Highlights of the day

  • 1649 More than 1000 Iroquois Warriors invade Huronia; kill Jesuit priests Brébeuf and Lalement
  • 1843 HBC Chief Factor James Douglas starts building Fort Camosun (Victoria, BC)

List of Facts for March 16

  • 1606 Samuel de Champlain c1570-1635 sets out on abortive expedition, reaching only as far as Port aux Coquilles on the Ste-Croix River; he returns to Port Royal when his party meets dangerous Indians. Maine
  • 1649 Jesuit priests Jean de Brebeuf 1593-1649 and Gabriel Lalement 1611-1649 are tortured by Iroquois invaders at St-Louis; Brebeuf dies at 4 pm, his flesh stripped to the bone and his body burned with pitch and boiling water; Lalement, nephew of Jesuit superior JerÙme Lalement, dies the following day of burns; Brebeuf’s skull is preserved in a golden reliquary in the Hotel Dieu at Quebec; the two are canonized in 1930. Midland, Ontario
  • 1649 War party of more than 1000 Iroquois invades Huronia, capturing St-Ignace before sunrise; they will destroy all the villages and Jesuit missions in the area, and only 8 soldiers, 22 donnés and seven servants escape; the Jesuits will abandon Ste-Marie June 14. Huronia, Ontario
  • 1800 Jean-Joseph Casot 1728-1800, last Jesuit survivor of the French regime, dies at Quebec; the property of the order in Canada appropriates to the Crown. Quebec, Quebec
  • 1821 End of Pemmican War between the Red River Colony and the North-West Company. Manitoba
  • 1843 James Douglas 1803-1877 starts construction of Fort Camosun (Fort Victoria) ; First Hudson’s Bay Company post on Vancouver Island. Charles Ross was in charge of construction. French Canadian employees of the HBC did most of the clearing, digging and axe work. Local Songhees people provided the cedar logs (from near Mt. Douglas) which formed the palisades. They were paid one Hudson’s Bay Company blanket for every 40 logs supplied. The fort measured 330 feet by 300 feet and had only one bastion in the southwestern corner (where Nautical Nellies Restaurant is today). Victoria, BC
  • 1846 Charles Cathcart, Lord Cathcart 1783-1859 appointed Governor-General of the Canadas; serves from May 24, 1846 to Jan. 29, 1847.
  • 1855 Military - George-Etienne Cartier 1814-1873 passes his Militia Act, constitutes all males between the ages of 18 and 60 as military forces of Canada; all men under 40 to be mustered once a year; Governor-General to be the Commander in Chief of the militia. Kingston, Ontario
  • 1894 Kootenay Lake Reduction Company ships First cargo of Bluebell’s concentrate from Pilot Bay.
  • 1899 Fourth session of 8th Parliament meets until August 11; passes Pacific Cable Act, to subsidize a line from Vancouver to Australia & New Zealand. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1900 Boer War - Samuel Steele, commanding Lord Strathcona’s Horse, embarks troops for South Africa; the regiment consists of 537 mounted troops recruited in Manitoba, BC and the NWT. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1906 Prairie Crocus becomes the floral emblem of the Province of Manitoba. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1911 First session in the new Fernie, BC, Court House.
  • 1911 Ottawa Senators beat Port Arthur (Ontario) 13-4 for the Stanley Cup. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1914 Regina Victorias win the Allan Cup by defeating Grand’Mère 6-4 in Regina. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1915 Second Canadian Division begins to arrive in England for service in First World War. Southampton, England
  • 1916 Canada signs Migratory Bird Treaty with the US; due to Jack Miner’s work. Washington, DC
  • 1918 Music - Chatham, Ontario composer Geoffrey O’Hara publishes K-K-K-Katy (The Stammering Song); a big hit when recorded by US tenor Billy Murray; will sell over a million copies in sheet music. New York, New York
  • 1918 Government divides North West Territories into Districts of Keewatin, Mackenzie, and Franklin; brought into Dominion of Canada effective January 1, 1920. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1918 Founding of the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), at a large rally held at the Monument-National; 209 delegates from across Canada meet over three days March 16-19. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1946 Crime - John Dick’s headless, armless and legless torso found on Hamilton Mountain, leading to sensational trial of his wife Evelyn, later convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Hamilton, Ontario
  • 1947 Music - The Guy Lombardo Orchestra [Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians has a #1 Billboard hit with its dance tune Managua, Nicaragua. New York, New York
  • 1955 Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard 1921- of the Montreal Canadiens suspended by NHL President Clarence Campbell; triggers riot next day at Montreal Forum. Montréal, Québec
  • 1957 Toronto Maple Leafs tie NHL record 37 points, pasting the New York Rangers 14-1. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1961 Bernard Geoffrion of the Montréal Canadiens scores his 50th goal of the season against Toronto Maple Leafs.
  • 1965 University of Waterloo starts bilingual course in Honours French and Political Science; for students preparing to enter federal Civil Service. Waterloo, Ontario
  • 1967 Québec raises provincial sales taxes from 6% to 8%; new program to supplement family allowance; highest sales tax in Canada. Québec, Québec
  • 1967 Roberta MacAdams, one of the First two women elected to the Alberta legislature, is honoured in a ceremony at the Legislative Building. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1970 First CP coal train leaves Crowsnest for Neptune Terminals in Burrard Inlet.
  • 1971 Ontario sues Dow Chemical of Canada Ltd. for $25 million for ecological damage to the Great Lakes. Sarnia, Ontario
  • 1977 Québec Finance Minister Jacques Parizeau abolishes provincial Anti-Inflation Board. Québec, Québec
  • 1978 Ottawa to finance 50% of three-year feasibility study of $3-billion Bay of Fundy tidal-power; delayed from 1974. Annapolis, Nova Scotia
  • 1980 Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders scores his 50th goal of the season against Chicago Blackhawks.
  • 1981 George Kinnear announces First Canadian attempt to scale Mount Everest, to be made in 1982 by group of 15 climbers. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1989 Kurt Browning wins men’s gold medal at World Figure Skating Championship; fourth Canadian in 78 years; will win the title three more times before turning pro in 1994. Paris, France
  • 1990 Foreign Affairs - Brian Mulroney signs 10 bilateral agreements with Mexico; discusses free trade with President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Mexico City, Mexico
  • 1990 Transport - Minister Doug Young announces random drug and alcohol testing for workers in safety-sensitive jobs; up to 250,000 workers; in air, rail, ship, bus and trucking companies. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1993 Military - Canadian soldiers torture and kill Somalian youth Shidane Arone who was caught sneaking into the Canadian compound at Belet Huer. Belet Huer, Somali Republic
  • 1993 Police use pepper spray and batons to control over 100 youths who attacked passers-by in the Eaton Centre and Edmonton Centre malls, after a screening of the rap movie spoof CB4. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1996 Hockey - Montreal Canadiens play their first game at the Molson Centre against the New York Rangers. Montréal, Québec
  • 2005 Terrorism - Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri are found not guilty by the Supreme Court of British Columbia at the Air India Trial. Vancouver, BC
  • 2004 Banking - Equifax confirms security breach resulting in the illegal access to files containing the credit (financial) information of 1,400 Canadians. Toronto, Ontario