November 1981 - November 5, 1981 (Thursday)

November 5, 1981 (Thursday)

• Following an all-night meeting in Ottawa of nine of the premiers of the ten provinces of Canada, an agreement was reached on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Excluded was René Lévesque of Quebec, who was told of the results at breakfast later that morning. The agreement of the leaders of the English-speaking provinces was that the power to opt out of application of an amendment to the future Constitution of Canada would be limited to matters of education or culture.
• It was announced from Buckingham Palace that Princess Diana was pregnant and that her due date would be in June. Prince William would be born on June 21, 1982.
• The Glucometer, the first portable meter to measure blood sugar levels of patients with diabetes, was introduced.
• Died: Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa Lama, 57, spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu system of Tibetan Buddhism, at a hospital in Zion, Illinois. There is a dispute within the Karma Kagyu as to whether he was reincarnated as Ogyen Trinley Dorje (b. 1985) or Trinley Thaye Dorje (b. 1983)