Highlights of the day

‘1775 - American Gen Richard Montgomery takes Surrender of Montreal - Articles of Capitulation

  • 1869 Anti-confederates defeat Premier Carter, win Newfoundland Confederation election 21 seats to 9.
  • 1956 PM Louis St. Laurent announces the founding of the Canada Council/Conseil des arts.
  • 1997 Maple Ridge, BC, outfielder Larry Walker chosen National League Baseball’s MVP.
  • 2002 Canadian Multiculturalism Day proclaimed; every June 27.

List of Facts for November 13

  • 1612 Henri de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, named Viceroy of New France. Paris, France
  • 1613 Boston privateer Samuel Argall leaves Port-Royal after putting French settlements in Acadia to the torch. Annapolis, Nova Scotia
  • 1637 Immigration - David Kirke appointed First Governor of Newfoundland, and co-proprietor of the Colony with the Marquis of Hamilton and Earls Pembroke & Holland; will bring out the first 100 colonists from England, and build forts at Ferryland, St. John’s and Bay de Verde, Newfoundland to control the Grand Banks fishery; will run into conflict with the Company of Western Adventurers, who want to keep people from settling. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1673 Symbols - First suggestion of the beaver as an emblem of Canada. Québec, Québec
  • 1757 French and Indian War - Some Acadians go into exile in Québec, two years after La Grande Dérangement, or the general expulsion. New Brunswick Nova Scotia
  • 1760 French and Indian War - Some Montréal militia delivered in transport ships to St-Malo after the fall of New France. St-Malo, France
  • 1775 American Revolutionary War - American General Richard Montgomery enters Montréal through the Recollets Gates the morning after Guy Carleton evacuates the town; all Canada except Trois-Rivières and Québec City is now under the occupation of the Army of the Continental Congress, and the French habitants are being urged to join the Revolution. Montréal, Québec
  • 1775 American Revolutionary War - American General Benedict Arnold arrives before Québec with only 700 of his original troop of 1100 men, after a hard trip through a hurricane ravaged Maine wilderness via the Kennebec River and Chaudière River; Arnold crosses the St. Lawrence River and assembles his troops on the Plains of Abraham; he is repulsed at the St. Louis Gate, and falls back to wait for Richard Montgomery to join him in this two pronged attack by the Army of the Continental Congress. Québec, Québec
  • 1837 Lower Canada Rebellion - Louis-Joseph Papineau flees Montréal in disguise after a warrant is issued for his arrest. Montréal, Québec
  • 1838 Lower Canada Rebellion - Boucherville rebels disperse on the arrival of the militia. Boucherville, Québec
  • 1869 Confederation - Anti-confederates, led by 76 year old St. John’s merchant Charles Fox Bennett, win the Newfoundland general election by a 2-1 margin, 21 seats to nine; Premier Frederic Carter had called the election to decide whether or not Newfoundland should join the Dominion of Canada. The parties were split, and a major issue was the probable level of taxation after confederation.
  • 1871 John McCreight sworn in as First Premier of British Columbia; replaced by Amor de Cosmos December 23, 1872. Victoria, BC
  • 1880 NWT Lieutenant-governor David Laird proclaims the Electoral Districts of Salisbury, Lorne and Kimberley. Alberta
  • 1909 Football - Ben Simpson of the Hamilton Tigers kicks 9 singles in a game. Hamilton, Ontario
  • 1910 Religion - Sacred Heart (Corpus Christi) Roman Catholic Church opens in new Frank, Alberta.
  • 1912 Rail - CPR completes standard-gauging the Kaslo & Slocan Railway trackage. BC
  • 1913 Rail - CPR completes reconstruction of the K&S Kaslo & Slocan Railway and integration into the Nakusp and Slocan Railway. BC.
  • 1921 Cinema - Toronto actress Mary Pickford stars in Little Lord Fauntleroy, released today. Hollywood, California
  • 1924 Session of the Saskatchewan Legislature opens that will eliminate Prohibition. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1928 Retail - Viceroy cigarettes are advertised in the Winnipeg Free Press at a price of 20 cigarettes for 25 cents. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1939 Second World War - Lt. Gen. Harry Crerar sets up Canadian Military HQ in London; to coordinate move of the First Canadian Division to Britain. London, England
  • 1943 Energy - CNP Coal opens Elk River Collieries on Coal Creek. Fernie, BC
  • 1944 Ives Commission - William Ives chairs Royal Commission on Taxation of Annuities and Family Corporations; reports March 29, 1945. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1950 Disaster - Canadian Curtiss-Reid DC 4 crashes in France, killing all 58 passengers. Grenoble, France
  • 1956 Arts - Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent announces the founding of the Canada Council/Conseil des arts, with funding from government and two major estates; to encourage arts, humanities and social sciences in Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1961 Nathaniel Grace dies; chemist and First full-time director of the Alberta Research Council. Rochester, Alberta
  • 1964 Labour - Canada ratifies International Labour Organization Convention against job discrimination; on grounds of colour, race, religion, sex, politics, nationality. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1965 Energy - Manitoba Hydro opens generating station at Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids, Manitoba
  • 1968 Terrorism - FLQ bomb explodes at Domtar factory. Montréal, Québec
  • 1973 Justice - Henry Morgentaler acquitted by a jury of having performed an illegal abortion; despite admitting carrying out 6,000 other abortions. Acquittal overturned by Quebec Court of AppealMarch 26, 1974. Montréal, Québec
  • 1974 Hockey - Mario Tremblay plays his First NHL game in a Montréal Canadiens uniform. Montréal, Québec
  • 1974 Transit - Queen’s Park cancels contract with West German Kraus-Maffei firm for $25 million urban transit system. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1976 Gordon Lightfoot’s single, The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald, peaks at #1 on the Billboard pop chart. New York, New York
  • 1976 Theatre - The Citadel opens the First phase of its new Edmonton complex, with its Shoctor, Rice and Zeidler theatres; founded in 1965 by Joseph Shoctor in the old Salvation Army Citadel; in 1984, Citadel Phase II will open, with the Maclab, a 700-seat thrust theatre, the Tucker, a 150-seat open-air amphitheatre, and 3 other theatres linked by an indoor tropical garden and waterfall. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1979 Media - Radio station CJCD goes on the air in Yellowknife; First private radio station in the Northwest Territories. Yellowknife, NWT
  • 1981 Technology - Canadarm remote manipulator performs flawlessly in four hours of tests on board the space shuttle Columbia STS-2; Canada’s $100 million robot arm made by Spar Aerospace in Toronto; tests include manual and automatic modes of operation, ease of control, operation of joints and positioning accuracy; its wrist-mounted camera also put through its paces. Space
  • 1984 Pierre Trudeau receives the $50,000 Albert Einstein Peace Prize. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1985 André-Philippe Gagnon appears on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, doing his imitations. Burbank, California
  • 1985 Technology - National Research Council develops world’s First microwave oven for thawing plasma; in collaboration with the Red Cross. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1988 Education - CÉGEP students end strike in Québec community colleges. Québec
  • 1989 Victor Davis is hit by a car outside a Montréal bar and dies in hospital the following day of head injuries at age 25. The swimmer reached his peak at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where he wins Gold in the 200m breaststroke by breaking his own world record - 2:13:34. Montréal, Québec
  • 1990 Baseball - Montréal invests $15 million to keep the Montréal Expos team in the city. Montréal, Québec
  • 1991 Paul-Emile Léger dies in hospital at age 87; 1950 Archbishop of Montréal; 1952 Cardinal; 1967 missionary in Cameroons; 1979 returned to Montréal and set up a relief agency; brother of former Governor General Jules Léger. Montréal, Québec
  • 1992 Education - Benoit Bouchard announces $2.5 m funding for 5 university research centres to study family violence and child abuse; at site of University of Montréal massacre in 1989. Montréal, Québec
  • 1992 Jack Major appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada replacing fellow Albertan William Stevenson; 61 year old former partner of Premier Peter Lougheed; from the Alberta Court of Appeal. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1992 Winnipeg actor Keanu Reeves stars in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola; with Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder and Anthony Hopkins. Hollywood, California
  • 1995 Media - Izzy Asper’s CanWest Global Communications launches $636-million takeover bid for WlC Western International Communications.; attempt to form Canada’s third national television network. Vancouver, BC
  • 1997 Baseball - Maple Ridge, BC, outfielder Larry Walker chosen as most valuable player in the National League; Colorado Rockies star the First Canadian to win MVP. Denver, Colorado See: Larry Walker National League Baseball’s MVP
  • 1999 Boxing - Lennox Lewis beats Evander Holyfield to win a $15 million purse and become the WBC heavyweight champion of the world. Las Vegas, Nevada
  • 2002 June 27, every year, in the context of Celebrate Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2003 Exchange Rate - The Canadian dollar closes at a 10 year high of US$0.7695. Global
  • 2004 Ellen Fairclough dies; born 1905; PC politician and first female member of the Canadian Cabinet. Hamilton, Ontario
  • 2010 Disaster - Single-engine plane crashes near Barrie killing two men. Barrie, Ontario