Highlights of the day

  • 1809 John Molson launches steamboat ‘Accomodation’ for service on the St. Lawrence between Montréal and Québec
  • 1942 Dieppe Raid mounted by 6000 Canadian and British; 900 killed in nine hour battle.

List of Facts for August 19

  • 1535 Jacques Cartier sails by the Moisie River east of Sept-Îles, Québec. Rivière Moisie, Québec
  • 1576 Martin Frobisher trades meat and furs with Inuit for trinkets and clothing; Inuit kidnap five of Frobisher’s men. Baffin Island, Nunavut
  • 1652 Three Rivers Governor Duplessis-Kerebot killed in Iroquois ambush along with 22 other Frenchmen including Guillaume Guillemot and his wife Isabel Guillemot. Trois-Rivières, Québec
  • 1691 Henry Kelsey of the Hudson’s Bay Company views herds of buffalo on the Canadian Prairies. Manitoba
  • 1712 Treaty of Paris gives British and French a four month long break in hostilities. Paris, France
  • 1719 First French Admiralty office opens in Québec City; to acquire ship building supplies. Québec, Québec
  • 1794 Exploration - George Vancouver on Discovery and Chatham completes his final survey of the Pacific, starting at Cook Inlet in Alaska and ending in a bay on the southeast coast of Baranof Island which he names Port Conclusion. To celebrate, he gives the crew “such an additional allowance of grog as was fully sufficient to answer every purpose of festivity on the occasion.” BC
  • 1809 John Molson launches his wooden paddle steamboat ‘Accomodation’ for service on the St. Lawrence River between Montréal and Québec starting in October; carries 10 passengers; the first Canadian steamship, and the first successful steamboat built entirely in North America. Montréal, Québec
  • 1812 War of 1812 - British frigate HMS Guerriere is engaged by U.S.S. Constitution in a desperate two day naval battle 1000 km east of Nova Scotia; the two ships manouvre all night and come to blows the following day, August 20, 1812. Nova Scotia
  • 1826 Scottish novelist/land agent John Galt gets a charter for the Canada Company, to colonize lands in the western part of Upper Canada (Ontario). Galt was an agent of those seeking losses from the Crown for damages suffered in the War of 1812. In 1824, he convinced the British Treasury to provide half the funds, with half coming from the Government of Upper Canada, using proceeds from land sales. Galt’s Company acquired almost 2.5 million acres of Crown land. He founded the town of Guelph and built a road through the Queen’s Bush he called Goderich. London, England
  • 1831 Disaster - Sailing ship Lady Sherbrooke wrecked off Cape Bay; 273 persons drown. Cape Bay, Newfoundland
  • 1852 Opening of first session of fourth Parliament of Canada; meets until November 10, 1831; creation of Ministry of Agriculture, votes £19,000 annual subsidy for steamship service to Britain. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1872 Federal Election - Election riots break out in Montréal between supporters and opponents of George-Êtienne Cartier. Montréal, Québec
  • 1880 French acrobat Jean-François Cravelet called Blondin carries manager across Niagara Gorge and back on a tightrope. Niagara Falls, Ontario
  • 1885 North West Rebellion - Cree chief Pitikwahanapiwiyin (Poundmaker) found guilty of treason and felony after two day trial; sentenced to three years imprisonment. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1896 First session of 8th Parliament meets; until October 5, 1831. Ottawa, Ontario August 19 - Parliament - James David Edgar sworn in as Speaker of the House of Commons; term ends July 31, 1899; Liberal
  • 1902 Doukhobor sects start staging nude protest parades. BC
  • 1904 First civic elections in Fernie, BC.
  • 1913 Farming - Thousands of young men travel west to help bring in the harvest on prairie farms; railroads charge only a penny a mile; men placed by farmers’ organizations. Nova Scotia/New Brunswick
  • 1914 First World War - Canada officially declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1914 First World War - Government of Québec offers Belgium 4 million pounds of cheese as a form of wartime support. Québec, Québec
  • 1916 Victor Christian William Cavendish, the Duke of Devonshire appointed Governor General of Canada; serves from November 11, 1916 to July 19, 1921. London, England
  • 1926 Freeman Freeman-Thomas, Lord Willingdon appointed Governor General of Canada, replacing Lord Byng; serves from October 2, 1926 to January 16, 1931. Ontario
  • 1935 Weather - Maritimers swelter through record heat wave; Nova Scotia has its warmest day on record - 38.3 degrees Celsius; also Prince Edward Island’s warmest day, at 38.7 degrees Celsius. Nova Scotia PEI
  • 1939 Music - Composer Achille Fourier dies at age 75; in 1885, he was the First Canadian to attend regular composition classes at the Paris Conservatory. Montréal, Québec
  • 1940 Second World War - Start of national registration of all men between 14 and 60 years old.
  • 1942 Second World War - Major General J. H. Roberts leads 4,963 troops from 7 regiments of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, plus almost 1,000 British, in Operation Jubilee, a nine-hour raid on the small German-held port of Dieppe to test Hitler’s Fortress Europe defences; Canadians suffer total of 3,500 casualties, with 900 killed, and 1,874 taken prisoner - Canada’s costliest day in Second World War; only 2,210 make it back to England; Captain John Weir Foote 1904-1988 and Lt.-Col. Charles C.I. Merritt 1908-1979 both win Victoria Crosses; gazetted Feb. 14, 1946. Rev. Foote, Canadian Chaplains’ Service, was the padre of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry; during his eight hours on Dieppe beach, he tended the wounded while exposed to enemy fire; he climbed from the landing craft that was to have taken him to safety and let himself be taken prisoner so he could continue to tend the wounded men of his regiment. He is the only Canadian chaplain to receive the Victoria Cross. Merritt was C/O of the South Saskatchewan Regiment; despite serious wounds he kept leading his men across the Scie River before being taken prisoner; 81 men in the South Sasks were killed; awarded the VC for showing ‘reckless bravery’. Dieppe, France
  • 1942 Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada take part in the disastrous raid on Dieppe. Dieppe, France
  • 1942 Soldiers of the South Saskatchewan Regiment take a leading part in the disastrous raid at Dieppe. Dieppe, France
  • 1942 Calgary Regiment of the First Army Tank Brigade take part in the disastrous raid on Dieppe. Dieppe, France
  • 1944 Second World War - Major David Currie enters the village of St-Lambert-sur-Dives alone and on foot on a reconnaissance mission, assesses the German positions, and quickly decides take the village, and hold it at all costs; leads a small group of tanks, anti-tank guns, and 125 men of the 29th Canadian Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment, South Alberta Regiment and infantry from The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, but with no supporting artillery, into the centre of the village and digs in; at noon, the Poles capture the north end and attack the 1 SS Panzer Corps massed below, while the 10th Polish Mounted Rifle Regiment of the First Canadian Army, and Patton’s 90th US Division link up at Chambois in a loose encirclement that traps the 7th German Army at the Trun-Chambois Gap. St-Lambert-sur-Dives, France
  • 1957 Robert Bédard wins the Canadian Tennis Championship. Montréal, Québec
  • 1957 Strike - Violence breaks out at the Gaspé, Québec copper mines. Murdochville, Québec
  • 1968 Lester Pearson appointed to head World Bank commission to study future economic aid to developing countries; former Prime Minister. Washington, DC
  • 1969 Frenchy Raymond all-star Baseball pitcher, native of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec, joins Montréal Expos after playing for the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Braves, Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox; Raymond will retire after three seasons to serve as a colour commentator. Montréal, Québec
  • 1970 Canada sends $3,540,000 in emergency aid to Pakistan following floods in that country. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1972 Record - Hamilton Tiger Cats Tommy Joe Coffey catches his second football of a game against the CFL Montréal Alouettes, and number 632 of his career; passes 10,000 yard mark, setting an all-pro record for pass receptions Montréal, Québec
  • 1976 Science Council of Canada suggests slowing urbanization and immigration; to maintain Canadian standard of living. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1977 Québec Premier René Lévesque offers English-language education guarantees in Québec in return for French language guarantees in other provinces; turned down. Québec, Québec
  • 1979 Morris Surdin dies at age 65; composer, arranger, conductor for CBC radio and TV productions; also scored the 1971 George C. Scott movie, ‘Hospital’. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1981 Riot - Rocker Alice Cooper cancels his concert at the Canadian National Exhibition at the last minute, touching off a riot; police arrest 31 after fans hurl debris at the stage; $25,000 damage done to CNE Exhibition Stadium. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1983 Record - Toronto Argonauts Terry Greer makes 16 pass receptions in one football game; CFL record. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1988 NHL New York Rangers announce signing of ex-Montréal Canadiens great Guy LaFleur. New York, New York
  • 1990 Lorne Webster dies at age 80; former owner of the Globe & Mail; Chairman of the Toronto Blue Jays and Imperial Trust. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1992 Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women issues report urging more funds for shelters and counselors for abused women and children Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1992 Opening of the 14th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1992 Petro-Canada to sell 37% stake in Westcoast Energy to finance Hibernia expenses; wants to sell 10% of Hibernia holding after Gulf Canada share sold. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1992 Veterans Affairs and Defence Minister Gerry Merrithew attends a ceremony honoring those who took part in the Dieppe Raid exactly 50 years earlier. Dieppe, France
  • 1996 Radio-Québec changes its name to Télé-Québec. Montréal, Québec
  • 2003 Royal Bank of Canada says it will get $195 million plus interest from Enron Corp and others in a settlement agreement related to the sale of 11.5 million common shares of EOG Resources. Toronto, Ontario
  • 2004 Lyse Lemieux, Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Quebec, resigns her position as a result of criminal charges. Montréal, Québec
  • 2005 Former New Brunswick cabinet minister Vaughan Blaney leads team into CFB Gagetown to investigate claims of Agent Orange being used. Gagetown, New Brunswick
  • 2005 RCMP decides not to press criminal charges against former employees of Hollinger International. Toronto, Ontario