The mystery of the Bermuda Triangle begins: 77 years ago today

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On this date, Dec. 5, in history:

In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued his Witch Bull, ordering an inquisition to systematically discover, torture and execute witches throughout Europe. It led to the ease with which witchcraft was charged and punished, even in the American colonies two centuries later.

In 1776, the first scholastic fraternity in the United States, Phi Beta Kappa, was organized at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

In 1837, Lower Canada (now Quebec) was placed under martial law during a rebellion that had broken out largely over constitutional issues. The unrest was sparked in part by the control exercised by the largely English-speaking executive government over the elected — and predominantly French-speaking — legislative assembly.

In 1837, William Lyon Mackenzie, journalist and politician, led a rebel force down Yonge Street from Montgomery’s Tavern hoping to capture Toronto. The force was repelled by Loyalist guards who easily defeated the rebels two days later. Mackenzie fled to the United States for 10 years but returned to Canada after receiving a government pardon. He resumed his journalistic and political careers.

In 1848, U.S. president James K. Polk triggered the Gold Rush of ’49 by confirming that gold had been discovered in California.

In 1854, the folding theatre chair was patented.

In 1893, the first electric car appeared. Built by Dickson’s Toronto, it could travel about 25 kilometres before getting its batteries recharged.

In 1901, movie producer Walt Disney was born in Chicago. He died Dec. 15, 1966.

In 1926, French impressionist painter Claude Monet died.

In 1933, prohibition ended in the United States.

In 1945, five U.S. Avenger torpedo bombers disappeared in the Bermuda triangle in one of the first documented paranormal events associated with the four-million-square-kilometre ocean area roughly defined by Bermuda, Puerto Rico and the southern tip of Florida. Believers say a large number of ships and planes have disappeared in the area under highly unusual circumstances. Skeptics say no more ships and planes are lost there than in any other heavily-travelled area of ocean.

In 1951, Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent and Ontario Premier Leslie Frost signed a $2-million agreement for the power development phase of the St. Lawrence waterway scheme.

In 1954, Canada announced the recall of its remaining troops from Korea.

In 1955, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to become one of the world’s largest labour federations, the AFL-CIO.

In 1962, Claire Kirkland-Casgrain became the first female cabinet minister in Quebec.

In 1968, about 60 windows in the Quebec legislature were broken by snowballs during a demonstration. Thousands of students protested the expected introduction of a bill to safeguard English-language schools in the province. Police estimated 90 per cent of the students were under the age of 16.

In 1970, a Stanley Cup replica and the Conn Smythe and Bill Masterton trophies were stolen from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

In 1973, Sir Robert Watson-Watt, British physicist and inventor of radar, died at Inverness, Scotland.

In 1974, Peter Demeter, a wealthy developer from Mississauga, Ont., was convicted in the murder of his wife Christine, and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

In 1976, the first four Canadian women Rhodes Scholars were chosen.

In 1977, stung by Arab criticism of his peace initiative with Israel, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat broke diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen.

In 1978, the American space probe “Pioneer Venus One,” began beaming back its first information and pictures of the planet to scientists in California.

In 1981, delegates to the biennial policy convention of the Parti Quebecois in Montreal adopted a resolution saying the PQ “as a sovereigntist party does not have to promote the idea of association which is already inscribed in the economic and political reality of the countries of North America which are already moving more and more rapidly toward total abolition of their tariff barriers.” In effect, the resolution meant the PQ would campaign on “sovereignty” alone, not on “sovereignty association” as it did in the 1980 referendum.

In 1985, Britain announced it would follow the lead of the United States and withdraw from UNESCO at the end of the year, citing bad management and political bias against the West as the reasons. It rejoined UNESCO in 1997.

In 1986, International Woodworkers of America and British Columbia forest companies reached a tentative agreement, ending a five-month B.C. woodworkers strike.

In 1988, defrocked U.S. televangelist Jim Bakker was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of fraud.

In 1989, former Indian and northern affairs minister John Munro was charged with breach of trust, conspiracy, corruption, fraud, theft, uttering forged documents and other related offences.

In 1989, East Germany’s former leaders, including ousted Communist Party chief Erich Honecker, were placed under house arrest.

In 1990, Manitoba Indians signed an agreement with the federal government that would lead to native control of education on reserves.

In 1991, gun control legislation which was approved in the House of Commons on Nov. 7, was given royal assent on the eve of the second anniversary of the Montreal massacre.

In 1999, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau was named the century’s top newsmaker in The Canadian Press survey of newspaper editors and broadcasters.

In 2000, Seagram was voted out of existence in a merger between the 76-year-old Canadian beverage and entertainment company and the French conglomerate Vivendi.

In 2002, General Ne Win, Myanmar’s former military ruler, died under house arrest in Rangoon at the age of 91.

In 2002, Sri Lanka’s government and the Tamil Tiger rebel group pledged to craft a political deal including regional autonomy and power-sharing to end a bloody 19-year separatist war.

In 2003, Canadian Alliance members voted 96 per cent in favour of joining forces with the Progressive Conservatives for a new party called the Conservative Party of Canada.

In 2007, a nuclear reactor shutdown in Chalk River, Ont., caused a worldwide shortage of radioactive isotopes, a key ingredient in radiation therapy.

In 2008, Cpl. Mark Robert McLaren, Pte. Demetrios Diplaros and Warrant Officer Robert Wilson, all based at CFB Petawawa in eastern Ontario, were killed when their armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device while they were on patrol in the Arghandab district west of Kandahar city.

In 2008, Jay Triano became the first Canadian to head coach in an NBA game. His Toronto Raptors didn’t fare well — losing to the Utah Jazz 114-87.

In 2008, O.J. Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison with eligibility for parole after nine years, for kidnapping and robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room in September 2007. (He was granted parole effective Oct. 1, 2017).

In 2008, a committee of federal, provincial and territorial governments signed a labour mobility agreement reducing labour barriers and allowing workers from any province or territory to fill jobs anywhere in Canada, effective April 1, 2009.

In 2011, Ivory Coast’s ex-president Laurent Gbagbo appeared at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, the first former head of state to face judges at the war-crimes court. (He was extradited in November to face accusations his supporters committed murder and rape as he rejected 2010 election results and tried to cling to power. His trial began in January 2016.)

In 2013, former South African president Nelson Mandela, who became one of the world’s most beloved statesmen and a colossus of the 20th century when he emerged from 27 years in prison to negotiate an end to apartheid, died at age 95.

In 2017, the International Olympic Committee barred the Russian team from competing at the games in South Korea in February as punishment for the country’s doping violations when it hosted the 2014 Sochi Games. Clean Russian athletes would be able to compete under the name “Olympic Athlete from Russia.” If they won gold, the Olympic flag would be raised and the Olympic anthem played to honour their victories.

In 2018, Washington State regulators denied an Ontario utility’s proposed multi-billion-dollar takeover of energy company Avista, citing political interference by the provincial government of Doug Ford. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission says it found Hydro One’s deal that valued Avista at 6.7-billion dollars was not in Avista’s public interest after it became clear that the Ontario government was willing to interfere in the Ontario utility. The regulator cited Ford’s move after his Progressive Conservatives won power in June to force the Hydro One CEO to retire and the resignation of the entire 14-member board.

In 2019, Justin Trudeau ushered in a new era of minority Liberal rule with a throne speech brimming with humility, goodwill and promises of collaboration with opposition parties whose support he needed to ensure his government’s survival. The speech guaranteed the government would win a vote on the throne speech after Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said his party’s 32 MPs would support it, despite serious reservations about its content. The speech overall offered few details of Trudeau’s agenda for his second mandate, beyond reiterating Liberal campaign promises: stronger action to fight climate change, lower taxes for middle-class Canadians, beefed-up gun control, steps towards national pharmacare and investments in infrastructure, public transit, affordable housing and health care.

In 2019, Liberal MP Anthony Rota was elected Speaker of the House of Commons, beating out fellow Liberal Geoff Regan, who was Speaker during the last session of Parliament and wanted to continue. Rota, 58, represents the northern Ontario riding of Nipissing–Timiskaming and was a deputy speaker in the last Parliament. Rota promised to be fair, non-partisan, and do his best — and he urged MPs to do the same. “I ask one favour of all members, to just think, every time they get up, and to make sure that our friends, family, children, and parents are all proud of us when we are in this House” he said.

In 2019, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was authorizing the drafting of articles of impeachment against U-S President Donald Trump “sadly but with confidence and humility.” Trump is alleged to have abused the power of his office when he pressed the president of Ukraine to investigate Democrats and political rival Joe Biden while withholding military aid to the country. Pelosi said “the president’s actions have seriously violated the Constitution.” Democrats in the House have called the impeachment inquiry a duty, while Republican representatives dismissed it as a sham.

In 2021, former Kansas senator and failed U.S. presidential hopeful Bob Dole died at the age of 98.

In 2021, the Trans Mountain pipeline restarted. The federal Crown corporation said the pipeline had been re-started following a three-week precautionary shutdown during storms in southern British Columbia. It carries 300,000 barrels per day of petroleum products from Alberta to B.C. The B-C government had asked motorists to limit fuel purchases to 30-litres per trip to the gas pump.

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