Immediately in historical past: A lethal hurricane in Texas and a devastating earthquake in Turkey

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On this date, Aug. 17, in historical past:

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In 1502, Christopher Columbus took possession of what’s now Honduras within the title of Spain.

In 1761, William Carey, pioneer English missionary to India, was born. He taught on the newly based Fort William Faculty of Calcutta from 1801 till his loss of life, and helped discovered the Serampore Press, which made the Bible accessible to over 300 million folks.

In 1786, Frederick the Nice, king of Prussia, died within the arms of his valet. Throughout his reign (1740-1786), he had managed to rework Prussia from a European backwater to an economically robust and politically reformed state.

In 1896, the invention that led to the Klondike gold rush was made. George Washington Carmack and two Indian companions, Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie, discovered gold at Rabbit Creek, a tributary of the Yukon’s Klondike River. After information of the strike reached the skin world, 1000’s of miners poured into the territory. It’s estimated greater than $100 million in gold was recovered within the area through the subsequent eight years.

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In 1896, Bridget Driscoll of Croydon, Surrey, turned the primary pedestrian to be knocked down and killed by a motorized vehicle in Britain. The automotive that hit Mrs. Driscoll was travelling at 6 km/h.

In 1904, Ford of Canada started constructing automobiles in a transformed wagon works in Walkerville, close to Windsor, Ont. The 17 staff assembled a complete of 114 automobiles within the first yr.

In 1913, the Ontario authorities barred the instructing of French within the province’s colleges previous grade one.

In 1915, a hurricane killed 275 folks at Galveston, Texas.

In 1920, Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians turned the one participant to die from accidents acquired in a significant league baseball recreation. Chapman was hit within the temple the day before today by a pitch from the New York Yankees’ Carl Mays.

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In 1936, the Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis, gained a Quebec election, taking 76 seats to the Liberals’ 14. He was defeated in 1939, however he returned to energy in 1944 and retained management of Quebec till his loss of life on Sept. 7, 1959. His Union Nationale authorities modified the face of Quebec society, asserting the authority of the state over the Roman Catholic Church and striving for autonomy for Quebec inside Confederation.

In 1940, Prime Minister Mackenzie King and U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt agreed at a two-day assembly in Ogdensburg, N.Y., to arrange a Canadian-American defence fee. The Everlasting Joint Board of Defence was composed of senior officers from each international locations and handled points together with the supply of arms from U.S. factories to Canadian forces and free exchanges of defence data.

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In 1943, Allied forces gained management of Sicily through the Second World Conflict.

In 1944, Indonesia proclaimed its independence from the Netherlands.

In 1944, British bombers staged one of many nice fireplace raids of the Second World Conflict, dumping 70,000 incendiaries on the German ports of Kiel and Stettin.

In 1945, the Kellock Royal Fee inquiry into the Halifax VE-Day riots — when troopers turned violent whereas celebrating the top of the Second World Conflict — blamed the Halifax naval command for not controlling its personnel.

In 1951, the American Phone and Telegraph Firm inaugurated its microwave radio relay system for transmitting phone calls and tv applications between New York Metropolis and San Francisco.

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In 1969, hurricane Camille slammed into the Mississippi coast as a Class 5 storm with prime sustained winds estimated at practically 320 km/h. The hurricane and ensuing flash floods had been blamed for 256 deaths.

In 1970, the Soviet Union launched the Venus VII for exploration of the planet Venus.

In 1975, the Soviet nuclear-powered icebreaker Artika turned the primary floor ship to succeed in the North Pole.

In 1978, the primary profitable trans-Atlantic balloon flight ended as Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman landed their Double Eagle II exterior Paris.

In 1980, america started putting armed marshals aboard some flights in a bid to cease hijackings to Cuba by homesick refugees. Six U.S. flights had been diverted the week earlier to Cuba, together with three on Aug. 16.

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In 1987, Rudolph Hess, Adolf Hitler’s ex-deputy, hung himself within the Spandau jail in West Berlin. Hess spent the final 20 years of his life as the only real inmate of Spandau. He was 93.

In 1988, Jeffrey MacInnis, 25, of Toronto and Michael Beedell, 32, of Ottawa sailed a catamaran via the Northwest Passage, the primary to navigate the route powered solely by the wind.

In 1989, an Australian industrial airliner turned the primary to fly continuous from London to Sydney.

In 1992, Rev. Stan McKay, a Cree from north of Winnipeg, was elected the primary native moderator of the United Church of Canada.

In 1994, Queen Elizabeth opened the College of Northern British Columbia in Prince George, the primary new college to open in Canada in 25 years and the one in northern B.C. The nationally televised occasion attracted 10,000 folks to the campus.

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In 1996, Ruth Perry turned Africa’s first girl head of state. She was chosen by West African heads of state to chair Liberia’s ruling council.

In 1998, U.S. President Invoice Clinton gave historic testimony to a legal grand jury about his sexual affair with former White Home intern Monica Lewinsky. He was the primary American president to be questioned by a legal grand jury.

In 1998, an armed standoff within the Gaspe by Mi’kmaq factions and Quebec governments over native timber rights ended after a compromise deal was reached. The deal gave a complete of 30,000 cubic metres of wooden to Listiguj reserve.

In 1999, a large earthquake measuring 7.8 in magnitude hit northwestern Turkey, killing greater than 17,000 folks and injuring greater than 43,000. Shoddy development was the primary motive for the hovering loss of life toll. Izmit and Golcuk suffered probably the most harm.

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In 2008, American swimmer Michael Phelps turned the primary individual to win eight gold medals at a single Olympic video games, teaming with three others to win the 4×100 medley relay on the Beijing Video games. He beat the earlier document of seven held by Mark Spitz.

In 2009, the Canada Line, Vancouver’s new fast transit line and the primary to hyperlink a significant Canadian metropolis to its airport, opened with a day of free using.

In 2017, a van intentionally veered onto a sidewalk and sped down a pedestrian zone in Barcelona’s historic vacationer district, killing 13 folks — together with one Canadian. 4 Canadians had been among the many 120 injured. ISIS claimed duty. The motive force was the topic of a large manhunt and was gunned down on Aug. 21 in Subirats, a small city 45 kilometres west of town.

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In 2018, the Transportation Security Board mentioned three folks had been killed in a lightweight airplane crash at a distant Northwest Territories lake. The Cessna 206 that crashed at Little Physician Lake was operated by Simpson Air.

In 2018, the Quebec authorities mentioned it might dole out cheques starting from $1,000 to $46,700 per allow to compensate taxi drivers who’d seen the worth of their permits plummet for the reason that arrival of ride-hailing service Uber within the province.

In 2020, after 10 years of courtroom proceedings and negotiations, the Toronto Police Providers Board settled a class-action lawsuit filed over mass arrests on the G20 Summit in 2010. The deal meant about 1,100 folks arrested through the summit would share a $16.5-million settlement. Along with compensation, the deal additionally included a public acknowledgment by police concerning the mass arrests and detention situations, in addition to a dedication to altering how protests are policed in future.

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In 2020, the CFL cancelled its 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The choice made 2020 the primary yr since 1919 that the Gray Cup wasn’t awarded. The transfer got here after the league couldn’t remedy a variety of points in an effort to attempt to salvage a season, together with to safe financing from the federal authorities. The league had requested for a $30-million interest-free mortgage.

In 2020, Canada named a brand new ambassador to Lebanon. Overseas Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne mentioned Chantal Chastenay would take over the job from Emmanuelle Lamoureux.

In 2020, Invoice Morneau resigned because the federal finance minister and a Liberal MP. Opposition events had been calling for Morneau’s resignation for weeks, over allegations that he had a battle of curiosity within the WE Charity affair. Morneau mentioned he would put his title ahead as a candidate to guide the Group for Financial Co-operation and Improvement. He denied that the prime minister had requested him to resign.

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In 2021, two extra flights from Afghanistan landed in Canada. The planes carried diplomats and particular forces troops in addition to an unknown variety of refugees fleeing the Taliban. The flights got here after order was restored on the Kabul airport following a chaotic two days that noticed 1000’s of determined Afghans speeding onto the tarmac because the Taliban took management of town and nation.

In 2021, Justin Trudeau revealed that each one Canadian diplomats had left Afghanistan. Trudeau mentioned a complete of 9 flights out of Afghanistan had arrived in Canada in latest weeks. The Division of Nationwide Defence confirmed earlier that one Toronto-bound plane was carrying Afghans admitted via a particular immigration program for former interpreters and others. An Ottawa-bound airplane carried Canadian diplomats and particular forces troops.

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