Today in History for May 28:
In 1089, Lanfranc, the first Norman Archbishop of Canterbury, died. During his time as archbishop, he rebuilt the cathedral, based on the design of his former abbey in Caen, in northern France.
In 1533, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declared the marriage of England's King Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn valid.
In 1731, all Hebrew books in the Vatican-controlled Papal States were confiscated.
In 1808, Canadian explorer Simon Fraser began a trip down the British Columbia river that would bear his name.
In 1898, the Shroud of Turin was photographed for the first time. Many believe the shroud shows the negative image of the crucified Jesus Christ.
In 1927, the Canadian Old Age Pension Plan was approved by the House of Commons. It was to be paid to those in need over the age of 70, in co-operation with participating provinces.
In 1929, the first all-colour talking picture, "On with the Show," opened in New York.
In 1934, the Dionne quintuplets were born in Callander, Ont. Annette, Emilie, Yvonne, Cecile and Marie were the first quints to survive more than a few days. The Ontario government placed them in a specially-built hospital, where the children were put on public display. More than three million people came to watch them play behind a one-way screen. Their mother fought for nine years to regain custody, but the family reunion in 1943 was not successful. In 1998, the three surviving sisters and their families received $4 million compensation from the Ontario government for their childhood mistreatment.
In 1937, Neville Chamberlain became prime minister of Britain.
In 1954, U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill which added the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance.
In 1958, the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. merged with the Presbyterian Church of North America to form the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.
In 1959, American space officials recovered two monkeys who splashed down after a 2,700-km flight in the nose-cone of a Jupiter rocket.
In 1967, Englishman Francis Chichester completed the first solo, around-the-world boat voyage when he returned to Portsmouth, England.
In 1972, the Duke of Windsor -- who had abdicated the British throne in 1936 to marry the woman he loved, American divorcee Wallis Simpson -- died of cancer in Paris at age 77.
In 1977, more than 160 people died when fire raced through the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Ky.
In 1981, Poland's Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski died. A member of the Polish resistance in the Second World War, he later cautiously supported such movements as the Workers' Defence Committee, Solidarity and Rural Solidarity, which sought greater freedom from the late 1970's until the collapse of Communist rule.
In 1985, the Ontario NDP and Liberals signed a pact that ended the Conservatives' 42-year reign and led to the resignation of Frank Miller as Tory leader. He was premier for only a few months.
In 1987, Mathias Rust, a 19-year-old West German pilot, stunned the world as he landed a private plane in Moscow's Red Square after evading Soviet air defences.
In 1988, the Canadian aerosol industry announced it would ban CFCs (chloro-fluorocarbons) from spray cans. The man-made chemicals were the main cause of damage to the ozone layer that protects Earth from excessive solar radiation. The aerosol industry planned to ban CFCs for almost everything except some medicinal sprays, where the chemicals were deemed to be essential.
In 1989, Global TV reporter Doug Small and four other people were charged with possession of stolen goods, and two were charged with theft, in connection with the leak of the federal budget.
In 1995, Jacques Villeneuve became the first Canadian winner of the Indianapolis 500 auto race.
In 1998, Canadian-born actor Phil Hartman was found shot to death in his California home in a murder-suicide. His wife Brynn shot and killed herself as police were removing the couple's two children from the home after reports of gunfire. Hartman, who was 49, was a regular on TV's "News Radio" and "Saturday Night Live." He also appeared in more than 20 movies.
In 2000, the remains of an unknown Canadian soldier were interred at the National War Memorial in Ottawa after being returned from Vimy Ridge, France.
In 2003, goaltender Patrick Roy officially announced his retirement after 18 NHL seasons, four Stanley Cup championships and three Conn Smythe trophies as the most valuable player in the playoffs.
In 2005, Justin Trudeau married Sophie Gregoire in Montreal.
In 2007, the Liberals won a stunning victory in the P.E.I. election, ending 11 years of Tory rule. Robert Ghiz -- the son of former premier Joe Ghiz -- and the Liberals took 23 seats, while the Tories won just four.
In 2008, the newly elected Constituent Assembly of Nepal declared the country a republic and abolished the 239-year-old monarchy.
In 2010, Prime Minister Stephen Harper bestowed honorary Canadian citizenship upon the Aga Khan, a billionaire philanthropist and spiritual leader of 20 million Muslims worldwide.
In 2010, the iPad was finally available at Canadian stores. The tablet computer was first released in the U.S. about eight weeks earlier and quickly sold more than a million units.
In 2011, Egypt lifted a four-year-old blockade of the Gaza Strip, greatly easing travel restrictions on the 1.5 million residents of the Palestinian territory in a move that bolstered the Hamas government while dealing a setback to Israel's attempts to isolate the militant group.
In 2014, author and poet Maya Angelou, who rose from poverty, segregation and violence to become a force on stage, screen and the printed page, died at age 86.
In 2018, the Stratford Festival's opening night of its 2018 season was cancelled and all its buildings evacuated after a bomb threat, which turned out to be a hoax.
In 2018, Simplii Financial and the Bank of Montreal reveal cyber attackers had broken through security and were threatening to release the account information of 90-thousand Canadians.
In 2019, Canadian country songwriter Ralph Murphy, who penned lyrics for Shania Twain and Randy Travis while earning a reputation as a Nashville mentor, died at age 75. The England-born musician, who also produced for Canadian rock act April Wine, had been hospitalized after suffering numerous health issues. He died with his two children and wife by his side. Murphy was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2012.
In 2020, the mayor of Minneapolis appealed for calm after a second night of violence left one person dead. People protesting the death of George Floyd set fires and looted businesses.
In 2021, the chief of a First Nation in B.C. said the finding of the remains of 215 children on the site of a former residential school in Kamloops was "an unthinkable loss that was spoken about but never documented.'' Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation said the remains were confirmed with the help of a ground-penetrating radar specialist. Radar expert Dr. Sarah Beaulieu said "disruptions in the ground" suggested the presence of unmarked graves. (Beaulieu later revised the number to 200, adding they should be considered "probable burials" until excavation confirms they are human remains.)
In 2021, Liberal MP William Amos said he was deeply embarrassed after being caught unawares on camera once again. Amos apologized for urinating during a virtual session of the House of Commons, saying he didn't realize he was visible to fellow parliamentarians.
In 2023, a rapidly spreading wildfire, fed by strong winds and tinder-dry woods, destroyed homes and forced the evacuation of several suburban communities northwest of Halifax.
In 2024, history was made in the Ontario legislature, when a First Nation legislator rose at Queen's Park to speak in his native language, Oji-Cree. For the first time ever, the legislature allowed, interpreted and transcribed a language other than English and French. Northern Ontario New Democrat Sol Mamakwa from Kingfisher Lake First Nation sparked the change after convincing Government House Leader Paul Calandra to alter the standing order on languages spoken in the chamber. He said Indigenous people are losing their languages, and that his speech in the legislature marked a step toward reconciliation.
In 2024, Spain, Norway and Ireland all moved to formally recognize a Palestinian state. The symbolic, diplomatic move was a co-ordinated effort by the three nations to add international pressure on Israel to soften its devastating response in Gaza to the previous year's Hamas-led attack.
In 2024, Pope Francis issued an apology after he was quoted using a vulgar term about gay men to reaffirm the Catholic Church's ban on gay priests. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms. Francis reportedly said jokingly that there is "already an air of faggotness'' in seminaries while speaking in Italian during a meeting with the country's bishops a week prior.
In 2024, Canada got a new women's pro soccer league. Project 8 became the Northern Super League. Project 8 co-founder and CEO Diana Matheson said it was a deliberate decision not to include women in the league title because it would first and foremost be an internationally competitive professional soccer league.
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The Canadian Press
