Highlights of the day

  • 1869 George Desbarats publishes first issue of Canadian Illustrated News; first to use half-tone photo.
  • 1972 Pierre Trudeau wins general election; 109 seats for the Liberals to 107 for Robert Stanfield’s PCs.
  • 1995 Jacques Parizeau narrowly loses his Québec Referendum on sovereignty, with a margin of 50,000 votes out of 5 million cast.

List of Facts for October 30

  • 1603 Pierre de Monts named Viceroy of Acadia. Paris, France
  • 1688 Finance - First lottery held at Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1692 Medicine - Founding of the Hôpital Général de Québec. Québec, Québec
  • 1727 Forestry - First timber business starts in New France; export of wood to France follows. Québec
  • 1759 Fur Trade - First Spanish trading ship arrives at Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1811 Crime - A man named Mathieu receives 39 lashes of a whip for stealing. Québec, Québec
  • 1816 Fur War - William Coltman & John Fletcher open commission of enquiry to mediate between Lord Selkirk and the Hudson’s Bay Company and the North West Company. Montréal, Québec
  • 1846 Rail - Great Western Railway authorized to extend a line from Hamilton into Toronto, Ontario. Hamilton, Ontario
  • 1866 Politics - Large banquet held in Montréal to honour George-Étienne Cartier. Montreal, Québec
  • 1868 Immingration - First federal-provincial agreement on immigration. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1869 Georges Desbarats publishes the premiere issue of his Canadian Illustrated News in Montréal; the world’s First periodical to use the half-tone technique to reproduce a photograph - in this case, an image of Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VI; his engraver, William Leggo was a master at photo-engraving, a chemical process that made relief engravings, or half-tones, from photographs. Montréal, Québec
  • 1869 William McDougall refused entry into Red River by the Métis; his aide, D. R. Cameron, gets to St. Norbert, Manitoba but turned back; Canada’s Governor designate. Pembina, Manitoba
  • 1886 British Columbia extends the completion date of Baillie-Grohman and the Kootenay Lake Syndicate Company’s Canal Flats project. Victoria, BC
  • 1892 C&KSN launches the steamboat Illecillewaet (98 tons) at Revelstoke; scrapped in 1902. Revelstoke, BC
  • 1893 John Abbott dies at age 72; Dean of Law, McGill University 1855-1880; Mayor of Montréal 1887-1888; Senator and Leader of the Government in the Senate 1887-1893; Canada’s 3rd Prime Minister 1891-92; First to lead the country from the Senate. Montreal, Québec
  • 1894 Honoré Mercier dies in Montréal; founder of the Parti national 1871; MP 1872-1874; leader of the Liberal Party of Québec 1883; Premier of Québec 1887-1891; dismissed by lieutenant Governor for alleged misuse of public funds but acquitted. Montréal, Québec
  • 1899 Boer War - William Otter sails from Québec with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, with 57 officers and 1,224 men, to South Africa; First Canadian Contingent to join British forces in the Boer War. Québec, Québec see: Boer War Breaks Out - Canada’s Imperial Adventure
  • 1905 Étienne Desmarteau dies of typhoid fever; policeman, strongman, born at Boucherville, Québec, February 4, 1873. Desmarteau competed annually in tug-of-war and hammer throw at police games in Montréal, Toronto, New York and Boston; 1902 won world heavy-weight and junior world hammer-throwing championships; 1904, sponsored by the Montréal Amateur Athletic Association, competed in the 1904 Olympic Games at St. Louis, Missouri, and brought home the gold medal in the 56 pound throw. Montréal, Québec
  • 1908 Thomas Greenway dies; merchant, farmer, land dealer and politician; Premier of Manitoba 1888-1890. Manitoba
  • 1915 Charles Tupper dies at Bexley Heath, Kent, England; born Amherst, Nova Scotia July 2, 1821; 1843 MD University of Edinburgh; practised medicine at Amherst; 1855 elected as a Conservative to the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia; 1857-60, 1863-67 Provincial Secretary; 1864-67 Premier of Nova Scotia; a Father of Confederation, participating at the Charlottetown 1864, Quebec 1864, and London 1866 conferences; 1867 elected to Parliament, along with 18 anti-Confederates; 1867-70 President, Canadian Medical Association; Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom 1884-1887, 1888-1896; September 15, 1893 knighted by Queen Victoria; Leader of the Opposition (Conservative) 1896-1901; Canada’s 6th Prime Minister, May 1, 1896 to July 8, 1896, replacing Mackenzie Bowell, and losing the election to Wilfrid Laurier; 1896-1901 Leader of the Opposition, then replaced by Robert Borden; 1901 retired to Vancouver, BC; 1913 moved to England; buried in St. John’s Cemetery, Halifax. Bexley Heath, England
  • 1917 First World War - Cecil Kinross of Alberta’s 49th Battalion wins the Victoria Cross at the 2nd Battle of Passchendaele. Passchendaele, Belgium
  • 1917 First World War - Major Harry Mullin of Moosomin, Saskatchewan wins the Victoria Cross at the 2nd Battle of Passcherdaele; later served as Sergeant-at-Arms in the Saskatchewan Legion. Passchendaele, Belgium
  • 1917 Charles Stewart sworn in as Premier of Alberta, replacing Arthur Sifton; serves to August 13, 1921. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1917 Finance - Montreal Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange adopt minimum pricing system to drive out penny stocks to the curb exchanges. Canada
  • 1918 First World War - Alied and German high commands agree to a cease fire in the War; armistice follows on November 11, 1918. Europe
  • 1920 Medicine - University of Toronto medical researcher Frederick Banting scribbles the research note that leads to his team’s discovery of insulin: “Tie pancreas ducts of dogs. Wait six or eight weeks. Remove and extract. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1922 Premiers Conference - First interprovincial conference of ministers of education. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1923 Andrew Bonar Law dies at 64; born at Kingston, New Brunswick September 16, 1858; the only colonial to become Prime Minister of Great Britain, from October 23, 1922, to May 20, 1923. Sent to live with wealthy relatives in Scotland when he was 12, he became a partner in a firm of iron merchants. The only British Prime Minister to come from the Empire, he led the Conservative Party during the periods 1911-21 and 1922-23, but had to retire after only 209 days as PM because of poor health. London, England
  • 1929 Ontario Election - Howard Ferguson’s Conservatives win a third consecutive majority in the provincial election. Ontario
  • 1929 Prohibition - Nova Scotia ends prohibition in favour of government control of liquor. Nova Scotia
  • 1935 Energy - Creation of the Québec Power Commission/ Commission d’Electricité du Québec. Québec, Québec
  • 1937 Ste-Catherine incorporated. Ste-Catherine, Québec
  • 1942 Second World War - RCAF planes of Eastern Air Command destroy two German U-Boats in one day. North Atlantic
  • 1943 Hockey - Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Gus Bodnar scores 15 seconds into his First NHL game as the Leafs beat the New York Rangers 5-2; will win Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1945 Baseball - Dodger Manager Branch Rickey signs Jackie Robinson to a contract with Montréal Royals of the International League for 1946; black pitcher John Wright also signs. Brooklyn, New York
  • 1946 Castlegar incorporated as a Village. Castlegar, BC
  • 1946 Salmo incorporated as a Village. Salmo, BC
  • 1952 Korean War - 3rd Battalion of the Princess Patricia’ s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) arrives in Korea; to replace 1st Battalion. Korea
  • 1956 Nova Scotia Election - Robert Stanfield wins provincial election for the Conservatives. Nova Scotia
  • 1956 Keremeos incorporated as a Village. Keremeos, BC
  • 1956 Nova Sxcotia Election - Robert Stanfield wins provincial election for the Conservatives. Nova Scotia
  • 1956 Keremeos incorporated as a Village. Keremeos, BC
  • 1957 Referendum - Alberta votes for greater variety of liquor outlets. Alberta
  • 1958 Disaster - Springhill coal mine rescue workers bring 12 more men out. Springhill, Nova Scotia
  • 1968 Frank Sinatra records single ‘My Way’, with lyrics by Ottawa native Paul Anka; music from French song, ‘Comme d’Habitude’. Los Angeles, California
  • 1969 Labour - Police and firemen sign new contract with the City of Montréal. Montreal, Québec
  • 1971 Media - John Bassett closes 95-year old Toronto Telegram newspaper because of mounting losses; Canada’s fourth largest newspaper First published April 18, 1876 as the Evening Telegram; many ‘Tely’ employees go on to start the Toronto Sun tabloid. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1972 Federal Election - Pierre Trudeau wins general election, with 109 seats for the Liberals to 107 for the PCs under Robert Stanfield; 31 NDP; 15 Social Credit; 2 Independent; gets 45.5% of popular vote. Among the new Members are Jeanne Sauvé (Montréal), later Speaker and Governor General; Trevor Morgan (St. Catharines), Canada’s First blind MP; and, Sean O’Sullivan, age 20 (Hamilton-Wentworth), Canada’s youngest Member of Parliament ever; he resigned in 1977 to become a Priest. Canada
  • 1974 Federal Provincial Conference - Pierre Trudeau holds special one-day conference on inflation in Ottawa with the ten provincial Premiers. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1975 Hockey - Edmonton, Alberta-born Johnny Bucyk of the Boston Bruins becomes the 7th NHL player to score 500 goals. Boston, Massachusetts
  • 1975 Baseball - Giants pitcher John Montefusco outpoints Montréal Expos catcher Gary Carter for NL Rookie of the Year honours. North America
  • 1976 Police - Heather Ann Phyllis resigns from the RCMP to get married; First woman ever sworn in by the Mounted Police. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1978 Anne Murray single, You Needed Me, reaches #1 on the Billboard charts. New York, New York
  • 1981 Education - Québec Ministry of Education to modify language charter; children of families in Québec for less than 3 years can choose school. Québec
  • 1984 Ottawa’s Dan Ackroyd, with John Belushi, aka The Blues Brothers, hit the $2 million sales mark with their album, Briefcase Full of Blues. New York, New York
  • 1986 Aviation - Montréal’s Canadair wins Canadian Forces CF-18 fighter maintenance contract; over Winnipeg, Manitoba. Montréal, Québec
  • 1990 Craig Russell dies of AIDS at age 42; female impersonator, star of movie Outrageous. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1991 Disaster - Canadian Forces Hercules C-130 crashes on Ellesmere Island in the high Arctic while on a routine supply mission; 5 of the 13 passengers die from injuries or hypothermia before rescuers can reach them over 33 hours later. Ellesmere Island, Nunavut
  • 1991 Earle McLaughlin dies at age 76; former Chairman of the Royal Bank of Canada, Chancellor of Concordia University. Montréal, Québec
  • 1991 Judith Maxwell reports that Québec sovereignty will cost province between 1.4 and 3.5% of lost output; head of the Economic Council of Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1992 Aboriginal - Tom Siddon signs Accord with Inuit for creation of a self governing territory; Ottawa to finance 2.2 m sq km Eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut; Inuit to get clear title to 350,000 sq km, $1.15 billion in grants over 14 years. Iqaluit, Nunavut
  • 1993 Hockey - Toronto Maple Leafs lose First game of season after going an NHL record 10-0-0. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1995 Referendum - Jacques Parizeau narrowly loses his Québec Referendum on sovereignty, even with the aid of Lucien Bouchard, with a margin of 50,000 votes out of 5 million cast. In a televised address, he denounces “money and the ethnic vote” as reasons for his defeat. The tally: Non 2,361,521 (50.6%), Oui 2,308,028 (49.4%); 93.2% of eligible voters go to the polls; about 60% of francophones vote Yes, about 90% of anglophones and allophones vote No. It is the second referendum defeat in 15 years. Québec, Québec
  • 1995 K Mart Corp. says its K Mart Canada unit will be sold within 30 days; A month later, K mart says talks have failed; it will keep its 127 Canadian stores. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1996 Rail - Ottawa Valley RaiLink takes over former CP line between Smiths Falls to Cartier, Ontario; also Mattawa to Temiskaming branch in Québec. Smith Falls, Ontario
  • 1996 Shania Twain’s album ‘Shania Twain’ certified Gold; country singer from Timmins, Ontario. New York, New York
  • 1997 Peter Munk, chairman and chief executive officer of Barrick Gold Corp., donates $6.4 million for construction of the University of Toronto’s new Munk Centre for International Studies. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1997 Supreme Court of Canada rules 7-2 that nothing in Canadian law permits the courts to force a woman to take drug treatment to save the fetus she is carrying; after Winnipeg Social Services tried to detain a woman in a detox centre; lawyer Martha Jackman states that the law cannot be changed without infringing on the womens’ rights. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2007 Finance Minister Jim Flaherty cuts the GST from six to five per cent, effective Janoary 1, 2008. Ottawa, Ontario