Highlights of the day

  • 1864 George-Étienne Cartier makes first case for BNA Confederation at Charlottetown.
  • 1905 Alexander Rutherford sworn in as first Premier of Alberta.
  • 1912 Guy Weadick opens day one of the first Calgary Stampede, billed as the The Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth.
  • 1945 VJ Day ends Second World War, as Douglas MacArthur takes surrender of Japanese on USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
  • 1972 Soviet national team wins game 1; beats out-of-shape and arrogant Team Canada by a score of 7-3.

List of Facts for September 2

  • 1578 Robert Wolfall, Martin Frobisher’s chaplain, holds Canada’s First recorded Christian services at Frobisher Bay. Iqaluit, Nunavut
  • 1651 Martin Boutet named First town crier of Québec. Québec, Québec
  • 1654 Robert Sedgwick captures Fort Pentagouet, on the Penobscot River; will leave for England in the Fall with Charles La Tour. Penobscot, Maine
  • 1670 Port Royal handed back to the French under the terms of the Treaty of Breda of 1667. Annapolis, Nova Scotia
  • 1713 France takes possession of Cape Breton island. Nova Scotia
  • 1726 Charles de Beauharnois arrives in Québec as new Governor of New France, with Intendant Claude Dupuy; serves to September 19, 1747. Québec, Québec
  • 1729 Shipwreck of the sailing vessel ‘l’Eléphant’ near Québec. Québec, Québec
  • 1748 François Bigot appointed Intendant of New France; last to fill the position; his rule will be marked by growing corruption. Québec, Québec
  • 1750 Shipwreck of the sailing vessel ‘L’Orignal’ on the day of her launch. Québec, Québec
  • 1750 William Tutty founds St. Paul’s Church, Halifax; oldest Anglican church in Canada. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1752 Calendar - Last day of the Julian Calendar in Britain and the Colonies; the Gregorian Calendar designed to correct the extra leap year day problem goes into effect the next day, with tomorrow being September 14, hence 11 days are dropped from the year. Most other countries made the adjustment in 1582.
  • 1776 Disaster - The week-long Hurricane of Independence roars up the Atlantic coast, killing 4,170 people from North Carolina to Nova Scotia; blows out to sea September 9, 1776 Nova Scotia
  • 1792 Trial - Canadian Priest André Grasset sent to the guillotine in the Reign of Terror for refusing to agree to a Church reorganization planned by leaders of the French Revolution. Paris, France
  • 1797 Roman Catholic bishops in Québec required to swear an oath of allegiance to the British Crown. Québec, Québec
  • 1842 Opening of the 2nd Session of the 1st Parliament of the Province of Canada. Montréal, Québec
  • 1858 James Douglas appointed Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia; serves from November 19, 1858 to 1864. Victoria, BC
  • 1864 Confederation - Charlottetown Conference - The New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI delegates agree to postpone Maritime Union discussions, and invite the Canadians to put their case for the union of BNA; Canada East’s George Etienne Cartier makes the opening presentation in favour of a great confederation of all the colonies, followed by Canada West’s John A. MacDonald; the delegates then take luncheon at the residence of Colonial Secretary William Pope, and the afternoon is spent walking, boating and taking carriage rides. Charlottetown, PEI
  • 1870 Adams Archibald arrives at Fort Garry, the seat of government of Manitoba, to serve as Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1875 Riot - Roman Catholic mob prevents the burial in consecrated ground of the printer Joseph Guibord, a member of l’Institut canadien de Montréal, who had died in 1869; with the approval of Rome, Bishop Ignace Bourget had forbidden Catholics from becoming members of the Institute on pain of excommunication; Guibord refused, and on his death, was not given the last rites. In 1874, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London ordered his burial in the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery. On November 16, 1875, a military escort will finally escort his body for burial, in an area of the cemetery that Mgr. Bourget will immediately deconsecrate. Montréal, Québec
  • 1887 Captain Shorts launches his steamboat Jubilee onto Okanagan Lake. BC
  • 1898 Major General Sir Herbert Kitchener’s Anglo-Egyptian forces decisively defeat the Dervishes at the Battle of Omdurman; Kitchener avenged General Gordon, killed in 1885. Khartoum, Sudan
  • 1904 John Voss reaches England in his Nootka sailing canoe, the Tilikum, via Australia and New Zealand; left Victoria, BC, 3 years, 3 months and 12 days earlier; 65,000 km journey; Tilikum now on display at Thunderbird Park in Victoria, BC. Britain
  • 1905 Alexander Rutherford sworn in as first Premier of Alberta; serves to May 26, 1910. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1907 First Labour Day celebration in Saskatchewan is held at Regina. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1908 Canadian boxer Tommy Burns knocks out Bill Land in the second round for the world heavyweight boxing championship; his last successful defense of the world heavyweight title. Melbourne, Australia
  • 1910 Hector Fabre dies in Paris; Canada’s diplomatic representative. Paris, France
  • 1911 Fire - John Bradshaw torches the old Hall Mines smelter works at Nelson, BC.
  • 1912 Wild west show cowboy Guy Weadick opens day one of the first Calgary Stampede, billed as the The Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth, and The Last and Best Great West Frontier Days Celebration; Weadick and CPR livestock agent H.C. McMullen developed the idea in the spring of 1912, and sold it to George Lane, owner of the Bar U Ranch, ranchers Patrick Burns and A. E. Cross; and Alberta Provincial Secretary Archie Maclean, who put up the $20,000 in championship money - the largest rodeo purse ever offered. McMullen brought in 200 head of Mexican steers and 200 bucking steers, and arranged for wild horses to be brought in from the ranches around Calgary. Over 150 riders from Western Canada and the US arrive to claim the purse, and 25,000 spectators watch the six day pageant of bronc busting, calf roping, trick riding and steer wrestling at an oval arena at the confluence of the Bow River and Elbow River. The highlight is Tom Three Person’s electrifying ride on killer bronc ‘Cyclone’. The Stampede will not be repeated until after First World War, in late August, 1919, when it is billed as the Victory Stampede, and therafter held annually. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1918 First World War - Arthur Currie’s Canadian Corps cracks Germany’s supposedly impregnable Hindenburg Line at two locations. Belgium
  • 1918 First World War - Bellenden Hutcheson, an American MD in the 75th Battalion (later the Toronto Scots) performs actions that win him the Victoria Cross. His citation reads, in part: ‘For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty… Without hesitation and with utter disregard for personal safety he remained on the field until every wounded man had been attended to. He dressed the wounds of a seriously wounded officer under terrific machine-gun and shell fire, and, with the assistance of prisoners and of his own men, succeeded in evacuating him to safety, despite the fact that the bearer party suffered heavy casualties. Immediately afterwards he rushed forward, in full view of the enemy, under heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, to tend a wounded sergeant, and, having placed him in a shell hole, dressed his wounds.’ Queant-Drocourt, Belgium
  • 1922 Curtiss HS-2L bush plane G-CAAC crashes into Foss Lake. Built by Glen Curtiss in 1918, First operated by the US Navy as one of 12 planes on anti-submarine patrols out of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, then used by Canadian government to patrol for forest fires in northern Ontario and Québec. This pioneer bush plane also made Canada’s First commercial flight in June 1919, doing the First aerial timber survey. In 1968 and 1968, the Canadian Museum of Aviation retrieved the hull and many parts and fittings, and the restored plane is on display at the Museum in Ottawa. Foss Lake, Ontario
  • 1925 Operetta Rose Marie opens in New York; featuring a cast of baritone Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables and the song, Indian Love Call; later filmed, with Nelson Eddy and Jeanette Macdonald. [some say 1924 New York, New York
  • 1937 Canadian actor Raymond Massey stars in a production of The Prisoner of Zenda, premiering at Radio City Music Hall; with co-stars Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll, Mary Astor, David Niven, and C. Aubrey Smith. New York, New York
  • 1941 Second World War - Cyril James establishes the Advisory Committee on Reconstruction (James Committee). Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1944 Second World War - General E. L. M. Burns reports that two Canadian brigades have broken the Gothic Line in the Adriatic Sector, but Germans quickly move in divisions from other lines to slow the Canadian advance to Rimini; German 1st Parachute Division heavily defends against forward troops of the 1st Canadian Corps 5 km south of the Conca, and on the Coriano Ridge to the west; it will take three more weeks to take the hill position of San Fortunato blocking the approach to the Po Valley. Rimini, Italy
  • 1945 Second World War - Official VJ Day, as Douglas MacArthur takes formal surrender of Japanese on board USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, brings Second World War to an end; Japanese had surrendered August 14; about 80,000 Canadians had volunteered to go to the Pacific theatre of war to fight the Japanese. Tokyo, Japan
  • 1961 Shirley Giles and G. Marcellus appointed Canada’s First women bank managers. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1962 CBC International Service (RCI) inaugurates a new new 50kW transmitter at Sackville, New Brunswick; the third transmitter greatly improves reception in Europe and Africa, and lets the service add extra broadcast hours formerly given over to CBC Armed Forces and CBC Northern Services; for the First time, transmissions can be directed to two different target areas, and in Sept, 1964 the Service starts simultaneous broadcasting to both Europe and the US. Sackville, New Brunswick
  • 1972 Canada-Soviet Hockey Series - Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and other dignitaries watch the Soviet national team win the opening game of hockey series with an out-of-shape and arrogant Team Canada by a score of 7-3; Canada is leading 2-0 after seven minutes, and will outshoot the USSR selects 32-30, but are stone-walled by goalie Vladislav Tretiak; shocked Forum fans boo the Canadian players. We were stunned, absolutely stunned, says coach Harry Sinden after the game. It’s the way they won. With speed, finesse, solid checks, outstanding goaltending and, most of all, teamwork. They’re good. Just how good remains to be seen. There are still seven games to be played, but it’s a real competition now. Montréal, Québec
  • 1972 Crime - Arsonist throws firebomb into Montréal’s Blue Bird Bar; kills 42 persons, injures 70-80 others. Montréal, Québec
  • 1975 Bank of Canada raises lending rate to 9%. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1983 Ottawa cancels Aeroflot landing rights at Mirabel airport to protest downing of Korean Air 747 on September 1, 1983; killed 269 people, including 10 Canadians. Mirabel, Québec
  • 1985 Atlantic US-French expedition reports discovery of the wreckage of the Titanic 900 km off the coast of Newfoundland, 73 years after the White Star liner sank. North Atlantic
  • 1986 Trial - Cathy Eveyln Smith, born in Burlington, Ontario, is sentenced to three years in jail for involuntary manslaughter in the March 1982 death of comedian John Belushi, killed by a drug overdose. Los Angeles, California
  • 1986 CP divests itself of its 52.5% holding in Cominco. Teck Corp., the buyer, sells 14.25 million shares to public for $13.50 ea. Vancouver, BC
  • 1987 Second summit of La Francophonie held at Québec. Québec, Québec
  • 1989 Jeff Healey’s single Angel Eyes peaks at #5 on the Billboard pop chart. New York, New York
  • 1990 Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dave Stieb finally pitches a no-hitter as Toronto beats the Cleveland Indians, 3-0; Stieb had lost three no-hit bids with one out to go in the previous two seasons; his feat was the record 9th major league no-hitter of the season. Cleveland, Ohio
  • 1990 Mohawk warrior, Canadian soldier face off during Oka crisis. Oka, Québec -
  • 1992 Bank of Canada cuts interest rates to 6.25%, the lowest in 21 years. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1992 Media - ESPN signs a five year contract with the National Hockey League for both domestic and international broadcasting rights. New York, New York
  • 1995 Disaster - British Nimrod plane plunges into Lake Ontario before horrified spectators during the annual air show at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto; seven RAF crew members killed. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1997 Education - Newfoundlanders vote to do away with their religion based school systems. Newfoundland
  • 1997 RaiLink takes over the former CN lines in northeastern Alberta from Boyle, Alberta to Lynton, Alberta, near Fort McMurray; operations start two days later and formal transfer made Nov. 24. Fort McMurray, Alberta
  • 1997 Media - The Howard Stern Radio Show, featuring his New York shock jock shtick, premieres in Montréal on CHOM 97.7 FM and in Toronto on CILQ 107.1 FM. Montréal/Toronto
  • 1998 Disaster - Swissair Flight 111 en route from New York to Geneva crashes off Peggy’s Cove, killing all 229 people on board; Canada’s Transportation Safety Board the lead investigator; will conclude faulty wiring in the MD11 to blame. Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia
  • 1998 Strike - Air Canada pilots launch the first strike in the company’s history. Montréal, Quebec
  • 2000 Guiliano Zaccardelli appointed 21st Commissioner of the RCMP. Ottwa, Ontario
  • 2004 Edmonton Trappers play their last game, leaving the (AAA) Pacific Coast League without a baseball team in Canada. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 2005 Canadian government deploys an Airbus A321 to New Orleans, Louisiana, to transport Canadians stranded in the area after Hurricane Katrina, to airlift them to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.