Highlights of the day

  • 1775 American General Montgomery starts firing on the walls of Quebec; the guns do little damage.
  • 1813 Traitor Joseph Willcocks Torches the Town of Niagara
  • 1948 U.N. adopts Universal Declaration of Human Rights, drafted by John Peters Humphrey
  • 1957 Lester Pearson awarded Nobel Peace Prize for work in setting up UN peacekeeping force.

List of Facts for December 10

  • 1775 American Revolutionary War - American Generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold set up a battery of artillery 700 yards (640 m) from the walls of Quebec. They lack proper siege mortars and by this time the ground is frozen - they have to thaw snow to entrench the guns in ice. The guns do little damage, and Arnold’s men are starting to desert, since their contracts end on December 31. Québec, Quebec
  • 1813 War of 1812 - US Army Major George McClure evacuates Fort George, and crosses the Niagara River with his American troops. As the British approach, he gives permission to the “Canadian Volunteers”, a turncoat American militia group led by Joseph Willcocks, to burn down Niagara on the pretext of denying shelter to British troops. Willcocks men cruelly loot the town and torch 149 houses, leaving 400 citizens of Newark (Niagara) homeless in the cold and snow. Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
  • 1837 Lower Canada Rebellion - British troops sent to St-Martin, Québec to guard the bridge leading to St-Eustache and St-Benoît against Patriote rebels. Montréal, Québec
  • 1838 Lower Canada Rebellion - Canadian militia chase 400 Chasseur raiders out of village of Beauharnois to end second rebellion. Beauharnois, Québec
  • 1858 Coinage - Province of Canada issues Letters Patent, making legal tender the silver 5¢, 10¢, and 25¢ pieces, and copper cent. Kingston, Ontario
  • 1869 Red River Rebellion - MP Donald Smith appointed Special Commissioner to secure peaceful transfer of Red River to Canada; known as the Member for HBC, he will try to make the transfer to Canada palatable. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1883 Forestry - Baillie-Grohman issued a provincial concession for a 1-year lease on 47,500 acres of Kootenay Lake wetlands. Victoria, BC
  • 1896 Rail - Province of British Columbia declares Red Mountain Railway complete. Victoria, BC
  • 1900 Strike - Archbishop Louis Bégin intervenes to end Québec Shoe Workers’ lockout, since October 27, 1900; First direct intervention in a labour conflict by Québec Catholic clergy and First step toward the creation of Catholic unions. Montréal, Québec
  • 1903 Crime - Convicted murderer Ernest Cashel escapes from jail; robbed and killed a rancher, and was to hang on December 15, 1903; will be captured in Shaganappi, a camp on the western outskirts of Calgary on January 24, 1904, after 46 day long manhunt; hanged February 02, 1904. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1904 Earl Grey installed as Governor General of Canada in a ceremony at Rideau Hall; serves to October 13, 1911. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1905 Rail - Great Northern Railway/Vancouver, Victoria & Eastern Railway starts service to Midway. Midway, BC
  • 1909 Urban - Coleman absorbs Slav Town to the west. Coleman, Alberta
  • 1913 Rail - Canadian Northern Railway finishes building tunnel under Mount Royal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1913 Hotel - Fort Garry Hotel on Broadway opens with a ball. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1914 First World War - Mobilization of the Montréal Machine Gun Corps, for service in the Great War Montréal, Quebec
  • 1917 Politics - Mackenzie Bowell dies at age 93; Canada’s 5th Prime Minister (1894-96) born at Rickinghall, England December 27, 1823; editor and owner of the Belleville Intelligencer newspaper and Orange Order stalwart; 1867-1892 Conservative MP North Hastings; 1892-1906 led the Opposition in the Senate. Belleville, Ontario
  • 1918 First World War - Government authorizes issue of $50 million of $5 War Savings Stamps. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1923 Prohibition ends in Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan
  • 1925 Fire destroys Tourist Hotel at Bull River, BC.
  • 1928 Avikation - Western Airways Fokker leaves Calgary’s civic airport for Regina, Saskatchewan this morning, with 10 bags of letters and Christmas packages; Canada’s First use of airplanes for daily mail delivery; test of proposed national airmail service. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1932 Education - Onésime Dorval dies; Saskatchewan’s First school teacher. Saskatchewan
  • 1938 Football - Toronto Argonauts beat Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 30-7, to win 26th Grey Cup game. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1939 Police - RCMP contingent sails for Europe as the No.1 Provost Company, to serve as military police during Second World War. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1941 Justice - Louis St. Laurent sworn in as Minister of Justice, succeeding Ernest Lapointe. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1942 Second World War - Alcohol - Government cuts output of spirits by 30%, wine 20% and beer 10% under wartime powers; some opposition, to the cry of No Beer, No Bonds. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1944 Second World War - Canadian Army troops storm the Lamone River defences in Italy. Lamone River, Italy
  • 1946 Finance - Douglas Abbott replaces James Ilsley as Minister of Finance; until June 30, 1954; replaced by Walter Harris. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1948 Human Rights - United Nations General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, largely drafted by McGill University law professor John Peters Humphrey; Canada a signatory; proclaims a ‘common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms’. United Nations, New York
  • 1949 Justice - Royal Assent given to Supreme Court Act amendment, giving final authority in judicial matters to the Supreme Court of Canada; end of appeals to the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1951 Korean War - Company of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry carry out raid behind Hill 277, while the Royal Canadian Regiment sends a 35 man fighting patrol against Hill 166; both patrols reach their objectives and bring back useful information on enemy defences. Korea
  • 1954 Road - Opening of 1,280 metre Canso Causeway; links Cape Breton Island to Nova Scotia mainland; the deepest causeway in the world. Canso, Nova Scotia
  • 1957 Peacekeeping - Lester Pearson awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, for his work in setting up the UN peacekeeping force used in Suez. Oslo, Norway - read his December 11.
  • 1963 Science - Opening of Canada’s First permanent research laboratory north of Arctic Circle at Inuvik. Inuvik, NWT
  • 1968 Justice - Charles Beasley jailed for six years for hijacking Toronto-bound flight from Moncton to Cuba. Montréal, Québec
  • 1976 Justice - Henry Morgentaler case closed; Québec drops all charges against the abortion clinic doctor, ending controversial legal case. Montréal, Québec
  • 1982 Treaty - Canada signs United Nations Law of the Sea Convention, along with 118 other UN countries; Canada’s 200 nautical mile (370 km) limit offshore economic zone is officially recognized; Britain and the United States do not sign, arguing that the treaty had not addressed their concerns about national seabed mining; in 1994 they sign an amendment to Part XI, setting up the International Seabed Authority (ISA), to administer the seabed mining regime set forth in the Convention/Agreement. Montego Bay, Jamaica
  • 1984 Brian Mulroney tells New York financiers, Canada is open for business again; referring to end of Foreign Investment review Agency. New York, New York
  • 1984 Baseball - Montréal Expos trade Gary Carter to the New York Mets. Montréal, Québec
  • 1985 Space - Steve MacLean named Canada’s second astronaut; before his flight, the Ottawa native becomes Program Manager of the Advanced Space Vision System (SVS); in July 1992, NASA outfits the shuttle fleet with an operational version of the Orbiter Space Vision System (OSVS) which gives eyes to the Canadarm, and the Advanced Vision Unit (AVU), to be used with the Mobile Servicing System (MSS), Canada’s contribution to the International Space Station; scheduled to fly with this CANEX-2 set of Canadian experiments, his mission, STS-52, takes place October 22, 1992 to November 1, 1992. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1985 Government - Supreme Court of Canada upholds firing of public servant Neil Fraser for criticizing the government’s metric conversion policies. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1986 Science - John Polanyi receives Nobel Prize in Physics from the King of Sweden. Stockholm, Sweden
  • 1987 Health - First recorded death in Canada from eating tainted mussels. Montréal, Québec
  • 1990 Politics - Jean Chrétien wins federal by-election in Beausejour; unopposed by Tories; gets a Commons seat for the First time since 1986; in a riding vacated by Fernand Robichaud. Beausejour, New Brunswick
  • 1991 Military - Defense Department says Gulf War cost Canada $690 million; below $1 billion anticipated. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1992 Mining - Westray Mine disaster prosecution drops 34 of 52 safety charges to avoid prejudicing RCMP criminal investigation. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1995 Energy - Alberta Energy Company (AEC) acquires Conwest Exploration in $1-billion deal that creates one of Canada’s largest oil and gas producers. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1998 James Antoine sworn in as Premier of the Northwest Territories, replacing Don Morin. Yellowknife, NWT
  • 2003 Strike paralyzes BC Ferries. Victoria, BC
  • 2005 Environment - Kyoto Accord - Over 150 nations agreed to launch formal talks on mandatory post-2012 reductions in greenhouse gases, talks that will exclude an unwilling US. Montréal, Québec
  • 2008 Politics - Michael Ignatieff selected as interim leader of the Liberal Party, after the resignation of Stéphane Dion; leadership later ratified at the May 2009 Liberal leadership convention. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2009 Ottawa figure skating olympian Barbara Ann Scott carries the Vancouver Winter Olympics torch into the House of Commons; 1948 Olympic skating champion. Ottawa, Ontario