The history of the Montreal Canadiens professional ice hockey club
dates back to its founding on December 4, 1909, as a charter member of
the National Hockey Association. Created to appeal to Montreal's
francophone population, they played their first game on January 5,
1910, and captured their first Stanley Cup in 1916. The Montreal
Canadiens were one of the four founding teams of the National Hockey
League (NHL) in 1917. The club struggled during the Great Depression,
nearly relocating to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1935 and contemplated
suspending operations in 1939. Maurice Richard became the first player
in NHL history to score 50 goals in a single season in 1944–45 and
sparked the Richard Riot in 1955 when he was suspended for attacking a
linesman. The Canadiens won a record five consecutive titles from 1956
to 1960, and nine more between 1964 and 1978 under general manager Sam
Pollock. Led by goaltender Patrick Roy, they won their 24th Stanley Cup
in 1993, the last Canadian team to do so. The Hockey Hall of Fame has
inducted over 50 former Canadiens players, as well as 10 executives.
The team has retired 14 numbers and has honoured 10 off-ice personnel
in its Builder's Row.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Montreal_Canadiens>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1806:
The United Kingdom occupied the Cape of Good Hope for a second time
after relinquishing control of the territory three years earlier.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_of_Good_Hope>
1817:
An army of over 5,400 soldiers led by General José de San Martín
crossed the Andes from Argentina to liberate Chile and then Peru from
Spanish rule.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_of_the_Andes>
1839:
The Royal Marines landed at Aden to occupy the territory and stop
attacks by pirates against the British East India Company's shipping to
India. The city in present-day Yemen remained under British control
until 1967.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aden>
1917:
Approximately 50 tons of TNT exploded at a munitions factory in
Silvertown in West Ham, present-day Greater London, killing over 70
people and injuring over 400 others
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvertown_explosion>
2006:
In the deadliest aviation accident in Slovak history, an Antonov An-24
aircraft operated by the Slovak Air Force crashed in northern Hungary,
near Hejce and Telkibánya, killing 42 of the 43 people on board.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Slovak_Air_Force_Antonov_An-24_crash>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
disdain (v):
To regard (someone or something) with strong contempt
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disdain>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Thou wouldst be loved? — then let thy heart
From its present pathway part not!
Being everything which now thou
art,
Be nothing which thou art not.
So with the world thy gentle ways,
Thy grace, thy more than beauty,
Shall be an endless theme of praise,
And love — a simple duty.
--Edgar Allan Poe
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe>