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On This Day .....Canadian Headlines

The TVClubHouse: General Discussion ARCHIVES: 2006 Mar. ~ 2006 May: On This Day .....Canadian Headlines users admin

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Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Tuesday, April 04, 2006 - 8:23 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 4

1994
Normandy France - French organizers reverse cancellation of long-standing hotel reservations for over 100 Canadian Army veterans at the 50th anniversary ceremonies marking the D Day landings. Huge public outcry after vets bumped to accommodate US TV news crews and other VIPs.

1990
Paris France - OECD says Canada pays $117,000 for every farm job it saves by subsidizing agriculture; farm support programs raise output 17%.

1957
Cairo Egypt - Herbert Norman Canadian Ambassador to Egypt, jumps from the roof of his apartment building to his death after suspicions he was a possible Communist sympathizer were released by a US Senate Subcommittee; a friend of Lester Pearson, he was a Party member in his youth; allegations against him have so far proven groundless, or at least not made public.

1949 CANADA JOINS NATO
Washington DC - Canada signs the North Atlantic Treaty with Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the U.S.; becomes founding member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization; NATO members pledge to defend each other in event of Soviet attack.

1942
Sri Lanka - RCAF Squadron Leader L.J. Birchall spots Japanese fleet heading for Ceylon; alerts naval base and averts disaster for the British Fleet and a second Pearl Harbour.

1918
Ottawa Ontario - Cabinet passes wartime order-in-council stipulating that every male between 16 and 60 be regularly employed.

1902
Oxford England - British financier Cecil Rhodes leaves $10 million in his will to provide scholarships for Empire and American students at Oxford University.

1896
Vancouver BC - News of the Yukon's Klondike gold strike reaches the outside world.

1893
Toronto Ontario - Opening of the new Ontario Legislature in Queen's Park; built on the site of a lunatic asylum..

1858
Langley BC - Start of the Fraser River gold rush in British Columbia.


Born on this day:

1956 - Evelyn Hart
ballerina. Hart was trained at the National Ballet School, and has performed for over 20 years with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (principal dancer, 1979).

1952 - Karen Magnussen
figure skater, was born at North Vancouver, BC. Magnussen skated for the North Shore Winter Club in BC. She first competed at the world championships in Vienna in 1967, when she finished 12th. She won her first Canadian championship in 1968, but hairline stress fractures of both legs forced her withdrawal from the 1969 worlds. She was ready for the 1970 Canadians (gold medal 1970, repeated 1971, 1972, 1973), and the 1972 Sapporo Olympics, where she won the silver. In 1972 she was second in the Worlds at Calgary, and on March 1, 1973, at Bratislava, she became the first World Skating Champion from Canada since Petra Burka's victory in 1965, winning both the compulsory short program and the long freeskate.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Wednesday, April 05, 2006 - 5:35 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 5

1977
Ottawa Ontario - Willy Adams 1931- appointed Senator for the North West Territories; first Inuit to sit in Parliament; Rankin Inlet NWT native.

1974
Kleinburg Ontario - Alexander Young 'AY' Jackson dies at age 91; painter, storyteller, leading member of the Group of Seven.

1972
Gravenhurst Ontario - China's championship Table Tennis team visits Norman Bethune House in Gravenhurst.

1971 FIRST WOMAN TO REACH NORTH POLE
North Pole - Frances Phipps the first woman to reach the North Pole; wife of Canadian pilot Weldy Phipps.

1971
Trois-Rivières Quebec - Gentilly nuclear power station starts service near Trois-Rivières; world's first reactor fueled by natural uranium, cooled by ordinary water.

1958
Campbell River BC - Ripple Rock blown up world's largest non-nuclear explosion to date; shipping hazard in Seymour Narrows near Campbell River.

1932
St. John's Nfld. - Group of petitioners ransack the Newfoundland Assembly when their demands are not met.

1842
Saint John, NB - Opening of the first public museum in Canada.

1790
Grimsby Ontario - First town meeting in Ontario held at Grimsby; marks start of local self-government in the province.

1669
Quebec City - Jean Talon grants a royal bounty to large families in New France in the name of Louis XlV; in Canada's first baby bonus, the Crown gives 300 livres to families of 10 children, 400 to families of 12


Born on this day:

1858 - 1889 W. Atlee Burpee
horticulturist, was born at Sheffield, NB; dies in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Burpee founded the world's largest mail-order seed company.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Thursday, April 06, 2006 - 6:00 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 6

1990
St. John's Newfoundland - Newfoundland Legislature votes to rescind support for Meech Lake accord.

1980
Houston Texas - Gordie Howe completes record 26th season as a hockey player.

1976
Quebec City - Quebec Superior Court rules against 10 Protestant school boards opposed to the Official Languages Act.

1972
Montreal Quebec - Bomb explosion at the Cuban Trade Commission in Montreal kills one person.

1968
Ottawa Ontario - Pierre Elliott Trudeau chosen as Liberal Party leader on fourth ballot, replacing Lester Pearson; gets 1203 votes, to Robert Winters' 954, John Turner's 194. The Justice Minister becomes Canada's 15th Prime Minister when Pearson officially steps down on April 22; serves to June 16, 1984.

1965
Ottawa Ontario - Leonard S. Marchand appointed Special Assistant to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration; first aboriginal Canadian appointed to Cabinet staff.

1960
New York City - Paul Anka's single Puppy Love peaks at #1 on the Billboard pop chart.

1942
Aldershott England - General Andrew G.L. (Andy) McNaughton forms the First Canadian Army in Britain with five divisions, two armored brigades, and 3 other divisions slated for home defence.

1909 PEARY CLAIMS POLE; DEBUNKED BY CANUCK
Ellesmere Island NWT - Commander Robert Peary claims to have reached the North Pole on this date, with a party of six, including his black servant Matthew Henson and four Inuit; began journey, his sixth attempt, at Ellesmere Island; his claim has been thoroughly debunked, most recently by Ottawa adventurer Richard Weber, who skied the route, and says Peary can only have drifted far to the north-east of the Pole.

1851
Kingston Ontario -Canadian postal service transferred from British control; sets uniform postal rate of 3 pence a letter.


Born on this day:

1884 - 1950 Walter Huston
stage and screen actor, writer and director, was born Walter Houghston at Toronto; dies in Beverly Hills California. Huston worked for a time as a professional engineer, but was drawn back to his first love, the stage, in 1909. He headlined in vaudeville, and in 1924 starred in two Broadway plays, Mr. Pitt and Desire Under the Elms, before deciding to switch to the movies. He played in D.W. Griffith's Abraham Lincoln (1930), as well as Dodsworth (1936) , The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), The Maltese Falcon (1941 - written and directed by his son John Houston 1906-1987) and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (ditto, 1948 - Academy Award for best supporting actor - Howard the grizzled old prospector, left of Bogart in the poster). He is also the grandfather of Anjelica Houston.

1823 - 1899 Joseph Medill
newspaper editor, was born at Saint John, NB; dies in San Antonio, Texas. Medill built the Chicago Tribune into a leading US newspaper.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Friday, April 07, 2006 - 6:38 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 7

1996
Halifax Nova Scotia - Canadian vessels Athabaskan, Terra Nova and Protecteur arrive home from Gulf War; ships left in early August; HMCS Huron leaves for the Gulf to help enforce the embargo against Iraq.

1989
Ottawa Ontario - Gunman hijacks bus near Montreal and drives it to Parliament Hill; disarmed by police.

1973
Vietnam - Communist insurgents shoot down helicopter in South Vietnam, killing one Canadian and three other members of the International Commission for Control and Supervision (ICCS) team.

1956
Toronto Ontario - Arthur Hailey has his radio script, Flight into Danger, accepted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Hailey later writes the best-selling novel, Airport.

1928 OLD MAN PATRICK SUBS FOR GOALIE
Montreal Quebec - Lester Patrick, General Manager of the New York Rangers, suits up and replaces his injured goalie Lorne Chabot, and Frank Boucher scores at 7:05 into overtime to give the Rangers a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Maroons in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals. Patrick, one of the founders of the NHL, and a former goalie himself, is 45 years old. The Rangers go on to win the series.

1892
Toronto Ontario - Alexander Mackenzie at age 70; former PM still an MP.

1868
Ottawa Ontario -Thomas D'Arcy McGee is shot and killed by a Fenian assassin outside his Sparks St. lodging house, as he is turning the key in his lock. McGee was returning late after making a speech in Parliament; he had denounced the Fenians, a militant Irish-American group dedicated to expelling the British from Ireland by force.

1851
Kingston Ontario -Province of Canada Post Office issues three-penny black, first Canadian postage stamp; one example survives.

1498
France - King Louis XII starts reign; to 1515; on death of Charles VIII (from 1483).


Born on this day:

1908 - 1976 Percy Faith
composer, conductor, was born at Toronto; died in Los Angeles. A music producer, bandleader and pianist, Faith is best known for his composition, Theme From a Summer Place

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Saturday, April 08, 2006 - 6:37 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 8

1981
Ottawa Ontario - Parties agree to end debate on the Constitution in the House of Commons.

1974
Ottawa Ontario - Ottawa restricts imports of cattle treated with growth hormone diethystilbestrol (DES); suspected carcinogen.

1969 EXPOS PLAY BALL
Montreal Quebec - Lester B. Pearson throws out the first ball as the Montreal Expos play their first game at Jarry Park, beating the National Baseball League St. Louis Cardinals 8-7; opening game of franchise, first regular-season major league baseball game in Canada, and outside the US..

1963
Canada - Lester B. Pearson captures 130 seats for the Liberals in the 26th federal general election; PM Diefenbaker holds on to 94 seats; Social Credit keep 24, NDP 17; will form minority government.

1954
Moose Jaw Saskatchewan - TCA North Star airliner crashes after colliding with RCAF trainer over Moose Jaw, killing 37 people.

1945
Zutphen Netherlands - Canadians capture Zutphen; final offensive in Holland.

1937
Oshawa Ontario - Premier Mitchell Hepburn sends in police to deal with illegal sit-down strike at General Motors plant; strike ends April 26; police called 'Hepburn's Hussars'.

1904
London England Britain - Lord Lansdowne signs Convention with French counterpart Cambon to settle the French Shore question; French fishermen lose landing rights on Newfoundland coast in return for cash and concessions in Africa.

1751
Halifax Nova Scotia - William Pigott opens the first inn in Nova Scotia; first in English Canada.

1609
Quebec Quebec - Samuel de Champlain and 12 survivors prepare to return to France as ice in the St. Lawrence thaws; 16 out of his crew of 28 have died from scurvy due to lack of vitamin C; seeing the French suffer, the local Iroquois teach them how to make 'tisane d'anneda', or cedar tea, a medicine containing the vitamin.


Born on this day:

1893 - 1979 Mary Pickford
actress, producer, was born Gladys Mary Smith at Toronto; dies in Santa Monica, California. Called 'America's Sweetheart' of the silent screen, Pickford was one of the richest and most famous women in the World. She made her theatrical debut in 1898 at the Silver King theatre in Toronto, then went south to team up with fellow Canadian Mack Sennett and director D. W. Griffith, starring in such classic silent films as Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and Little Lord Fauntleroy. In 1919, she and her husband, Douglas Fairbanks joined Charlie Chaplin and Griffith to found the United Artists studio. She was winner of one of the first Academy Awards.

1814 - 1841 Philippe-Ignace-François Aubert de Gaspé
novelist, was born at Quebec City; dies in Halifax. de Gaspé wrote the first French Canadian novel, L'influence d'un Livre in 1837, with the help of his father Philippe-Joseph, who later wrote another novel, Les Anciens canadiens (1863).

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Sunday, April 09, 2006 - 6:28 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 9

1990
Quebec Quebec - Jean-Francois Lisée publishes 'Dans l'oeil de l'aigle' claiming that René Levesque regularly gave the US an advance look at sensitive legislation before showing it to the Parti Quebecois Cabinet.

1990
Yellowknife NWT - Ottawa signs final land claim agreement with 15,000 Dene-Metis of Mackenzie Valley; they are awarded surface title to 181,230 sq km land, mineral rights to 10,000 sq km and $500 million cash over 20 years.

1987 GREAT ONE NOTCHES SEVEN IN POST SEASON PLAY
Edmonton Alberta - Oiler Wayne Gretzky scores 7 goals in a Stanley Cup game for the third time; passes Jean Beliveau as all-time playoff scoring champion.

1987
Ottawa Ontario - Supreme Court of Canada rules that the right to strike is not guaranteed by the constitution.

1945
Netherlands - Canadian troops trap the remaining German armies in the Netherlands, cutting off all land escape routes.

1929
Washington DC - Canadian Ambassador Vincent Massey protests against sinking of Canadian schooner I'm Alone; crew released; case of rum-runner to go to arbitration.

1917
Vimy France - Arthur William Currie leads all four divisions of the Canadian Corps. fighting as a unit for the first time, with one British brigade under Lt.-Gen. Julian Byng, to Easter Monday victory at Vimy Ridge. Using 1,000 guns and a masterful artillery barrage technique developed by Currie and his gunners, they take the German stronghold where the French and British had earlier failed; 4,000 Canadians killed, 6,000 wounded. From that day onward, Germany is on the defensive.

1869
London England - HBC shareholders accept terms of Rupert's Land Act of 1868; Hudson Bay Company cedes its territory to Canada.

1682
Louisiana USA - René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle erects a cross and proclaims the Mississippi delta the property of Louis XIV; calls it Louisiana and the Mississippi River la Rivière Colbert after the administrator of France; he and Tonty had arrived at the Gulf on April 6 with 22 other French explorers.

1682
Quebec Quebec - Louis de Buade et de Palluau, Comte de Frontenac recalled as Governor by the King after bitter quarrels with Intendant Jacques Duchesneau.


Born on this day:

1931 - 1991 Richard Hatfield
politician, was born at Woodstock, NB. Hatfield entered the New Brunswick legislature as MLA for Carleton County in 1961. By 1969 he was Conservative leader, and the following year beat Louis Robichaud to become Premier. He was reelected in 1974, 1978 and 1982, but in the 1987 election, personal scandals caused him to lose every seat in the Province.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Monday, April 10, 2006 - 5:04 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 10

1996
Winnipeg Manitoba - Scotty Bowman's Detroit Red Wings defeat Winnipeg Jets 5-2 becoming the second team in NHL history to win 60 regular-season games; the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens were the first; the Wings will end the season with 62 wins.

1990 GST TO BECOME LAW
Ottawa Ontario - Commons passes the Goods and Services Tax bill 144 to 114, ending nine months of bitter wrangling; the 7% tax will replace the 13.5% Manufacturers Sales Tax as of Jan 1; Alex Kindy and David Kilgour ejected from Tory Caucus for voting against the GST; the bill now goes to the Senate.

1970
Ottawa Ontario - Ottawa creates two new national parks; one at Artillery Lake northeast of Yellowknife; the other on the Trent Canal, Ontario.

1963
Ottawa Ontario - Parliament passes Food and Drugs Act, getting more control over sale of drugs.

1947
Montreal Quebec -Montreal Royals of the International League sell their star player Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers; appears in uniform for the Dodgers the next day, the first black player to break the colour barrier in major league baseball.

1947
Ottawa Ontario -Founding of National Wildlife Week to honour conservationist Jack Miner, born on this day in 1865.

1937
Ottawa Ontario - Act of Parliament creates Trans-Canada Airlines, now Air Canada; company will have two passenger planes and a biplane by September launch.

1790
Nootka BC - Spanish start building forts in Nootka Sound to exploit sea otter harvest; try to head off English traders after the recent visit by Captain Cook.

1684
Quebec City - Royal ordinance prohibits emigration from New France to the English colonies to the south.

1645
Saint John New Brunswick - Charles Menou d'Aulnay attacks Charles de La Tour's fur stronghold of Fort Sainte-Marie with 200 men; Françoise-Marie Jacquelin, La Tour's wife holds fort against d'Aulnay with 45 men against 200; La Tour in Boston seeking English help.


Born on this day:

1892 - 1978 Milton Fowler Gregg VC
politician, soldier, educator, was born at Snider Mountain New Brunswick; died in Fredericton. After attending teachers college and Acadia University, Gregg went to war, serving as a stretcher bearer in France, then after being wounded, a Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Regiment. On Sept 27 near Cambrai, he was wounded twice, but led his men against enemy trenches in which he personally killed or wounded 11 Germans, took 25 prisoners and captured 12 machine guns. In spite of his wounds he stayed with his company and on Oct 1 1918 again led his men in attack until he was severely wounded for a third time. Gregg was awarded the CBE, Military Cross & Bar and on Jan 6, 1919, the Victoria Cross.
After the war he worked for the Solider Settlement Board and was Sergeant at Arms of the House of Commons 1934-39. He served overseas with the RCR in World War II, and was commandant of officer training at Sussex. He was President of UNB 1944-47, and was elected to the Commons in 1947. He served variously as Minister of Fisheries, Veterans Affairs and Labour until 1957, at which point he rounded out his career with the United Nations in Iraq, Indonesia and in New York.

1865 - 1944 Jack Miner
bird conservationist, was born at Westlake (Dover Center) Ohio; dies in Kingsville, Ontario. Miner came to Canada at age 13 with his family to set up a brick and tile business in Gosfield South Township, near Kingsville. Not suited for school, he became an avid hunter and then naturalist, setting up one of the first wild bird refuges as early as 1908. He helped save the Canada Goose, banding over 40,000 in his lifetime, as well as 50,000 wild ducks to study migratory habits. His Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary at Kingsville on Lake Erie was declared an official Crown reserve in 1917. His bird sanctuary work is carried on today by the Jack Miner Migratory Bird Foundation, incorporated in the US and Canada.

Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 7:10 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Landi a private message Print Post    
April 11

1991

Ottawa Ontario - Ottawa to give $15 million compensation to families of victims of 1985 Air India Flight 182 disaster; 80 lawsuits already settled for over $10 million.

1986

New York City - Canadian 1921 50 cent piece fetches a record US$22,000 at auction.

1972

Quebec - 200,000 Hydro-Quebec workers, teachers, and hospital staff go on 2-week strike; largest in history; legislated back to work; 3 strike leaders sentenced to one year in jail.

1967

Ottawa Ontario -Bower Edward Featherstone convicted under the Official Secrets Act of acquiring confidential naval charts; federal civil servant sentenced on April 24 to 2 1/2 years in prison.

1940

Quebec Quebec - Women allowed into the chamber of the Quebec Legislature for the first time, to hear Premier Godbout's speech asking for the vote for Quebec women.

1904

Sydney Nova Scotia - Sydney incorporated as a city.

1872

Ottawa Ontario - John A. Macdonald starts a productive fifth session of the first Parliament, until June 14; his Ministry will pass the Dominion Lands Act granting free 65-hectare (160 acre) homesteads in Manitoba (dismayed French and Metis leave for Saskatchewan); the Trade Unions Act making unions legal (repeals Anti-Combination Acts, guarantees right to workers to organize without restraint of trade laws); and an Act creating a Public Archives of Canada; now the National Archives of Canada.

1785 LOYALISTS WANT NEW PROVINCE IN UPPER CANADA

Montreal Quebec - John Johnson helps draw up a petition for the United Empire Loyalists, asking for a separate province, with freehold land tenure and British Common Law; origin of Upper Canada and the Province of Ontario.

1768

Montreal Quebec - Fire destroys one-third of the town of Montreal.

1713

Utrecht Netherlands - Treaty of Utrecht ends War of Spanish Succession; France cedes Acadia and Newfoundland to Britain, but keeps fishing rights; recognizes British title to Hudson Bay.



Born on this day:

1917 - 1993 Danny Gallivan

hockey broadcaster, was born at Montreal. Gallivan called 1900 matches in a 32 year career, including 16 Stanley Cup victories for the Montreal Canadiens.

1914 - 1987 Norman McLaren

animator, filmmaker, was born at Stirling Scotland; died at Quebec. As a young man, McLaren made several independent films, and worked as a cameraman for a Spanish Civil War documentary. In 1937, he joined the staff of the British GPO Film Unit under John Grierson, and followed Grierson to the National Film Board of Canada in 1941. McLaren won 147 awards for short films, including Pas de Deux (1968) which won more than 17 prizes, Begone Dull Care (1949), Neighbors (1952), Blinkity-Blank (1955), Chairy Tale (1957), Ballet Adagio (1971) and Narcissus (1974).

1914 - 2003 Robert Lorne Stanfield

politician, was born at Truro, NS. Stanfield served as Progressive Conservative Premier of Nova Scotia from 1956 to 1967; he was elected federal Tory leader 1967; resigned in 1976 after three defeats at the hands of Pierre Trudeau.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Wednesday, April 12, 2006 - 4:32 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 12

1988
Ottawa Ontario - Federal government brings in legislation to sell 45 per cent of Air Canada's shares initially, with the remainder to be disposed of at a later date.

1982
Ottawa Ontario - Ottawa bans imports from Argentina, to protest invasion of Falkland Islands.

1980 TERRY FOX STARTS MARATHON OF HOPE
St. John's Newfoundland - Terry Fox dips his artificial leg into the Atlantic to start his cross-country 'Marathon of Hope', backed by the Canadian Cancer Society, to raise money for cancer research. Fox is a victim of osteogenic sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. He will end his run on Sept.1 in Thunder Bay Ont when cancer is discovered in his lungs. He will cover 5373 km at a pace of nearly 40 km per day and will raise $1.7 million. Terry Fox will end his battle with cancer on June 28, 1981.

1967
Ottawa Ontario - House of Commons recommends making Calixa Lavallée's song 'O Canada' the national anthem; 'God Save the Queen' to be the Royal anthem in Canada. O Canada was proclaimed Canada's national anthem on July 1, 1980, 100 years after it was first sung on June 24, 1880.
Lavallée (1842-1891) was a concert pianist from Verchères, Quebec. The song was commissioned to celebrate the visit to Quebec by Governor General Lord Lorne and his wife Princess Louise, who was Queen Victoria's daughter. Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier (1839-1920), later chief justice of Quebec, wrote the French lyrics to accompany the music.
In 1908, Montreal lawyer and Judge Robert Stanley Weir (1856-1926) wrote the version on which the official English lyrics are based, recommended in 1968 by a Special Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Commons. The French lyrics stayed unchanged.

1945
Westerbork Netherlands - Canadian troops liberate the Nazi concentration camp at Westerbork.

1936
Moose River Nova Scotia - J. Frank Willis broadcasts non-stop for 69 hours after explosion traps three men in Moose River mine; two survivors; C.R.B.C. broadcasts picked up by 650 US stations and 58 in Canada.

1898
Hamilton Ontario - John Moodie imports a Winton automobile, first gasoline-powered automobile brought to Canada.

1838
Toronto Ontario - Rebel Col. Samuel Lount and Captain Peter Matthews publicly hanged for treason and sedition during the Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada. Lount had seven children; petitions for mercy and clemency and a personal appeal by his wife Elizabeth to Lt-Gov. George Arthur failed. Before mounting the gallows, Lount said he would do it again, in order that Canada would be free.

1751
Nova Scotia - Jacques-Pierre de Taffanel de La Jonquière requires Acadians moving to French territory to take an oath of allegiance and join the militia.


Born on this day:

1956 - Richard Martin
screen writer, director, was born at Vancouver, the son of comedian Dick Martin of Rowan and Martin fame. Martin started directing documentaries for the National Film Board of Canada at age 19. His first experimental film, Diminished (1980) won honorable mention at the 9th Northwest Film and Video Festival. He started writing and directing full-time in 1988 with Matinee, a tongue-in-cheek thriller, followed by North of Pittsburgh, a comedy-drama... In 1997 he directed Wounded, a dark thriller starring Graham Greene, Madchen Amick and Adrian Pasdar.

1792 - 1840 John George Lambton, Lord Durham
statesman, was born at London England; dies at Cowes, Isle of Wight. A reform-minded Whig known as 'Radical Jack,' Durham was appointed Governor General of Canada, and published his Report on the Affairs of British North America in 1839.

1778 - 1867 John Strachan
educator and clergyman, was born at Aberdeen Scotland; dies in Toronto. Strachan was first Anglican bishop of Toronto, and founder of Trinity College, today part of the University of Toronto.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 4:28 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 13

1993
Victoria BC - British Columbia government allows limited logging of half of Clayoquot Sound; last major old-growth rainforest on Vancouver Island.

1984 ROSE HITS NUMBER 4,000 AS AN EXPO
Montreal Quebec - Montreal fans welcome Pete Rose in his first game as an Expo; he hits a double - his 4,000th career hit - against his former teammates, the Philadelphia Phillies; only National League player to reach this milestone since Ty Cobb got 4,109 total hits with American League teams Detroit and Philadelphia.

1966
St. Petersburg Russia - Soviet Liner Alexandr Pushkin leaves Leningrad for Montreal as the USSR launches North Atlantic passenger service.

1942
Egypt - RCAF's 417 Fighter Squadron heads for Egypt to join Desert Air Force.

1900
Ottawa Ontario - Ottawa first Canadian city to receive telephone service with a common battery system; no batteries needed in home telephones.

1885
Swift Current Saskatchewan - William Dillon Otter leads 550 men from Swift Current toward Battleford in the North West rebellion

1877
Fort Benton, Montana - A US newspaper, the Fort Benton Record, coins a slogan for the RCMP - 'They always get their man.'

1858
Toronto Ontario - John Quinn's Peninsula Hotel destroyed when storm cuts channel through peninsula, creating Toronto Island.

1645
Saint John New Brunswick - Françoise Marie Jacquelin de La Tour surrenders Fort La Tour to d'Aulnay after holding out for three days; she dies after being forced to watch the hanging of those men who had fought for her; La Tour still in Boston; Fort La Tour is sacked.


Born on this day:

1931 - 1991 Cliff Lumsdon
swimmer, coach, was born at Toronto. Lumsdon won his first world marathon title in 1949, beating 70 other competitors; he won four more world marathon swim championships; in 1955, he was the first and only swimmer in a field of 30 to cross the ice-cold 42 km wide Straits of Juan de Fuca.

1854 - 1907 William Henry Drummond
medical doctor, poet, was born at Mohill, County Leitrim, Ireland; dies at Cobalt, Ontario. Drummond wrote humorous dialect poems - such as 'Leetle Bateeste' - about the life of the habitants, or French-Canadian farmers.

1825 - 1868 Thomas D'Arcy McGee
born at Carlingford, County Louth, Ireland; killed by a Fenian assassin. McGee was a journalist, and chief political orator of the Canadian confederation movement.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 5:49 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 14

1992
Ottawa Ontario - Supreme Court, citing new evidence, rules unanimously that David Milgaard's 1970 murder conviction in the death of Saskatoon nursing aide Gail Miller should be quashed; recommends a new trial. The Saskatchewan government sets Milgaard free two days later, but decides not to have another trial, nor offer compensation, since the Supreme Court did not rule if he was innocent or a victim of a miscarriage of justice.

1975
Toronto Ontario - Ontario Court of Appeal rules that divorced women can sue their former husbands for damages.

1945
Arnhem Netherlands - Canadian Army occupies Arnhem, completes liberation of the low countries.

1944
Montreal Quebec - Hydro-Québec founded by the Quebec Hydro-Electric Commission after the Duplessis government expropriates Montreal Light, Heat and Power Consolidated and its subsidiary, Beauharnois Light, Heat and Power Company; after public criticism of poor service and high rates.

1912 TITANIC RADIOS FOR HELP
Cape Race, Newfoundland - Two young wireless radio operators, Robert Hunston and James Goodwin, hear the first distress call from the luxury liner RMS Titanic, en route to New York south of the Grand Banks. An iceberg has grazed the ship's side, popping iron rivets and shearing off a fatal number of hull plates below the waterline.

* 10:25 pm: According to Hunston's first entry in the log, Goodwin "hears the Titanic calling C.Q.D. [Come Quickly, Danger - the precursor to S.O.S.], giving position."
* 10:35 pm: Titanic calls that they have moved five or six miles and "Have struck iceberg."
* 10:40 pm: They hear Titanic call the nearest ship, the Carpathia, saying "We require immediate assistance."
* 10:58 pm: They hear the terrible news: "Have struck iceberg and sinking."
* 11:36 pm: They hear another ship, the Olympic, asking the Titanic where it is steering; Titanic replies "We are putting women off in boats." [continued tomorrow... ]

1892
Windsor Ontario - Windsor incorporated; gets city charter.

1871
Ottawa Ontario - Parliament passes Act to create uniform currency in Canada; sets denominations of currency as dollars, cents and mills.

1869
Ottawa Ontario - Noon cannon on Parliament Hill fired for the first time.

1612
Hudson Strait Quebec/ NWT - Thomas Button sails Henry Hudson's old ship the Discovery, with the Resolution, into Hudson Bay to search for Hudson's remains; names island at entrance to Hudson Strait after the Resolution; discovers the Nelson River and winters there, calling the territory New Wales.


Born on this day:

1874 - 1957 Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George Cambridge, Earl of Athlone
statesman, was born to Princess Mary and the Duke of Teck at Kensington Palace, London England; dies in London. Athlone was educated at Eton and Sandhurst; serves in the South African War; marries Princess Alice of Albany 1904; Governor General of South Africa 1923-30; 16th Governor-General of Canada 1940-46.

Vee
Member

02-23-2004

Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 4:36 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 15

1984
St-Malo France - Fleet of tall ships leaves St-Malo on a race to Canada; celebrating the 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier's discovery of Quebec.

1981
Regina Saskatchewan - Provincial court rules that Rev. André Mercure does not have right to French trial on speeding charge; judgment severely limits use of French in Saskatchewan and Alberta courts.

1975
Ottawa Ontario - Parliament raises salaries of Members by one third.

1945
Bergen-Belsen Germany - Canadian and British troops liberate the Nazi concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen in northern Germany.

1923
Toronto Ontario - Insulin becomes available for general use; discovered in 1922 by Banting and Best at the University of Toronto; extracted from the pancreas of animals or synthesized in the laboratory, insulin is a natural hormone for carbohydrate metabolism in the body.

1912 TITANIC'S LAST WORDS
Cape Race, Newfoundland - Robert Hunston and James Goodwin, junior wireless radio operators at Cape Race, hear the last of the RMS Titanics's distress calls as the stricken ship continues to send out signals. According to Hunston's entry in the log,

* 12:50 am EST: The wireless operator of the Virginian, 200 miles away, reports that they have been trying to reach the White Star liner, but have lost communication with the Titanic and that the last signals, at 12:27 am, were "blurred and ended abruptly."
* 2:00 am: Hunston and Goodwin get their first request for information from New York; according to Hunston, "this is followed by 300 more chiefly from newspapers to many ships asking for news." Hunston refuses because wireless communications are confidential.
* 6:00 am: "After daylight news commences to arrive from ships stating Carpathia picked up 20 boats of people. No word of any more being saved."

Only 711 survive out of a total of 2,224 passengers and crew; 209 bodies are taken to Halifax, and 150 of them are buried in a Halifax cemetery. One of the victims is Montreal industrialist Charles Hays, President of the Grand Trunk Railway.

1885
Fort Pitt Saskatchewan - NWMP Inspector Francis Jeffrey Dickens abandons Fort Pitt and withdraws to Battleford after white settlers decide to surrender to Big Bear during the North West Rebellion; he is the third son of novelist Charles Dickens.

1814
Kingston Ontario - Kingston Navy Dockyard launches two warships, the Prince Regent and the Princess Charlotte; under Commodore Sir James Yeo, they will blockade the American fleet in Sackett's Harbour and capture Oswego, restoring Canadian control of Lake Ontario in the War of 1812 and ending the threat of US invasion.

1750
Toronto Ontario - Pierre Robineau de Portneuf starts to build Fort Toronto near the Mississauga village of Teiaiagon on the orders of the Marquis de La Jonquière, Governor of New France. He will complete the post, situated on the east bank of the Humber River up from Lake Ontario, on May 20. Growing trade and a threat from the English at Oswego and in the Ohio valley soon convince the French to build a larger, more secure post, Fort Rouillé, completed the following spring farther east on the site of the CNE at the foot of Dufferin Street.

1672
Quebec Quebec - Royal edict prohibits fur traders from going into Indian villages; Indians must bring their furs down to the settlements.


Born on this day:

1923 - Ross Anthony Wallace
psychological anthropologist, was born at Toronto. Wallace is known for his analysis of how acculturation is influenced by technological change.

1861 - 1929 Bliss Carman
poet, editor, was born at Fredericton, NB; dies in New Canaan, Connecticut. Carman attended George Parkin's Collegiate Grammar School with his cousin, Charles G. D. Roberts, then studied classics at UNB. After a sojourn in Edinburgh, he returned to teach at Parkin's school, then entered Harvard University in 1886 after the deaths of his parents. Two years later he left to pursue a literary career, editing magazines in New York and Boston and publishing a book of rhapsodies of nature, Low Tide at Grand Pré (1893). Behind the Arras (1894) followed, then books of lyrics including From the Book of Myths (1902), The Green Book of the Bards (1903), Songs of the Sea Children (1905) and Sappho (1905). He also collaborated with Richard Hovey on Songs From Vagabondia (1894, 1896, 1901).

1841 - 1919 Joseph Seagram
distiller, was born at Cambridge, Ontario. Founder of Seagram's, a leading producer of wine and liquor, Seagram was also the breeder of 15 consecutive Queen's Plate or King's Plate winners.

1800 - 1862 James Clark Ross
British naval officer, was born at London, England; dies in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Ross carried out important magnetic surveys in the Arctic; he also discovered the Ross Sea and the Victoria Land region of Antarctica.

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Sunday, April 16, 2006 - 6:14 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 16

1995
Brussels, Belgium - Canada signs deal with the European Union, ending a bitter dispute over fishing rights in the North Atlantic; both sides say agreement will protect threatened fish stocks.

1945
Halifax Nova Scotia - German U-Boat torpedoes Royal Canadian Navy minesweeper HMCS Esquimalt off Halifax.

1907
Montreal Quebec - McGill University medical building destroyed by fire.

1903
Ottawa Ontario - Canada raises tariff on German imports to retaliate for a similar move by Germany.

1894
Ottawa Ontario - John Sparrow David Thompson narrowly fails to bring Newfoundland into Confederation; conference fails to agree on terms.

1887
Thorold Ontario - Rebuilt and enlarged Welland Canal opened for navigation.

1874 COMMONS EXPELS LOUIS RIEL, MP FOR PROVENCHER
Ottawa Ontario - Louis Riel is expelled from the House of Commons as a fugitive, since there is a warrant for his arrest in Ontario for the shooting of Thomas Scott in Red River.

1856
Victoria BC - James Douglas declares all gold found in BC to be the property of the Crown.

1542
La Rochelle France - Jean-François de La Roque de Roberval sets sail with three ships and 200 convicts to found a colony on the St. Lawrence. Appointed France's first viceroy in Canada, Sieur de Roberval explores upriver as far as Montreal, searching for the legendary kingdom of the Saguenay; the expedition is a failure and the survivors return home in 1543.


Born on this day:

1827 - 1879 Octave Crémazie
poet, bookseller, born Claude-Joseph-Olivier Crémazie at Quebec City; died at Le Havre, France. Crémazie opened a French bookstore in Quebec City in 1844; helped found the Institut canadien and served as president 1857-58; considered the first notable French-Canadian poet, his works include Le vieux soldat canadien (1855) and Le Drapeau de Carillon (1858); 1862 fled to France when his bookstore went bankrupt; also known for his correspondence with Henri-Raymond Casgrain and his Journal du siège de Paris.

1786 - 1847 Rear Admiral John Franklin
sailor, was born at Spilsby, Lincolnshire England; dies of cold and starvation on about June 11, 1847 near King William Island, NWT. Franklin and his entire crew perished on an ill-fated 1845 expedition to prove the existence of the Northwest Passage.

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Monday, April 17, 2006 - 5:28 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 17

1991
Ottawa Ontario - Ottawa bans Meme breast implant, reports it can break down, release cancer causing chemicals.

1982
Ottawa Ontario - Queen Elizabeth II signs the Royal Proclamation of Canada's constitution in a ceremony on Parliament Hill; brings into force the Constitution Act, 1982, effective April 18; ends British authority in Canada, replaces BNA Act; incorporates Charter of Rights and Freedoms; Canada remains a constitutional monarchy and member of the Commonwealth.

1974
Regina Saskatchewan - Saskatchewan to provide free prescription drugs to provincial residents.

1967
Ottawa Ontario - Lester Bowles Pearson announces creation of the Order of Canada, effective July 1; to honour outstanding citizens for service to Canada or humanity at large. The honour will be granted by the Governor General, and new Governor General Roland Michener will be first to hold the Order.

1965
Terrace Bay Ontario - Canadian Pacific Railway passenger train derails near Terrace Bay, killing one, injuring 47.

1892 DEATH OF ALEXANDER MACKENZIE
Toronto Ontario - Alexander Mackenzie dies at age 70 while still an MP; born Jan 28, 1822 in Perthshire Scotland; second Prime Minister of Canada, 1873-78, and first member of the Liberal Party to hold that office.

1856
Quebec Quebec - Quebec City made the temporary seat of the government of the Province of Canada, replacing Kingston.

1840
Queenston Ontario - Fenian rebel Benjamin Lett sets off a Good Friday blast, blowing the top off the Brock Monument.

1840
Queenston Ontario - Fenian rebel Benjamin Lett sets off a Good Friday blast, blowing the top off the Brock Monument.

1680
Kahnawake, Quebec - Catherine [Kateri] Tekakwitha dies; first native candidate for Sainthood.


Born on this day:

1959 - Teri Austin
TV soap actress, was born at Toronto. Austin played Knots Landing's Jill Bennett [1985-89], and in Models Inc.

1944 - Bobby Curtola
pop singer, was born at Thunder Bay Ontario. A Bobby Vinton clone, Curtola was one of one of Canada's early teen idols. His songs include Hand In Hand With You, Don't You Sweetheart Me, Three Rows Over, and Fortune Teller. He was also the TV host of After Four, and Shake, Rock, Roll.

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Tuesday, April 18, 2006 - 2:25 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 18

1990
Toronto Ontario - W. O. Mitchell wins Steven Leacock Humour Award for 'According to Jake and the Kid,' published in 1989 by McClelland & Stewart; also won for the original 'Jake and the Kid' in 1962.

1990
Ottawa Ontario - The Constitution Act, 1982, comes into effect as Canada's Constitution; proclaimed the previous day by Queen Elizabeth II 1926- in a ceremony on Parliament Hill.

1975
Ottawa Ontario - Ottawa ends tax breaks for Canadians advertising on US border TV stations and in foreign owned Canadian magazines.

1971
Kingston Ontario - Kingston penitentiary inmates stage four-day riot, holding five guards hostage; two convicts murdered, 11 injured.

1963
Canada -Lester Bowles L. B. Pearson wins election 129 seats to 95; 17 CCF; 24 Social Credit; returned to power with minority government.

1946
Jersey City NJ - Jackie Robinson has four hits, including a three-run homer, as the Montreal Royals beat Jersey 14-1; first black man to play in professional baseball's all-white leagues.

1944
New York City - London Ontario born Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians have a #1 Billboard Pop Hit with It's Love-Love-Love; one of 26 No. 1 songs for the orchestra, the only dance band to ever sell more than 100 million records.

1942 THE COMEBACK LEAFS
Toronto Ontario - Toronto Maple Leafs pull off the greatest comeback in NHL playoff history with their fourth straight win, a 3-1 victory over Detroit Red Wings, winning the Stanley Cup 4 games to 3. Maple Leafs goalie Turk Broda lets in just seven goals in the final four games.

1908
Paris France - Canadian boxer Tommy Burns KOs Jewey Smith in the fifth round to retain his World Heavyweight title.

1763
Quebec Quebec - Marie-Josephte Corriveau [alias la Corriveau] hanged near the Plains of Abraham for murdering her husband Louis Dodier, who apparently beat her; the corpse of the celebrated murderess is hung for a month in an iron cage at Lauzon by the Pointe-Levy for passers-by to see; the cage is discovered in 1851.


Born on this day:

1953 - Rick Moranis
actor, comedian, writer, producer, was born at Toronto. Moranis played Rabbi Karlov on the Second City TV Network, and Bob McKenzie (Great White North and Strange Brew); has appeared in Spaceballs, Little Giants, My Blue Heaven, Brewster's Millions, Ghostbusters, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Little Shop of Horrors, Parenthood, Gravedale High and others; he was also the cartoon voice of Barney Rubble in the Flintstones movie.

1946 - Alexander (Skip) Spence
rock & roll singer/guitarist, drummer, was born at Windsor Ontario. Spence was lead vocalist of Moby Grape, and also played with Jefferson Airplane and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

1916 - ? Doug Peden
all rounder,. In cycling, Peden rode in 37 international 6-day races, taking 7 firsts and 9 seconds. He also played and coached in the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball organization, and in 1946 he helped his Victoria BC basketball team to 3 national titles. He also played pro-basketball for the Buffalo Bisons and the Vancouver Hornets.

1905 - 1990 Sydney Halter
sport executive. From 1938 to 1946, Halter was President of the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada. In 1953 he became Commissioner of the WIFU and helped them join the Eastern Big Four Leagues to become the CFL. He served as registrar of the Canadian Football Council in 1956 and then Canada's first national football commissioner in 1958.

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Wednesday, April 19, 2006 - 3:46 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 19

1990
Simcoe Ontario - Five teenagers charged with setting massive tire fire at the Tyre King Recycling dump in Hagersville; burned for 17 days in February, forcing 500 from homes.

1984
Ottawa Ontario - Brian Dickson sworn in as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada; after death of Justice Bora Laskin Mar 26.

1961
Ottawa Ontario - Sankara Pillai slain in his office by intruder; first Secretary of Indian High Commission.

1948 CÔTÉ TAKES 4TH BOSTON MARATHON
Boston Massachusetts - Gérard Côté wins his fourth Boston Marathon; native of St-Barnabé Quebec a former snowshoe champion.

1912
Nova Scotia - Mystery man Jerome dies at about age 58; found on a beach with both legs amputated, he refused to talk or write, and died unidentified.

1907
Boston Massachusetts - Six Nations Onondaga marathon runner Tom Longboat wins the Boston marathon in a time of 2:24:24; a year later he wins the Gold Medal in Long Distance Running at the 1908 Olympics. Here he is with his trophies.

1904
Toronto Ontario - Great Toronto fire starts in the evening, and rages for two days fed by high winds; the city's 200 firefighters call on crews from London, Niagara Falls, Hamilton, Peterborough and Buffalo for help, but bitter cold and a lack of adequate water pressure makes the fire hoses almost ineffective. No people or horses perish, but the fire does an estimated $12 million dollars damage and destroys 104 buildings, leaving 14 acres of the city's business core in ice-covered ruins. 'Standing at the corner of Front and Bay streets,' writes a Globe reporter on April 21, 'one begins to realize the extent of the awful destruction that has been wrought. On every hand are ruins almost as far as one can see.'

1883
Quebec Quebec - Fire destroys the Parliament Buildings in Quebec City.

1775
Concord Massachusetts - British troops fire on American minutemen starting the American Revolution; lasts until Nov. 30, 1782.

1627
Paris France - Cardinal Richelieu signs the charter of the Company of One Hundred Associates, with a contract to develop and colonize Canada.

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Thursday, April 20, 2006 - 4:56 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 20

1990
Kingston Ontario - Correctional Service of Canada task force recommends closing Kingston Prison for Women; founded in 1934; replace with 10-person cottage-like facilities and an Aboriginal Healing Lodge.

1982
Edmonton Alberta - Businessman Peter Pocklington held hostage in his home for almost 12 hours by a gunman demanding $1 million; police end the incident by rushing the house; Pocklington and the gunman are slightly injured.

1973
Cape Canaveral Florida - Anik-II launched from Cape Canaveral; Canada's second communications satellite, and the world's first commercial satellite in orbit.

1968 BOMBARDIER FIRST CANADIAN TO THE POLE
NWT - Ralph Plaistead and Jean-Luc Bombardier lead Canadian-US expedition to the North Pole on four snowmobiles; the trip takes 42 days and its the first indisputable arrival; Plaistead a St. Paul, Minnesota native sponsored by CBS-TV; Bombardier, the nephew of snowmobile inventor Joseph Armand Bombardier, is the first Canadian to reach the Pole.

1968
Ottawa Ontario - Pierre Elliott Trudeau sworn in at Rideau Hall as Canada's 15th Prime Minister, succeeding Lester Pearson, who was PM since April 22, 1963; Trudeau serves until June 4, 1979.

1963
Montreal Quebec - Wilfred O'Neill, a 65-year-old night watchman, is killed by a terrorist bomb placed in a garbage container at the Montreal army recruiting centre; work of new Front de Libération du Quebec; O'Neill first victim of the FLQ.

1920
Antwerp Belgium - Canadian athletes join 18 other nations at the opening of the seventh modern Olympic Games; total of 2,692 competitors.

1918
Ottawa Ontario - Government calls up men from ages of 20 to 22 for military service.

1769
Cahokia Illinois - Pontiac, Chief of the Ottawas, murdered by an Illinois Indian; six years earlier he helped lead the Ottawa, Hurons (Wyandots), Potawatomis and Ojibwas in a rising against the British garrisons on the Great Lakes.

1534
St-Malo France - Jacques Cartier sets sail on first voyage with two ships; commissioned by François I to find passage to Asia and 'lands where there is a great quantity of gold'; makes crossing to Newfoundland in just 20 days; explores Strait of Belle Isle, which he hoped was the beginning of a river leading to China; says of the coast, 'I believe that this was the land God gave to Cain'; returns Sept. 5.


Born on this day:

1976 - Big Ben
show jumper, was born at Carleton County, Ontario. Ian Millar acquired Big Ben in 1983 and they won over $1.5 million in their 11 years together, and represented Canada in 3 Olympic Games. Big Ben was retired in 1994.

1949 - Toller Cranston
skater, artist, was born at Hamilton Ontario. Cranston won the national junior figure skating championship at age 15 and was 6 time Canadian Senior champion 1971-76. His highly creative and individualistic approach brought more artistic expression to the sport and helped de-emphasize compulsory figures, leading him to win at least the free skate portion of 4 world championships as well as a bronze medal at the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics. Cranston then turned pro, putting together his own ice show which travelled for two years, and skating with the Ice Capades. He also captured 3 ProSkate titles.

1890 - 1959 Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis
politician, was born on this day at Trois-Rivières, Quebec; dies in Schefferville. Duplessis was Quebec's premier from 1936 until his death, except for the war years 1940-44.

1887 - 1971 Margaret Newton
research scientist, was born at Montreal; died in Victoria BC. Newton worked on the first scientific survey of wheat rust in Canada; she was possibly hte first Canadian woman to make research her lifelong career.

1798 - 1875 William Edmond Logan
geologist, was born at Montreal; died in Llechryd, Cardiganshire, Wales. Logan was Canada's foremost geologist of the 19th Century.

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Friday, April 21, 2006 - 5:03 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Vee a private message Print Post    
April 21

1985
Toronto Ontario - Foster Hewitt dies; radio and television voice of NHL games for over 50 years.

1972
Quebec Quebec - Over 200,000 Quebec public service workers end their ten day strike.

1961
Quebec Quebec - Premier Jean Lesage institutes the Parent Commission on education in Quebec; influenced by Les Insolences du frère Untel by Jean-Paul Desbiens, a critique of religious control over education in the province.

1956
Toronto Ontario - Canadian Labour Congress formed from a merger of the Canadian Congress of Labour and the Trades and Labour Congress.

1948
Ottawa Ontario - William Lyon Mackenzie King sets record 20 years, 10 months and 10 days of service as a Commonwealth prime minister.

1918
Bertangles France - German air ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen shot down and killed over the Western Front during a dogfight with Captain Roy Brown of Carleton Place, Ontario, a flight leader in the 209th Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps. It is likely that Australian ground fire downed the Red Baron, victor over 80 Allied planes. The tail of von Richthofen's plane is on display at Toronto's Royal Military Institute.

1908
NWT - Frederick Albert Cook claims to have reached the North Pole on this date, ahead of US Admiral Peary; first man to do so; claim rejected in 1909; still a controversy, although in actual fact neither reached the Pole at all.

1806
St-Boniface Manitoba - Marie-Anne Gaboury marries Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière; the first white woman to live in Western Canada, Gaboury is Louis Riel's grandmother.

1785
Quebec Quebec - Trial by jury begins in Canada with the adoption of British common law.

1664
Quebec Quebec - Governor bans the littering of streets with 'straw, manure or anything else'; first hygiene regulations in New France.


Born on this day:

1964 - Alex 'Sasha' Baumann
swimmer, coach, was born at Prague, Czech Republic; moved with his parents to Canada at age 9 and settled in Sudbury, where he was coached. By age seventeen in 1981 he held 51 provincial and 38 national records, and was swimming 14 km daily in training. At age 18, he set a world record in the 200m Individual Medley. Forced out of competition for ten months with a pulled shoulder, he was back at the Brisbane Commonwealth Games in 1982, where he again won the 200m IM in world record time. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles Baumann won the first swimming golds for Canada in seventy-two years, setting world records in the 200m IM [2:01.42] and 400m IM [4:17.41]. Following the Olympics, he took up coaching in Australia.

1926 - Queen Elizabeth II was also born on this day in 1926.

1926 - Keith Davey
Senator. Davey became a Young Liberal organizer after the Party's defeat at the hands of John Diefenbaker. In 1961 he was National Campaign Director, and helped Lester Pearson come to power in 1963. Nicknamed The Rainmaker for his ability to win elections, he was made a Senator in 1966, and chaired a Committee looking at Canada's mass media. He was often relied on during the Trudeau years, but had a painful experience managing John Turner's campaign against Brian Mulroney.