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Memorial plaque to the victims of the massacre

The École Polytechnique massacre was an antifeminist mass shooting that occurred on December 6, 1989, at the École Polytechnique in Montreal, Canada. Fourteen women were murdered; another ten women and four men were injured. The perpetrator, Marc Lépine, entered a mechanical engineering class and separated the male and female students, ordering the men to leave. He shot all nine women in the room, killing six. The shooter then moved throughout the building, killing eight more women and wounding students before fatally shooting himself. The massacre is regarded as misogynist terrorism and representative of wider societal violence against women. In response to the massacre, the Canadian parliament passed more stringent gun control laws. It also led to policy changes in emergency services protocols for shootings, such as police intervening immediately to reduce casualties. The anniversary of the massacre is commemorated annually as White Ribbon Day. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Kang Ju-hyeok

... that Kang Ju-hyeok (pictured) became the youngest player in FC Seoul's history at the age of 17 years, 9 months, and 6 days?
... that the political opposition in Saint Kitts and Nevis has viewed the national broadcaster, ZIZ, as a government mouthpiece?
... that Richard Du Cann acted for the defence in the Lady Chatterley's Lover obscenity trial and the trial of the MP John Stonehouse?
... that the funds from the sale of burial lots at Cathedral Cemetery in Philadelphia were intended for the construction of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul?
... that Mary Robertson was the first woman to receive a Doctor of Science degree in medicine from the University of Cape Town?
... that Karl Amadeus Hartmann completed his Hungarian-influenced composition Kammerkonzert during his period of inner emigration after Hitler's seizure of power?
... that one Canadian football announcer refused to mention Tony Pajaczkowski in game broadcasts for several years?
... that Augustus Pugin called St John the Evangelist Church, Islington, a "deformity"?
... that residents of Port Mercer, New Jersey, profited from passing vessels by dragging their tow mules into the Delaware and Raritan Canal and having local boys "rescue" them for a fee?

In the news

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (pictured) wins the Namibian general election.
South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law and lifts it hours later after a vote by the National Assembly.
At least 56 people are killed in a crowd crush during a football match at the Stade du 3 Avril in Nzérékoré, southern Guinea.
Syrian opposition forces enter Aleppo in the first offensive since the 2020 ceasefire.

On this day

December 6: Saint Nicholas's Day (Western Christianity); Independence Day in Finland (1917)

Blast cloud from the Halifax Explosion

1240 – After days of bombardment, Mongol invaders under Batu Khan breached the walls of Kiev and sacked the city.
1917 – A ship carrying TNT and picric acid in Halifax Harbour, Canada, caught fire after a collision and caused one of the largest accidental explosions in history (pictured).
1956 – In what became known as the Blood in the Water match at the Melbourne Olympics, the Hungarian water polo team defeated the Soviet Union 4–0 against the background of the Hungarian Revolution.
1988 – Self-government was granted to the Australian Capital Territory.
2017 – Under President Donald Trump, the United States government officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

George H. D. Gossip (b. 1841)
Mary Margaret O'Reilly (d. 1949)
Satoru Iwata (b. 1959)

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The IEEE Medal of Honor is the highest recognition of the American Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It has been awarded since 1917, and is presented to an individual or team of up to three people who have made exceptional contributions or had extraordinary careers in technology, engineering and science in the IEEE fields of interest. The award consists of a gold medal (pictured), a bronze replica of the medal, a certificate, and a US$2 million honorarium. The medal was created by the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) as the IRE Medal of Honor. It became the IEEE Medal of Honor when the IRE merged with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers to form the IEEE in 1963. The first recipient was Edwin Howard Armstrong, in 1917. As of 2024, 104 individuals have been awarded the medal, with the latest recipient being Robert E. Kahn. (Full list...)

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Great Yarmouth Town Hall is a municipal building on Hall Plain in Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, England. It is the meeting place of Great Yarmouth Borough Council and is a Grade II* listed building. The town hall was designed by John Bond Pearce in the Queen Anne Revival style, with terracotta facings and a 110-foot-tall (34-metre) clock tower with a lantern above. It was opened by Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), on 31 May 1882. The building served as the headquarters of Great Yarmouth County Borough Council for much of the 20th century and has continued to operate as the local seat of government following the formation of the enlarged borough council in 1974. This hand-colored photochrom shows Great Yarmouth Town Hall in the 1890s, seen from opposite the River Yare.

Photograph credit: Detroit Publishing Company; restored by Adam Cuerden

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