By Penny Bancroft
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Jean Drapeau CC GOQ (18 February 1916 – 12 August 1999) was a Canadian politician who served as mayor of Montreal for 2 non-consecutive terms from 1954 to 1957 and from 1960 to 1986. Major accomplishments of the Drapeau Administration include the development of the Montreal Metro entirely underground mass transit subway system running on ‘whisper quiet’ rubber wheels, a successful international exposition Expo 67 as well as the construction of a major performing arts centre, the Place des Arts. Drapeau also secured the hosting of the 1976 Summer Olympics and was instrumental in building the Olympic Stadium and then world’s tallest inclined tower. Drapeau was responsible for securing a Major League Baseball franchise, with the creation of the Montreal Expos in 1969. Drapeau’s main legacy is Montreal’s attainment of global status under his administration. He was the longest serving mayor of Montreal.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Robert Fulton (inventor) –
- Claude Monet (artist) –
- Frederick Jackson Turner (historian) –
- Sonia Delaunay (artist) –
- Mamie Doud Eisenhower (U.S. First Lady) –
- Astrid Lindgren (author) –
- Sherwood Schwartz (writer & producer) –
- Veronica Lake (actress) –
- Brian Keith (actor) –
- Edward White (astronaut) –
- King Charles III of England –
- Condoleezza Rice (U.S. Secretary of State) –
- Willie Hernandez (baseball player) –
- Curt Schilling (baseball player) –
- Josh Duhamel (actor) –
- Chip Gaines (home improvement expert) –
Died
- Booker T. Washington (educator & activist) –
- Eddie Bracken (actor) –
Events
- First Western theatrical production in North America, Le Theatre de Neptune, performed–
- Louis Timothee became the first salaried librarian in the U.S.”“–
- Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, was first published in the U.S.–
- Journalist Nellie Bly left N.Y.C. for tour around the world in 72 days–
- Eugene Ely piloted the first airplane take-off from a ship–
- Yale University announces that it will begin admitting women as undergraduate students in 1969–
- Apollo 12 spacecraft successfully launched from Cape Kennedy–
- Princess Anne married Captain Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey–
- Second successful landing of space shuttle Columbia–
- Jean Drapeau became mayor of Montreal for 8th time–
- First cabooseless Canadian Pacific train left Winnipeg, Manitoba, bound for Thunder Bay, Ontario–
Weather
- Violent, easterly gales in New York City flooded cellars and spoiled wharves–
- 36 seconds into its flight to the Moon, Apollo 12 was struck by lightning, and again 20 seconds later, knocking out its electronic navigation system, and nearly forcing the mission to be “scrubbed”–
COURTESY www.almanac.com
