Today is International Museum Day:

  • 1619 Champlain publishes his Voyages et Descouvertures du Sieur de Champlain.
  • 1783 First of 7,000 United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown (Saint John), New Brunswick.
  • 1902 Last recorded passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) seen in Canada.

List of Facts for May 18

  • 1619 Samuel de Champlain publishes his major work, Les Voyages et Descouvertures du Sieur de Champlain. Paris, France
  • 1675 Jacques Marquette dies on trip back to St-Ignace mission at Sault Ste. Marie. Michigan
  • 1677 Count Frontenac ordered by Jean-Baptiste Colbert to live amicably with New France Intendant Duchesneau. Paris, France
  • 1765 Fire destroys one quarter of the town of Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1783 First of 7,000 United Empire Loyalists, fleeing the American Revolution, reach Parrtown at the mouth of the Saint John River to found a settlement. Two years later on this date, Parrtown is incorporated and renamed Saint John; First city incorporated in Canada. Saint John, New Brunswick
  • 1785 United Empire Loyalists at Parrtown at the mouth of the Saint John River incorporate the town and rename it Saint John exactly two years after their arrival; first city incorporated in Canada. Saint John, New Brunswick
  • 1785 Québec Ordinance bans imports from the United States by sea. Québec, Québec
  • 1814 War of 1812 - Robert McDouall reinforces Michilimackinac against Americans with two dozen seamen and a company of Newfoundland regulars; also a company of loyal Michigan Fencibles under William McKay. Michilimackinac, Michigan
  • 1824 William Lyon Mackenzie publishes last issue of his Colonial Advocate newspaper at Queenston; will move the newspaper to York in November; future rebel leader, Mayor of Toronto. Queenston, Ontario
  • 1837 Rebellion of 1837 - Lower Canada banks suspend payment until June 23, 1838; due to civil strife. Québec
  • 1838 Depression - Commercial depression in Upper Canada leads to emigration. The Toronto Mirror writes: “The people are, in truth, now flying from this Province as if it were a land of pestilence and famine. The Transit [a steamship], which left here on Wednesday last for Lewiston, contained upwards of two hundred persons. Many of them were our most wealthy and enterprising farmers. We learn further, that the applications at the Mississippi Emigration Society in this city, are so numerous as to be almost beyond belief. We trust Sir George Arthur will disentangle himself from the baneful oligarchy that surrounds him. Almost all our merchants are suffering, owing to the impolitic conduct of the late Executive regarding the Banks; our substantial farmers are leaving for what they call more liberal institutions, where they will have a voice in the selection of the men that will govern them; In short, if something be not done soon by Sir George, we are likely to become nothing but a Province of paupers.” Toronto, Ontario
  • 1846 Kingston incorporated as a city. Kingston, Ontario
  • 1861 College of Bytown becomes College of Ottawa; today the University of Ottawa. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1873 Opening of the St. Vincent de Paul Penitentiary. Montréal, Québec
  • 1884 Charles Sheran and William Sheran are the first children to be baptized in Lethbridge, Alberta
  • 1885 Kootenay Lake Syndicate Company incorporated in England to support Baillie-Grohman’s endeavours in the Kootenays. London, England
  • 1888 R.E. Lemon lands his scow loaded with trade goods and liquor in what is now Mill Pond near Castlegar, BC.
  • 1889 Prairie fire sweeps through the Cypress Hills, destroying what remained of Fort Walsh. Fort Walsh, Saskatchewan
  • 1902 Last recorded passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) seen in Canada; once abundant, migrating in flocks that sometimes darkened the sky for hours; laid only only one egg per clutch; last survivor died September 1, 1914 in a zoo in Cincinnati, Ohio. Penetanguishene, Ontario
  • 1917 First World War - Robert Borden’s Union Government announces it will bring in compulsory conscription; offers a coalition to Opposition leader Wilfrid Laurier, but he refuses, saying French Canadians will never accept a pro-conscription coalition, but turn to support Henri Bourassa. A number of Liberals back Borden. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1926 Ontario born radio evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson mysteriously vanishes while visiting the beach; will reappear a month later claiming she had been kidnapped; evidence suggests a possible fling with her station manager. Venice, California
  • 1939 King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and the royal party board a 12 car train, (five from CP, five from CN and the two vice-regal cars), and depart for Montréal. The royal train is painted in royal blue and aluminum, and royal crowns are affixed to the running boards of both locomotives. A pilot train, carrying officials and the press, precedes the royal train by an hour and no other trains are permitted to travel within this period. Québec, Québec
  • 1943 Harry Nixon becomes Premier of Ontario, replacing Gordon Conant Toronto, Ontario
  • 1944 Second World War - Germans evacuate Monte Cassino in face of Canadian, Polish and British attacks, after a four-month struggle that claimed about 20,000 lives. Cassino, Italy
  • 1953 Jacqueline Cochran pilots a Montréal built North American F-86 Canadair over California at an average speed of 1049.83 km/h (652.337 mph), becoming the First woman to break the sound barrier. Rogers Dry Lake, California
  • 1963 Québec government offers $50,000 reward for information leading to convictions for terrorist acts; Montréal police set up 200-man anti-terrorism unit. Montréal, Québec
  • 1965 University of Saskatchewan, Regina campus, holds its First annual convocation. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1966 Paul-Joseph Chartier killed in Parliament Buildings washroom by a bomb the terrorist intended to throw into the House of Commons. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1967 Canadian Pacific Airlines presents a reconstructed Fairchild Model 82 to the Canadian Aviation Museum. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1970 The Guess Who’s hit American Woman/No Sugar Tonight stays at #1 on the Billboard Top 100 for the third week in a row; Winnipeg-based group. USA
  • 1971 Hockey - Montréal Canadiens beat the Chicago Black Hawks 4 games to 3 for the Stanley Cup. Montréal, Québec
  • 1973 Family home of former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan donated to the University of Saskatchewan to hold Diefenbaker Archives. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
  • 1974 Canada blamed for selling India a nuclear reactor that led it to detonate a 12-kiloton nuclear explosive in the Rajasthan desert, using plutonium from a research reactor donated by Canada in 1956. Canada will suspend all shipments of nuclear equipment to India on CBC Archives)
  • 1982 Bombardier Inc. wins $1 billion contract to build 825 subway cars for New York; largest-ever export contract for a Canadian manufacturer. New York, New York
  • 1988 Hockey - Boston Bruins 1, Edmonton Oilers 2
  • 1989 Stratford Festival makes two cuts in its production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice after meeting with officials of the Canadian Jewish Congress; two anti-semitic references removed. Stratford, Ontario
  • 1990 Lowell Murray begins meeting premiers individually to lobby for passage of Meech Lake Accord; as Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s emissary. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1990 Hockey - Edmonton Oilers 7, Boston Bruins 2
  • 1995 Gerald Schwartz’s Onex Corp. launches hostile $2.3-billion takeover bid for 148-year-old brewing giant John Labatt Ltd.. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1995 Paul Bernardo put on trial, accused of the torture and murder of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristin French. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1997 Unity portion of the federal leaders’ french debate resumes; Radio-Canada journalist Claire Lamarche had fainted during the original debate May 13, 1997. Montréal, Québec
  • 2001 Conrad Black says he will give up his Canadian citizenship to become a British peer, Lord Black of Crossharbour; Canadian citizens not encouraged to accept some honours from foreign governments. Toronto, Ontario
  • 2004 Karlheinz Schreiber ordered extradited to Germany on charges of fraud, bribery and failure to pay taxes. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2004 Supreme Court of Canada upholds law on spending limits by special interest groups during elections. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2007 Governor General Michaëlle Jean appoints Pierre Duchesne as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.