The Liberal Party of Canada leadership convention of 1968 elected Pierre Elliott Trudeau as the new leader of the Liberal Party. Trudeau was the unexpected winner in what was one of the most important leadership conventions in the history of the Liberal Party of Canada. The Globe and Mail newspaper report the next day called it "the most chaotic, confusing, and emotionally draining convention in Canadian political history." The convention was held following the retirement of Lester B. Pearson, who was a much respected party leader and prime minister of Canada, but had failed to win a majority government in two attempts. Eight high profile cabinet ministers entered the race, but by the time the convention began on April 3 the charismatic Trudeau had emerged as the front runner. He was strongly opposed by the party's right wing, but this faction was divided between former Minister of Trade and Commerce Robert Winters and Minister of Transport Paul Hellyer, and failed to mount a united opposition. Trudeau won the leadership on the fourth ballot of the convention.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1066: Battle of Hastings: The Norman invasion forces of William the Conqueror defeated the English army and killed Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hastings)

1926: The children's book featuring A. A. Milne's fictional bear Winnie-the-Pooh was first published. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie-the-Pooh)

1947: Flying a Bell X-1, test pilot Chuck Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Yeager)

1953: Qibya massacre: Israeli military commander Ariel Sharon and his Unit 101 special forces were ordered to "inflict heavy damage on the inhabitants" of a village on the West Bank. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qibya_massacre)

1981: Hosni Mubarak was elected President of Egypt, one week after Anwar Sadat was assassinated. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosni_Mubarak)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"love is the every only god" -- e. e. cummings (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/E._E._Cummings)