Highlights of the day

  • 1812 Founding of Loyal and Patriotic Society of Upper Canada to ease suffering from US Invasion.
  • 1858 Province of Canada issues first decimal coinage - 1¢, 5¢, 10¢ and 20¢ pieces.
  • 1901 Marconi Sends and Receives First Transatlantic Radio Message
  • 2003 Paul Martin sworn in as 21st Prime Minister of Canada.

List of Facts for December 12

  • 1753 French and Indian War - George Washington, the adjutant of Virginia, delivers an ultimatum to the French forces at Fort Le Boeuf, south of Lake Erie, reiterating Britain’s claim to the entire Ohio river valley. Ohio
  • 1783 Media - William Lewis & John Ryan publish the First newspaper in New Brunswick, the Royal Saint John Gazette and Nova Scotian Intelligencer. Saint John, New Brunswick
  • 1812 War of 1812 - Founding of the Loyal and Patriotic Society of Upper Canada to help destitute families and wounded soldiers in the War of 1812, and recognize meritorious service in defending the province against the American invasion. The idea for the society came from Elizabeth Selby, daughter of the colony’s receiver-general, Prideaux Selby. The presidency went to Thomas Scott, the province’s chief justice, while Strachan served as treasurer. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1813 James McGill dies; merchant, philanthropist, born at Glasgow, Scotland October 6, 1744; a Montréal fur trader and land developer, his bequest of land and £10K for a college in Montréal led to the founding of McGill University. Montréal, Québec
  • 1813 William Black officially takes possession of Fort Astoria for Britain; renames it Fort George. Astoria, Oregon
  • 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion - Col. Allan MacNab’s militia troops skirmish with the first of Dr. Charles Duncombe’s rebel force; the news has spread of William Lyon Mackenzie’s defeat at Toronto, and Duncombe’s body of 300 rebels prepare to disperse. Sodom, Ontario
  • 1843 Place Name - HBC Governor James Douglas renames Fort Camosun, Fort Victoria, after Queen Victoria. Victoria, BC
  • 1843 Politics - William Draper & Denis-Benjamin Viger form Draper-Viger Ministry with Dominick Daly, the only member of the previous Ministry not to resign. Montréal, Québec
  • 1858 Coinage - The Province of Canada releases its First decimal 1¢, 5¢, 10¢ and 20¢ coins; only 421,000 cents are ready. Kingston, Ontario
  • 1859 Rail - Opening of the Victoria Bridge to rail traffic, as First passenger train crosses the iron tubular structure; will be formally opened by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, on August 25, 1860. Montréal, Québec
  • 1866 Confederation - Fire breaks out in John A. Macdonald’s bedroom in the Westminster Palace Hotel during the Confederation Conference; quickly extinguished. London, England
  • 1883 Energy - Canadian Pacific Railway crews digging for water strike natural gas at Langevin, west of present-day Medicine Hat, Alberta. Langevin, Alberta
  • 1885 Shipping - First CPR freight train leaves Portage La Prairie for Montréal, Québec loaded with Manitoba wheat. Portage La Prairie, Manitoba
  • 1894 Prime Minister of Canada John Thompson dies at Windsor Castle of a heart attack a few minutes after being sworn in by Queen Victoria as a member of the Privy Council; his body is brought home by a British warship. Canada’s 4th Prime Minister, since December 5, 1892, he was a former Premier of Nova Scotia, brought to Ottawa by John A. Macdonald to serve as Justice Minister - ‘The great discovery of my life,’ said John A., ‘was my discovery of Thompson.’ Thompson will be replaced by Mackenzie Bowell. Windsor, England
  • 1901 Communications - Italian scientist and engineer Guglielmo Marconi sends and receives the First transatlantic radio message on Signal Hill, from 3,200 km away across the Atlantic Ocean in Cornwall. St. John’s, Newfoundland (Marconi - Historica Minute)
  • 1916 Father Albert Lacombe dies in the early morning at the Lacombe Home in Midnapore; born in St. Suplice, Québec, in 1827; after ordination served at Fort Garry; 1852 to Fort Edmonton; lived among the Cree and Blackfoot; negotiated truce between the Blackfoot and Canadian Pacific Railway workers; 1883 elected President of the CPR for one hour and given a lifetime rail pass; priest at St. Mary’s Parish in Calgary; 1909 founded the Lacombe Home for the orphaned, aged, and indigent. Midnapore, Alberta
  • 1918 First World War - Submarines CC1 and CC2 paid off to naval reserve; Victoria naval reservists among first to serve in fledgling navy. Esquimalt, BC
  • 1933 Hockey - Ace Bailey collides with Bruins player Eddie Shore and ends up with a fractured skull; ends playing career after 7 seasons in the NHL; originally played for Toronto St. Pats, later the Toronto Maple Leafs, with Babe Dye and Hap Day; led NHL in both scoring and points in 1928-29; Stanley Cup team 1932-33; stayed active with Maple Leaf Gardens for decades. Boston, Massachusetts
  • 1936 Finance - Creation of the Crédit Agricole du Québec/ Québec Farm Credit Corporation. Québec, Québec
  • 1938 Camilien Houde re-elected Mayor of Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1938 Religion - Edmonton’s Al Raschid Mosque opens. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1941 Politics - John Hart forms a Liberal/Progressive Conservative coalition government in British Columbia. Victoria, BC
  • 1942 Disaster - Arsonist sets fire during barn dance in Knights of Columbus hostel, killing 99 people and seriously injuring another 100, mostly military personnel and their dates; the hall was a firetrap with doors that opened inward; while the fire station was just 180 metres away, the fire did its damage in just nine minutes. Canada’s worst building fire reputedly set by a German agent. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1946 Military - The Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force are reintegrated into one central command. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1946 Politics - Demonstration held in Montréal to protest despotism of the Maurice Duplessis government. Montréal, Québec
  • 1949 Women - Nancy Hodges is elected Speaker of the British Columbia Legislature; First female Speaker of a Canadian Legislature; also first woman in a Commonwealth legislative body. Victoria, BC
  • 1951 Aviation - De Havilland DHC-3 Otter makes First test flight; larger version of the Beaver; 450 made; US Army and US Navy used Otters and the RCAF operated 69, some serving on UN duties overseas; used to pioneer water-bombing techniques. Montréal, Québec
  • 1951 Canal - Parliament votes to set up the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority; as Canadian project manager in cooperation with US. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1952 Energy - Mechanical malfunctions and human errors cause sudden overheating of Chalk River’s NRX reactor, resulting in major damage to the nuclear core and a spill of cooling water in the basement of the reactor building. Repair and cleanup work is started by Canadian soldiers, Chalk River employees and a 24 man U.S. military team led by a 28-year-old navy engineer named Jimmy Carter, later U.S President. The shifts are carefully timed to minimize each person’s exposure to radiation. Chalk River, Ontario
  • 1953 Museum - Governor-General Vincent Massey opens the Art Gallery of Hamilton. Hamilton, Ontario
  • 1955 Weather - Saskatchewan is hit by a terrible three-day blizzard. Moose Jaw’s radio station receives the J.J. Gillin trophy for its emergency services during the storm. Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
  • 1967 Exploration - Ottawa joins consortium of Canadian companies exploring for oil and minerals in the Arctic. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1968 Harry Strom sworn in as Social Credit Premier of Alberta, succeeding Ernest C. Manning; serves to to September 10, 1971. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1969 Military - Royal Canadian Navy retires aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure after 12 years of service; later sold for scrap. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1970 Hockey - Roy Spencer, father of Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Brian Spencer shot and killed by the RCMP outside a Prince George TV station after he had forced it off the air at gunpoint because it was not carrying a game between the Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks and a interview with his son; Brian Spencer was himself shot and killed in June 1988 in Florida. Prince George, BC
  • 1971 Hockey - Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks scores his 1,000th point with an assist in the First period of a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota North Stars. Chicago, Illinois
  • 1973 Coinage - Royal Canadian Mint starts sale of commemorative silver $5 and $10 coins to help finance the 1976 Montréal Olympics. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1975 Disaster - Toronto Transit Commission bus collides with commuter train at level crossing, killing 9, injuring 20; worst accident in TTC history. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1977 Hockey - Frank Boucher dies; NHL centreman, coach, was born at Ottawa, Ontario October 7, 1901; started his hockey career with the RCMP team, then played with the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Millionaires. In 1926 he was traded to the New York Rangers, where he centred a line with Bun Cook and Bill Cook. He was a three time all-star, and played on two Stanley Cup winning teams. Frank Boucher was a gentleman’s gentleman on the ice, and won the Lady Byng Trophy an unprecedented 8 times. The Trophy was finally given to him, and another one made. In 1940 he coached the Rangers to the Stanley Cup. Kemptville, Ontario
  • 1980 Politics - Jean Lesage dies, politician, lawyer, born at Montréal, Québec, June 10, 1912; 1945 First elected as a federal MP for Montmagny-L’Islet; re-elected 1949, 1953, 1957 and 1958; 1953 Louis St. Laurent’s Minister of Resources and Development and then of Northern Affairs and National Resources; May 31, 1958 elected leader of the Québec Liberal Party; 1960-66 Premier of Québec, political architect of Quebec’s Quiet Revolution; elected in 1962 with a mandate to nationalize the electricity companies, under the slogan of ‘Maîtres chez nous’. Québec, Québec
  • 1981 Hockey - Edmonton Oilers Wayne Gretzky notches another record, reaching his 50 goal mark in only 39 games; quickest 50th goal in NHL history. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1984 Alcohol - Ontario government ends Happy Hours in Ontario bars by banning mixed pricing and cut rate drinks. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1985 Robert Bourassa sworn in as 29th Premier of Québec replacing Pierre-Marc Johnson; for the second time; formerly 26th Premier May 12, 1970 - November 25, 1976; Liberal MLA for Bertrand; author of: Deux fois la Baie-James (1981), L’énergie du Nord: la force du Québec (1985) and Le défi technologique (1985); Claude Ryan his Minister of Education, Gérard-D. Lévesque Minister of Finance. Québec, Québec
  • 1985 Disaster - Arrow Air Flight 1285, a chartered DC-8 jet transport, crashes on takeoff at Gander, killing 248 American soldiers on leave and eight crew members; the worst airplane accident in Canadian history was possibly due to a bomb planted by terrorists. Gander, Newfoundland
  • 1986 Diplomacy - Jean Drapeau named Canadian delegate to UNESCO in Paris; Former Montréal Mayor. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1988 Football - Canadian Football League extends its agreement with CFN through to 1990; CFL game rosters to consist of 20 non-imports, 14 imports and 2 quarterbacks; Roy McMurtry was appointed Chairman-Chief Executive Officer and Bill Baker President-Chief Operating Officer; sale of the Toronto Argonauts from Carling O’Keefe to Harry Ornest approved. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1989 Rail - CP Rail runs First regular freight train through 14.5 km Mount MacDonald Tunnel, the longest rail tunnel in the Americas. Revelstoke, BC
  • 1991 Justice - Minister Kim Campbell brings in new rape shield law that defines consent, allows case questioning only when crucial to defendant; restores protection lost by ruling previous August. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1992 Marriage - Québec Premier Jacques Parizeau marries Lisette Lapointe. Montréal, Québec
  • 1993 Media - Genie Awards held in Montréal for the First time. Montréal, Québec
  • 1995 Media - CBC announces that Radio Canada International service to end on March 31, 1996; funding later found. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1996 Jean Chrétien names Lise Thibault as Lieutenant Governor of Québec; First woman and First handicapped person to hold the post; sworn in January 30, 1997. Québec, Québec
  • 1996 Baseball - Moises Alou leaves the Montréal Expos to play for the Florida Marlins, then the Houston Astros. Montréal, Quebec
  • 2003 Paul Martin sworn in as 21st Prime Minister of Canada; vows to make drastic changes in the way the country is run. During the ceremony, he held the flag that flew at half-mast on Parliament Hill the day his father died. Ottawa, Ontario