TODAY IN HISTORY

In 1564, All Fools’ Day is said to have originated when King Charles IX of France changed the calendar. Prior to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, the date was observed as New Year’s Day by cultures as varied as the Romans and the Hindu.

Also on this date:

In 1548, England’s Parliament ordered the publication of the “Book of Common Prayer.”

In 1734, Canada’s first lighthouse — at Louisbourg, N.S. — began operation.

In 1868, Canada’s postal service established a uniform postal rate of three cents a letter.

In 1868, Canada celebrated its first April Fools’ Day on record.

In 1873, 547 people died when the liner Atlantic was wrecked on a reef near Mars Rock, outside Halifax harbour.

In 1918, prohibition was declared in Alberta.

In 1924, the Royal Canadian Air Force was formed, six years to the day after the Royal Air Force was established in Britain.

In 1960, Canada entered the jet age when Trans-Canada Air Lines (now Air Canada) began service between Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

In 1975, Canadian radio stations first started giving the temperature in Celsius.

In 2001, Halifax became the first municipality in North America to restrict the use of insecticides, pesticides and herbicides.

In 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously upheld a provincial appeals court decision that found P.E.I. had no duty of care toward children sent to the P.E.I. Protestant Orphanage by family members or guardians. The institution was established in 1928 and shut down in 1976. A group of 57 survivors banded together in 2002 to seek damages from the province, saying they were subject to beatings and sexual abuse for years.