Highlights of the day

  • 1832 The Bank of Nova Scotia opens for business in Halifax, corner Granville & Duke Sts.
  • 1858 Geologist James Hector knocked out in a fall from his horse; site known as Kicking Horse Pass.
  • 1883 Thomas Ahearn prepares the world’s very first dinner cooked on an all-electric stove.
  • 1907 South cantilever arm of Québec Bridge collapses; over 75 workers are killed.

List of Facts for August 29

  • 1583 One of Humphrey Gilbert’s ships, ‘Delight’, is wrecked on Sable Island; 12 men are rescued. Sable Island, Nova Scotia
  • 1631 Thomas James meets up with Luke Foxe near Cape Henrietta Maria searching for the North West Passage; together they sail into Foxe Channel as far as Cape Dorchester; James will then sail south into James Bay, named in his honour, and winter on Charlton Island. Cape Henrietta Maria, Nunavut
  • 1756 Prussian Emperor Frederick II attacks Saxony; beginning of the Seven Years War that will see the English capture Canada; called the French and Indian War in North America. Germany
  • 1758 French and Indian War - James Wolfe leaves Louisbourg on campaign to destroy settlements along lower St. Lawrence River and Gaspé coast. Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
  • 1759 French and Indian War - James Wolfe calls a meeting of his senior officers to decide how Québec can be taken. They recommend a landing above Cap Rouge, 20 km west of the city. Wolfe says he agrees, and concentrates his army at Pointe Lévis, sending Admiral Charles Saunders and a squadron of twenty vessels west of the city, to drift up and downstream with the tide, searching for a place to land, forcing the Comte de Bougainville’s 3,000 troops to follow along the cliffs. Lévis, Québec
  • 1807 James Craig appointed Governor of Lower Canada. London, England
  • 1810 Census estimates over 600 prostitutes in Lower Canada. Québec, Québec
  • 1832 Finance - The Bank of Nova Scotia, chartered March 30, 1832, opens for business in the John Romans’ Building located at the corner of Granville & Duke streets in Halifax, its first location. The original staff consisted of: Cashier (COO) James Forman: and Tellers Alexander Paul, Benjamin Carlile; and Messenger James Maxwell. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1844 Mohawk team from Kahnawake wins the First European-Aboriginal lacrosse game on record. Montréal, Québec
  • 1858 James Hector, geologist with the Palliser Expedition, is knocked unconscious in a fall from his kicking horse near the Continental Divide; Kicking Horse Pass will later become the route of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Alberta BC
  • 1877 Melville Bell conducts 3-way telephone experiment in Hamilton for Hugh Baker. Hamilton, Ontario
  • 1883 Thomas Ahearn, head of the Ottawa Street Railway Company, presides over a demonstration of his pioneering electric stove at the Windsor Hotel in Ottawa. This is believed to be the world’s very First dinner cooked on an all-electric stove. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1883 First Salvation Army service in Canada held at London. London, Ontario
  • 1892 John Cleaver, Patrick Sullivan, Edward Smith and W. C. Burchett register the Hamlet and the Shylock on what would become the Sullivan mine. BC
  • 1900 Granby Consolidated sends First shipment of smelter matte copper to market. Grand Forks, BC
  • 1904 Olympics - Canada does not send a team to the opening of the third modern Olympic Games in St Louis. Canadians will win four gold medals: Êtienne Desmarteau in weight throwing, George Lyon in golf, the Winnipeg Shamrocks in lacrosse, and the Galt, Ontario team for soccer. St. Louis, Missouri
  • 1905 Railways - Sod turning ceremony at Carberry for the main line of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway to Prince Rupert, BC. Carberry, Manitoba
  • 1907 Disaster - The south cantilever arm of the Québec Bridge 11 km above Québec City twists and collapses during construction, falling 46 metres into St. Lawrence River; over 75 workers are killed, 11 injured in Canada’s worst bridge disaster. Faulty design and poor engineering are blamed. The bridge is rebuilt but the centre span falls into the river as it is being raised on September 11, 1916, killing another 13 people. When it is finally completed in September, 1917, the Québec Bridge will be the world’s longest cantilever bridge, and the largest bridge in the world. Québec, Québec
  • 1907 Farming - Charles Saunders new hybrid Marquis wheat, developed at the Central Experimental Farm, is introduced to Prairie farmers, and will be praised for its performance and yield in frost-prone areas. Alberta
  • 1909 Glenn Curtiss American aviator wins the world’s First air race, the Gordon Bennett Cup, in Rheims, France, in a plane developed with the help of Alexander Graham Bell’s Aerial Experimentation Association, based in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. Rheims, France
  • 1914 First World War - Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry regiment sails from Montréal for England. Montréal, Québec
  • 1917 Robert Borden’s Union Government passes Military Service Act; all male British subjects up to 45 years of age liable fro conscription; with certain exceptions. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1917 Riot - Mob of 5,000 Montréalers start violent two-day riot against Military Service Act, which receives Royal Assent on this day. Montréal, Québec
  • 1917 Robert Borden’s Union Government passes the Soldier Settlement Act: empowered to buy land for the settlement of returning soldiers. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1919 Prince Edward Island removes ban on automobile traffic after several years of no cars. Charlottetown, PEI
  • 1922 Broadcasting - Radio station CFAC goes on the air with Calgary’s Salvation Army band in concert; First privately-owned station between Winnipeg and Vancouver. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1931 James D. Stewart sworn in as Premier of Prince Edward Island for the second time, replacing Walter Lea. Charlotetown, PEI
  • 1936 Charles Napier Bell dies in Winnipeg; pioneer and historian, wrote several books on Manitoba history, and was president of the Historical and Scientific Society of Manitoba. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1941 Lieutenant-Colonel W. C. Woodward commissioned as the Lieutenant-governor of British Columbia. Victoria, BC
  • 1946 Colonel C. A. Banks commissioned as the Lieutenant-governor of British Columbia. Victoria, BC
  • 1950 Opening of 3rd third session of 21st Parliament; deals with rail strike and Korean War; sits until January 29, 1951. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1952 Epidemic - Due to a high incidence of polio, the opening of Saskatchewan schools is set back to September 15, 1952. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1964 Terrorism - FLQ terrorists hold up a gun store in Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1966 Strike - Parliament recalled to end railway workers strike; will grant interim wage increase of 18%. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1967 Record - Canadian actor Barry Morse appears in the finale of The Fugitive, aired on ABC-TV; Morse, playing Philip Gerard, arrives below the water tower in the amusement park just as the mysterious one-armed man, Fred Johnson, confesses to Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen) that he was the real killer of his wife; convinced of Kimble’s innocence, Gerard shoots the one-armed man just as he was about to throw Kimble from the tower. This show held the record as most watched episode of a TV series ever (72% of all TVs tuned in) until the Who shot J.R.? episode of Dallas in 1980. Los Angeles, California
  • 1968 Astronomy - Ottawa cancels support for observatory under construction on Mt. Kobau, BC. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1969 Strike - 70,000 Québec elementary and secondary teachers reach agreement with Québec and local school boards after two-year dispute. Québec, Québec
  • 1969 W.A.C. Bennett’s Social Credit Party re-elected in British Columbia. BC
  • 1974 Toronto rocker Neil Young appears on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine with fellow band members of the group Crosby Stills Nash & Young. New York, New York
  • 1975 Gérard Pelletier named Canadian Ambassador to France. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1976 Toronto rocker Neil Young appears at a special concert featuring the original line-up of Spirit, and joins the band on stage for an encore of Bob Dylan’s Like a Rolling Stone. Bass player Mark Andes First asks Young to come up on stage, but guitarist Randy California objects to his presence and pushes him away. The song is completed when the misunderstanding is cleared up. Santa Monica, California
  • 1976 CHEM-TV starts broadcasting. Trois-Rivières, Québec
  • 1976 Toronto rocker Neil Young appears at a special concert featuring the original line-up of Spirit, and joins the band on stage for an encore of Bob Dylan’s Like a Rolling Stone. Bass player Mark Andes First asks Young to come up on stage, but guitarist Randy California objects to his presence and pushes him away. The song is completed when the misunderstanding is cleared up. Santa Monica, California
  • 1976 CHEM-TV starts broadcasting. Trois-Rivières, Québec
  • 1983 Brian Mulroney wins election to the House of Commons in a by-election in Central Nova. Pictou, Nova Scotia
  • 1983 Canada finishes third with 108 medals at the Pan-American Games, behind the US and Cuba; two Canadian weightlifters disqualified for steroid use. Caracas, Venezuela
  • 1987 Record - Jocelyn Muir finishes her 60-day marathon swim around Lake Ontario to raise $250,000 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society; sets record for the longest international marathon. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1990 Oka Crisis - Canadian Army dismantles the Mercier Bridge barricades at Kanawake; put up by Mohawks to protest Oka standoff. Montréal, Québec
  • 1991 Human Rights - Manitoba’s aboriginal justice inquiry says legal system systematically discriminates against Canadian natives; recommends universal self-government and separate justice system run by natives. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1992 Robert Bourassa gets special conference of Québec Liberal Party to approve of Charlottetown Accord; only Party’s youth wing and Jean Allaire oppose deal. Québec, Québec
  • 1993 Brandie Burton wins the 21st du Maurier Golf Classic.
  • 1994 Toronto swimmer Carlos Costa swims across the 60 km wide Straits of Messina in 23.5 hours; First disabled athlete to complete a double-crossing of the Strait; 21-year-old athlete born with no bones below the knees. Messina, Italy
  • 1996 BC Securities Commission finds former British Columbia Premier Bill Bennett guilty of insider trading committed when he was in office. Vancouver, BC
  • 1996 Canadian UVAI (Ultra-Violet Auroral Imager) instrument launched on board the Russian Interball-2 spacecraft. Baikonur, Azerbaijan
  • 2002 Former British Columbia Premier Glen Clark acquitted in a scandal that had forced him from office; the NDP politician was accused of receiving free home and cottage repairs in return for influence in awarding a casino licence. Vancouver, BC
  • 2004 Olympics - Closing ceremonies for the Sydney Summer Olympics; Canada wins 12 medals, its lowest medal count since taking 10 at the Seoul Summer Olympics in 1988. Sydney, Australia
  • 2005 Ontario becomes the First province in Canada to ban the pit bull dog; violent breed already banned in several cities across Canada, and in Denver, Miami and Cincinnati in the USA. Toronto, Ontario