Today in History for Jan. 31:
In 1561, Menno Simons, whose followers became known as Mennonites, died. Born in the Netherlands in 1496, he started his religious life as a Catholic priest.
In 1606, Guy Fawkes, convicted for his part in the so-called ``Gunpowder Plot'' against the English parliament and King James I, was executed. Catholics had hoped that James, who had a Catholic mother, would be more tolerant of their faith, but when he turned out not to be, Fawkes and 12 other co-conspirators decided to blow up the Houses of Parliament. One of the co-conspirators, however, worried that innocent people would be killed, wrote an anonymous letter to a friend, who informed authorities, and the plot was stopped.
In 1839, the Durham Report was published in London. Written by Gov.-Gen. Lord Durham, it was a response to the 1837 rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada. Durham recommended uniting both Canadas under a responsible government, and making English the only official language.
In 1865, General Robert E. Lee was named General-in-Chief of all the Confederate armies.
In 1880, the ship ``Atlanta,'' with 290 people aboard, vanished after leaving a Bermuda port.
In 1907, Timothy Eaton, founder of the T. Eaton Company of Canada, died in Toronto at age 72. He revolutionized Canadian retailing by introducing cash sales and fixed prices for goods -- replacing the old credit, bargain and barter method.
In 1912, the world's first full daily comic page appeared in the New York Evening Journal.
In 1917, during the First World War, Germany served notice it was beginning a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
In 1920, Joe Malone of the Quebec Bulldogs set an NHL record of seven goals in a game versus Toronto.
In 1929, revolutionary Leon Trotsky and his family were expelled from the Soviet Union.
In 1945, U.S. Army private Eddie Slovik was executed by firing squad in France. He was the first American soldier since the U.S. Civil War to be shot for desertion.
In 1950, U.S. President Harry Truman announced he had ordered the development of the hydrogen bomb.
In 1951, four people died when the Duplessis Bridge over the St. Maurice River collapsed at Trois-Rivieres, Que.
In 1957, the federal government proclaimed the second Monday in October Thanksgiving Day, a statutory holiday.
In 1958, the United States entered the Space Age with its first successful launch of a satellite into orbit, ``Explorer I.''
In 1961, a chimpanzee named Ham became the first U.S. animal to orbit Earth.
In 1971, astronauts Alan Shepard Jr., Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon.
In 1985, The Canadian Press purchased United Press Canada.
In 1986, U.S. President Ronald Reagan delivered eulogies for the seven crew members of the space shuttle Challenger at a memorial service at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
In 1990, McDonald's opened its first outlet in the Soviet Union, in Moscow's Pushkin Square. Thousands lined up for hours to eat in the 700-seat restaurant, the company's largest in the world.
In 1996, Canada's foremost prima ballerina, Karen Kain, announced she would retire as principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada after the 1996-97 season. Her career spanned more than 25 years.
In 2000, an Alaska Airlines jet plummeted into the Pacific Ocean, killing all 88 people aboard.
In 2001, a special Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands sentenced 48-year-old Libyan intelligence officer Abdel Baset al-Megrahi to at least 20 years in prison for planting a bomb that exploded aboard Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on Dec. 21, 1988. All 259 people on board, including two Canadians, died along with 11 people on the ground. In 2009, he was freed on compassionate grounds because he was dying of cancer. He died on May 20, 2012.
In 2001, American businessman George Gillett bought 80 per cent of the Montreal Canadiens, plus their arena, from Molson for $275 million.
In 2009, hundreds of impoverished people in Molo, Kenya, flocked to an overturned tanker to siphon fuel when it exploded and killed at least 113 and injured 200 others.
In 2013, an explosion at the capital city office headquarters of Mexico's state-owned oil company, Pemex, killed 37 people.
In 2014, former newspaper baron Conrad Black, who was convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice in the U.S. and served a prison sentence there, was removed from the Order of Canada.
In 2015, Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova 6-3, 7-6 (5) for her sixth Australian Open title.
In 2018, the Ontario Superior Court ruled that doctors who have a moral or religious objection to treatments such as assisted dying, contraception or abortions, have to refer patients to another doctor who can provide the service.
In 2019, as the sentencing hearing wrapped up, the truck driver who caused the deadly Humboldt Broncos bus crash told court in Melfort, Sask., that he took full responsibility for what happened because of his lack of experience. Jaskirat Singh Sidhu apologized to families of the victims for taking ``the most valuable things of your life.'' Sidhu blew through a stop sign and into the path of the junior hockey team's bus at an intersection in April 2018, killing 16 and injuring another 13.
In 2020, thousands of Brexit supporters cheered and celebrated outside Britain's Parliament as the United Kingdom made its official departure from the European Union. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it a ''moment of real national renewal and change.''
In 2020, the United States declared a public health emergency because of the novel coronavirus. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar also announced that President Donald Trump would temporarily bar foreign nationals believed to be a risk for transmitting the virus from entering the U-S.
In 2021, the death toll from COVID-19 in Canada passed the mark of 20,000 people.
In 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would not meet with truck protesters nor bow to the "intimidation tactics" by organizers. He said some protesters had gone beyond calling for an end to government-imposed vaccine mandates and instead ended up harassing local businesses, waving Nazi flags and stealing food from the homeless. Trudeau said while "freedom of expression, assembly and association are cornerstones of democracy -- racist imagery and the desecration of war memorials are not."
In 2022, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole would face a vote on his leadership. Ontario MP Scott Reid, chair of the party's caucus, informed MPs he received written notice with signatures from at least 20 per cent of members requesting the review. The process MPs were following is outlined in the Reform Act, which gives a party's caucus the ability to trigger a leadership review. After last year's election loss, the Conservative caucus gave itself the power to vote on O'Toole's leadership. It was a measure the leader described as a welcome exercise in accountability.
In 2024, a case of old hockey cards uncovered in Regina was being hailed as a treasure trove of the Great One. Jason Simonds from Heritage Auctions went to a home to look at 16 sealed boxes of O-Pee-Chee's 1979 hockey card collection. He said the boxes could include 25 or more highly coveted Wayne Gretzky rookie cards. Simonds put them up for auction with an estimated value of at least $2 million.
In 2024, Russia’s Defence Ministry said Russia and Ukraine held a prisoner swap. They exchanged 195 prisoners of war each.
In 2024, the final report from the inquiry into why a former soldier in Nova Scotia killed his wife, daughter and mother, then himself in 2017, was released with 25 recommendations. The bottom line was that health-care professionals could have done a better job of sharing Lionel Desmond's complex medical history so that he got the help he needed for post-traumatic stress disorder. The report included recommendations aimed at improving supports for veterans and their families, strengthening the firearms licensing process and providing support for people dealing with intimate partner violence.
In 2024, the Canadian Border Services Agency said agents in Manitoba made the largest seizure of illegal narcotics ever seen in the Prairies. The agency said more than $50-million worth of suspected methamphetamine was seized at the Boissevain, Man., border entry point on Jan. 14.
In 2024, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said a lack of planning among Montreal fire department officials contributed to the capsizing of a rescue boat in the St. Lawrence River that left a firefighter dead. A TSB report on the October 2021 incident said the firefighters who were dispatched to the Lachine Rapids off the southern tip of Montreal Island to pull a pleasure vessel from the water didn't have an action plan. It also identified deficiencies within the fire department, even if the shortfalls didn't contribute to the death of firefighter Pierre Lacroix.
In 2024, Alberta became the latest province to announce parental consent would be required for students looking to change their names or pronouns at school. Premier Danielle Smith said parental consent would be required for those students aged 15 and under who want to make such changes at school. She said while students aged 16 and 17 would not need consent, their parents will need to be notified. Smith made the announced changes on the social media platform X. She also announced limitations on gender affirmation surgeries and hormone treatment for teens in Alberta as well as policy changes for transgender athletes.
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The Canadian Press
