niagara Falls.
In 1901, Sgt. Arthur Richardson, a former Mountie, braved heavy crossfire in the Boer War to save a wounded comrade within 270 metres of the enemy.
In 1905, the House of Commons passed a bill establishing Alberta and Saskatchewan as provinces effective Sept. 1.
In 1923, the big breakthrough for home movies came when Eastman Kodak introduced the 16-mm Model-A camera and projector. It achieved for home movies what the Kodak Number-One box camera did for snapshot photography in 1868.
In 1923, miners and steel workers at Sydney, N.S., went on strike for higher wages and union recognition. A government investigating commission accepted their demands.
In 1930, George Stathakis died when he plummeted over Niagara Falls in a barrel. The turtle he took with him, survived.
In 1935, the Canadian Wheat Board was established. It marketed all Prairie wheat and barley destined for export or for human consumption in Canada. It was initially a voluntary marketing agency but in 1943, the sale of wheat through the board became compulsory. Other grains were later added. The board negotiated sales and then paid farmers based on a system of pooling of prices. In 2012, the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper stripped the board of its monopoly over western wheat and barley sales.
In 1935, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the National Labour Relations Act, which provided for a National Labour Relations Board and authorized labour to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining.
In 1937, the hottest temperature in Canadian history was recorded in Midale, Sask. The mercury rose to 45 degrees celsius.
In 1940, Britain severed relations with the French Vichy government during the Second World War.
In 1945, Gen. H.D.G. Crerar, commander of the 1st Canadian Army in the Second World War, became the first Canadian named to the Order of Companions of Honour.
In 1945, having led Britain throughout the Second World War, Winston Churchill was defeated in the general election and the Labour Party under Clement Attlee swept in.
In 1946, swim wear was forever changed when the bikini made its debut in Paris. Designer Louis Reard named it after Bikini Atoll in the Pacific, where the United States conducted atomic bomb testing after the Second World War. Reard said his suit was "itself explosive, a blast."
In 1948, Britain's National Health Service Act went into effect, providing government-financed medical and dental care.
In 1950, the Canadian destroyers HMCS Cayuga, Athabasca and Sioux left Vancouver escorted by the cruiser Ontario for Pearl Harbour during the Korean conflict.
In 1956, the federal government announced it would supply biscuits laced with vitamins to the Inuit as a dietary supplement to add two inches to the average Inuit stature in the next generation.
In 1958, the Stephen Leacock Memorial Home was opened in Orillia, Ont. Leacock, an economics professor at McGill University, was a leading humourist in the 1910s and 1920s. He wrote over 60 books, including "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town," in which he immortalized Orillia as Mariposa. The book was written in the home.
In 1963, in an instruction given by the Vatican, disposal of the dead by cremation was officially sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church. Belief in the resurrection of the dead had previously made cremation repugnant to many Christians.
In 1965, restoration began on the Wolfe Monument in Quebec, destroyed by separatists in 1963.
In 1967, Gov. Gen. Roland Michener was invested by the Queen with the first ribbon and pendant star of the Order of Canada.
In 1970, an Air Canada flight from Montreal crashed while trying to land at Toronto International Airport, killing all 109 on board.
In 1972, the National Ballet of Canada ended its first European tour, having performed in Monte Carlo, London, Glasgow, Paris, Stuttgart and Lausanne.
In 1975, journalist and politician Joey Smallwood was elected leader of the newly formed Liberal Reform Party of Newfoundland and Labrador.
In 1975, Arthur Ashe defeated Jimmy Connors to become the first black winner of the Wimbledon men's singles title.
In 1977, the army seized power in Pakistan after months of political violence and arrested political leaders, including Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was later executed.
In 1983, police raided Dr. Henry Morgentaler's Toronto abortion clinic, seized equipment and arrested two doctors.
In 1986, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers recorded the highest shutout in CFL history, downing the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders 56-0.
In 1990, Vaclav Havel became Czechoslovakia's first freely elected president in 55 years.
In 1993, a sweeping publication ban was imposed on the trial of Karla Homolka in the sex slayings of two Ontario schoolgirls. Justice Frank Kovacs barred the general public and American reporters from the St. Catharines courtroom and banned publication of the plea and evidence. Kovacs said the ban was needed to ensure a fair trial for Paul Bernardo, Homolka's estranged husband, who faced first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy. Homolka pleaded guilty the next day to manslaughter and received two concurrent 12-year prison terms. Bernardo was later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
In 1994, the report from a provincial inquiry into the Montreal police force concluded the department was poorly supervised, insufficiently trained and racist.
In 1994, Yasser Arafat was sworn in as head of the new Palestinian self-rule authority governing Jericho and Gaza.
In 2000, an Ontario judge upheld the right of parents to spank their children but suggested Parliament should amend the Criminal Code -- which allows using reasonable force to discipline children -- to guide parents, teachers and law enforcement officials as to what constitutes reasonable force and what is criminal abuse.
In 2006, Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay, convicted in May of helping to perpetuate one of the most sprawling business frauds in American history, died at age 64.
In 2007, William Elliott, a senior bureaucrat in the Public Safety Department, was appointed the new RCMP commissioner, replacing former commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli, the first time an outsider would lead the Mounties since the force was created in 1873. His stormy tenure lasted until November 2011.
In 2009, Roger Federer claimed his sixth Wimbledon title and record 15th Grand Slam championship in an epic 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 win over Andy Roddick. Federer also set another record with his 20th Grand Slam final appearance. It was the longest men's Grand Slam final in history at 77 games — breaking the previous record of 71 from 1927 in Australia. It was also the longest fifth set in a men's Grand Slam final in history, surpassing the 20 games from 1927 in France.
In 2011, Canada's desert war in Afghanistan came to an end when soldiers of the Royal 22e Regiment stood down and formally handed over their battlefield of the western Kandahar district of Panjwaii to American units. But Canadian Brig.-Gen. Dean Milner's headquarters continued directing U.S. combat units for several days. The combat mission, which began in 2002, cost the lives of 157 soldiers, one diplomat and one journalist. About 950 Canadian soldiers and support staff would now carry out a training mission in Kandahar until 2014.
In 2011, a Quebec cardiologist who stabbed his three-year-old daughter and five-year-old son 46 times was found not criminally responsible by a jury. Guy Turcotte admitted he caused their deaths in 2009, but denied criminal intent. (He was detained in a psychiatric institution before being granted his release in December 2012. In late 2013, the Quebec's Court of Appeal ordered a new trial because legal errors were committed in the original trial. The Supreme Court refused to hear Turcotte's appeal and in 2015, he was found guilty at retrail of second-degree murder.)
In 2011, a Florida jury took less than 11 hours to find Casey Anthony not guilty in the death of her two-year-old daughter Caylee, stunning spectators, legal pundits and the prosecutors. She was convicted of four counts of lying to investigators. (She was sentenced to four years but was released on July 13 after getting credit for time served and good behaviour.)
In 2015, U.S. captain Carli Lloyd scored three times in the opening 16 minutes to lead the Americans to a 5-2 victory over Japan in the FIFA Women's World Cup final in Vancouver.
In 2015, Shaman Ghost rallied to capture the Queen's Plate at Toronto's Woodbine Racetrack, finishing 1 1/4-lengths ahead of Danish Dynaformer in a battle of the two race favourites.
In 2020, Hamilton-raised theatre star Nick Cordero, who had legions of supporters rallying for him on social media during his harrowing health battle with COVID-19, died in Los Angeles at the age of 41. His wife, dancer-turned-celebrity personal trainer Amanda Kloots, confirmed the news in an Instagram post.
In 2020, one of the first Black actors to perform in mainstream British films died. Earl Cameron was 102. He was best remembered for his starring role as a sailor in the 1951 drama "Pool of London," the first British film to feature an interracial relationship.
In 2021, fully vaccinated Canadians and permanent residents no longer had to spend 14 days in quarantine upon arrival to Canada.
In 2021, data obtained by The Canadian Press suggested the federal government's COVID Alert app produced disappointing results. Ottawa spent $20 million on the app, which was designed to alert users to possible COVID-19 exposures. The trouble was only about one-fifth of Canadians downloaded it.
In 2022, the 30 NATO allies signed off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland. The move sent the membership bids of the two countries to the alliance capitals for legislative approvals. The move further increased Russia's strategic isolation in the wake of its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February.
In 2023, Canada, the U.K., Sweden and Ukraine asked the United Nations' highest court to rule that Iran illegally shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet in January 2020, killing all 176 people aboard. They wanted the International Court of Justice to order Tehran to apologize and pay compensation to the families of the victims.
In 2023, the federal government announced it was stopping advertising on Facebook and Instagram after parent company Meta promised to block Canadian news content there. Meta's decision to block Canadian news was in response to Canadian legislation that would require tech giants to pay media outlets for content they share or otherwise repurpose on their platforms.
In 2023, Stellantis and LG Energy Solution announced that their electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor was back on track after reaching a "binding'' financing deal with the governments of Canada and Ontario.
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The Canadian Press
