Highlights of the day

  • 1929 Persons Case - Privy Council rules that the word ‘person’ in Section 24 of the BNA Act refers to both male and female persons.

List of Facts for October 18

  • 1624 William Alexander, Earl of Stirling founds the Knights Baronets of Nova Scotia, an order limited to 150 members; 1000 acres cost £150; discontinued in 1707 with the Act of Union. Edinburgh, Scotland
  • 1633 Jesuit Father Paul LeJeune leaves on a mission to Indian country. Québec
  • 1646 Jesuit Fathers Isaac Jogues & Jean de La Lande killed by Mohawks while on a peace mission. The ‘black robes’ are blamed for a smallpox epidemic among the Iroquois, since Jogues had left a chest of gifts for them the previous year, just before the outbreak of the disease; he is dispatched with a hatchet blow to the head. New York
  • 1690 William Phips starts bombarding Québec with 37 ships and 2,200 men, after Count Frontenac refused to surrender; shelling has little effect, and after a defeat at Beauport on the 21st, the English retreat. Québec, Québec
  • 1748 King George’s War - Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the War of the Austrian Succession; PEI, Cape Breton & Louisbourg are returned to France; in exchange for Madras, India. Aix-la-Chapelle, France
  • 1775 American Revolutionary War - Richard Montgomery and the Army of the Continental Congress capture Fort Chambly en route to Québec. Chambly, Québec
  • 1781 American Revolutionary War - Charles Cornwallis surrenders British Army at Yorktown; British begin peace negotiations, although they still control the north. Yorktown, Virginia
  • 1807 James Craig arrives at Québec to serve as Governor. Québec, Québec
  • 1840 Religion - Anglican missionary Robert Rundle arrives at Fort Edmonton to serve as the first permanent cleric in what will become Alberta.
  • 1841 Religion - Jesuit fathers P-J. de Smet and Nicholas Point establish St. Mary’s Mission to the Flatheads in the Bitterroot Valley in what is now western Montana; begins a four-year program of annual visits into what is today British Columbia. BC
  • 1854 Reciprocity Treaty with the US comes into effect. Canada
  • 1861 Herbert Mortimer elected First President of the Toronto Stock Exchange Association by 24 brokers meeting in the Masonic Hall; 13 companies listed. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1873 First rugby football game played between the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tigers. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1873 George French named first permanent Commissioner of the North West Mounted Police; serves to July 21, 1876. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1877 Communications - Hugh Baker, Charles Cory, T. C. Mewburn and Mrs. I. R. Thompson get the world’s First telephone service, installed by the Bell Telephone Company. Hamilton, Ontario
  • 1889 D. C. Corbin pushes Spokane Falls and Northern Railway steel into Fort Colville. BC
  • 1899 Boer War - Henri Bourassa resigns seat in Parliament to protest Canadian involvement in the South African War. Montréal, Québec
  • 1901 Religion - Four Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions arrive in St. Eustache to take charge of the school. St. Eustache, Manitoba
  • 1901 Nicholas Flood Davin commits suicide, shooting himself in a Winnipeg hotel room; founder of the Regina Leader newspaper, Davin was elected as the First MP for Assiniboia West in 1887 and served as an MP for 13 years; known as the voice of the Northwest in Parliament. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1914 First World War - Mobilization of the 3rd Veterinary Service of Montréal for war service; many horses still being used at the front. Montreal, Québec
  • 1915 First World War - Embarkation of the 41st Battalion of Infantry of Québec for service in France. Québec, Québec
  • 1918 Hockey - Toronto businessman P. J. Quinn buys the NHL’s Québec Bulldogs team; inactive in 1918-1919, the franchise will return to Québec the following season. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1929 Persons Case - The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of Great Britain, reversing an April 1928 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, rules that the word ‘person’ in Section 24 of the British North America Act referred to both male and female persons, and that Canadian women were eligible to be summoned to and serve as members of the Senate of Canada; declares that women were Persons before the Law in Canada and are therefore allowed to vote, own property, assume debt, et cetera. Five Alberta women - Henrietta Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Emily Murphy and Irene Parlby - had appealed the decision to Canada’s highest court of appeal at the time. The fight began in 1918 when a lawyer appeared before Judge Emily Murphy and said her judgments were illegal because she was not a ‘person’ under British legal custom. See: Law Reports, Appeal Cases, 1930, 124. Previously, under English common law, women were persons in matters of pains and penalties, but were not persons in matters of rights and privileges. London, England Edwards v. A.G. of Canada [1928 S.C.R. 276 ] - decision of the Supreme Court of Canada Edwards v. A.G. of Canada [1930 A.C. 124 (P.C.) ] - decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Famous Five site, with archival correspondence on the Persons case]. The Famous Five Foundation “educates and inspires Canadians by celebrating the value of women’s leadership and achievements. The foundation builds leadership capacity in our community, commemorating the F5’s conviction, courage and tenacity.”
  • 1941 Second World War - Mackenzie King announces wage and price controls to combat inflation; on national radio broadcast; says 40% of national income spent on war (vs. 10% in First World War). Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1950 First appearance of the Dionne quintuplets in public since they were put on display in Callander, Ontario in the 1930s. Montréal, Québec
  • 1951 Military - Canada agrees to maintain 12,000 army and air force in Europe as part of NATO commitment. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1957 Media - Montreal Herald stops publication after 146 years; the city’s oldest daily newspaper. Montréal, Québec
  • 1962 Finance - Government brings in austerity measures; cuts $228 million in spending for next fiscal year. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1965 Abraham Okpik , age 26, appointed First Inuit representative on the Northwest Territories Council. Yellowknife, NWT
  • 1970 October Crisis continues. Chronology of the day: 12:15 am - police open the trunk of a suspicious Chevrolet sedan parked beside a hangar at St-Hubert Airport; discover a body, apparently strangled with the chain of a religious medal; 2:45 am - body positively identified as that of Québec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte, kidnapped by FLQ terrorists eight days earlier, on October 10, 1970; 12:00 noon - new communiqué from the FLQ claiming responsibility; warrants issued for the arrest of Marc Charbonneau and Paul Rose; FLQ captive James Cross writes a letter to authorities. Montréal, Québec
  • 1971 Sate Visit - Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin not injured when assaulted by Hungarian immigrant Geza Matrai; Matrai jailed for three months on January 7, 1972. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1973 Media - Canadian Radio-Television Commission (CRTC) lets CBC start 6 new FM radio stations, plus French FM network. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1973 Trial - Start of trial of Dr. Henry Morgentaler on charges of performing illegal abortions. Montréal, Québec
  • 1974 Paul Martin Sr. appointed Canadian High Commissioner in London. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1976 Pierre Trudeau issues conflict of interest guidelines for his ministers. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1976 Strike - Start of walkout at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Montréal, Québec
  • 1977 House of Commons is televised for the first time. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1978 Saskatchewan Election - Allan Blakeney’s NDP win a third consecutive majority in the provincial election. Saskatchewan
  • 1979 Frank Lynch-Staunton appointed Lieutenant-governor of Alberta; serves to January 22. 1985. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1980 First African elephant born at Metro Toronto Zoo; a First in Canada. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1981 Montreal Expos-LA Dodgers National League playoff game postponed because of rain, for the First time in League history. The following day, Montréal loses to Los Angeles 2-1 and is eliminated three games to two. Montréal, Québec
  • 1982 Former Ontario Premier John Robarts dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his shower; he had been under treatment for a stroke. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1988 Architecture - Permit granted to demolish the Queen’s Hotel in Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1990 Varity Corporation announces it is moving to Buffalo, New York; in spite of a previous $200 million bailout, the farm equipment manufacturer - the remnants of Massey-Ferguson - can no longer compete. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1992 Baseball - Visiting Toronto Blue Jays beat Atlanta Braves 5-to-4, in Game 2 of the World Series, to tie the series at one game apiece; pre-game ceremony marred by a US Marine Corps color guard that entered the stadium mistakenly carrying the Canadian flag upside down. Jays become the First non-American team to win a World Series game. Atlanta, Georgia
  • 1994 Toronto rocker Neil Young (and Crazy Horse) get a gold record for their album, Sleeps With Angels. New York, New York
  • 1995 Hockey - NHL Winnipeg Jets sold to American investors who plan to move them to Phoenix. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 2006 Media - Lloyd Robertson celebrates his 30th year as a CTV National News anchor, making him the longest serving anchor of a network newscast in North American history and second overall behind KTLA’s Hal Fishman. Toronto, Ontario
  • 2006 Politics - Ontario MP Garth Turner suspended from the Conservative caucus for criticizing Prime Minister Stephen Harper in his online blog; Turner will eventually run for the Liberals. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2009 Politics - Gilles Taillon is chosen as the new leader of the Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ). Quebec
  • 2010 Politics - Naheed Nenshi wins Calgary mayoralty race; the first Muslim elected mayor of a major Canadian city. Calgary, Alberta
  • 2010 Crime - Firebombers destroy home of a gay couple in Little Pond, PEI; both men escape the fire unharmed; fundraising concerts will be held to support the couple and to oppose homophobic violence. Prince Edward Island