Highlights of the day

  • 1790 Spanish build forts in Nootka Sound to harvest sea otter, hold off British And Americans.
  • 1841 Halifax incorporated as a city; originally called Chebucto.
  • 1947 Founding of National Wildlife Week to honour conservationist Jack Miner.
  • 1956 Montreal Canadiens win the first of a record five consecutive Stanley Cups.

List of Facts for April 10

  • 1645 Charles d’Aulnay attacks Charles de La Tour’s fur stronghold of Fort Sainte-Marie with 200 men; Françoise-Marie Jacquelin, La Tour’s wife holds fort against d’Aulnay with 45 men against 200; La Tour in Boston seeking English help. Saint John, New Brunswick
  • 1682 René-Robert de La Salle starts return trip up the Mississippi with Tonty, after claiming Louisiana for France. Louisiana
  • 1684 Royal ordinance prohibits emigration from New France to the English colonies to the south. Québec, Québec
  • 1706 Daniel de Subercase appointed Governor of Acadia; takes up residence at Port Royal; he is also Governor of the French possession at Placentia, Newfoundland. Annapolis, Nova Scotia
  • 1790 Spanish start building forts in Nootka Sound to exploit sea otter harvest; try to head off English traders after the recent visit by Captain James Cook. Nootka Sound, BC
  • 1812 War of 1812 - United States calls out the militia in preparation for a war against Britain that will begin June 18; attack on Upper Canada imminent. Washington, DC
  • 1837 Rebellion of 1837 - Lower Canada Assembly angered as British Colonial Secretary Lord John Russell’s Ten Resolutions are published in Canada. Quebec, Quebec
  • 1841 Halifax incorporated as a city; originally called Chebucto, after the Mi’kmaq word Chebookt, meaning Chief Harbour, the town was founded on June 21, 1749 by Nova Scotia Governor Edward Cornwallis, who brought in 2,500 settlers. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1866 Irish American Fenians attack Campobello Island from Eastport, Maine, with a plan to annex the region to the United States; persuaded to leave by British warships, US agents. Campobello Island, New Brunswick
  • 1875 Order-in-Council authorizes Northwest Mounted Police (NWMP) to establish fort at the confluence of the Bow River and Elbow River, on the site of the city of Calgary, Alberta. Originally referred to as the Bow Fort or Fort Brisebois, Assistant Commissioner Macleod suggested the name “Calgary”, Gaelic for “clear, running water”. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1885 Canadian troops reach Fort Qu’Appelle during the North-West Rebellion. Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan
  • 1885 Rocky Mountain Rangers are raised at Fort MacLeod to serve in the North-West Rebellion. Fort MacLeod, Alberta
  • 1889 Opening of the enlarged Welland Canal. Welland, Ontario
  • 1900 Boer War - Sam Steele arrives in South Africa commanding Lord Strathcona’s Horse. Capetown, South Africa
  • 1906 Banking - Shareholders of the Merchants’ Bank of Prince Edward Island sell their bank to the Canadian Bank of Commerce; last of PEI’s indigenous banks, it opened its doors on Water Street, Charlottetown November 6, 1871. The Bank reopened under its new ownership June 2 1906. Charlottetown, PEI
  • 1912 Government appoints Board of Grain Commissioners, to inspect and regulate the grain trade. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1912 White Star Lines passenger liner Titanic leaves Southamption at noon for Cherbourg France, Queenstown (Cobh) Ireland and New York; to pass the coast of Newfoundland in four days. Southampton, England
  • 1912 Kettle Valley Railway announces its intent to build up the Tulameen River.
  • 1917 First World War - Private John Pattison of the 50th Battalion, C.E.F. at Vimy Ridge attacks a German machine gun nest, throwing hand grenades, killing and wounding some of the enemy; before the five remaining defenders can recover, he charges the position and overcomes them, earning him the Victoria Cross. Arras, France
  • 1919 Harry Hawker and MacKenzie Grieve make the First airplane flight in Newfoundland in a test for a transatlantic attempt. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1934 Hockey - Chicago Black Hawks beat Detroit Red Wings 1-0, winning the Stanley Cup 3 games to 1. Detroit, Michigan
  • 1937 Act of Parliament creates Trans-Canada Airlines, now Air Canada, as a publicly-owned company to co­ordinate air transport across Canada and to help provide facilities for Canadian international air service; TCA will have two passenger planes and a biplane by September launch. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1937 Military - Parliament passes the Foreign Enlistment Act, designed to prevent Canadians from volunteering in the Spanish Civil War. Ottawa Ontario
  • 1942 Mackenzie King agrees with Roosevelt to approve resolutions of Joint Economic Committees; to balance US-Canadian agricultural trade. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1947 Founding of National Wildlife Week to honour conservationist Jack Miner, born on this day in 1865. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1947 Baseball - Montreal Royals of the International League sell their star player Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers; appears in uniform for the Dodgers the next day, the First black player to break the colour barrier in major league baseball. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1952 Hockey - Detroit Red Wings beat the Montréal Canadiens in four straight games to win the Stanley Cup. Detroit, Michigan
  • 1953 Military - Royal Canadian Air Force No. 1 Air Division completes its move from Paris to Metz, France.
  • 1955 Hockey - Detroit Red Wings star Gordie Howe scores the only hat trick of his playoff career, to lead Red Wings to a 5-1 win over the Canadiens, in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1956 Hockey - Jean Beliveau scores a goal and two assists as Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 in Game Five, winning the series 4 games to 1 and becoming the 1956 Stanley Cup Champions; First of a record five consecutive Stanley Cups. Montreal, Quebec
  • 1956 RCAF plane crashes near Goose Bay, Labrador, three people killed. Goose Bay, Newfoundland
  • 1957 West Canadian Collieries suspends operations of the Bellevue mine. Bellevue, Alberta
  • 1959 Canada’s First privately-owned nuclear research reactor goes into operation, at McMaster University. Hamilton, Ontario
  • 1963 Parliament passes Food and Drugs Act, getting more control over sale of drugs. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1965 German freighter Transatlantic sinks after colliding with Dutch ship Hermes; 3 sailors killed. Trois-Rivières, Québec
  • 1965 Aviation - Opening of $1,000,000 air terminal at London. London, Ontario
  • 1970 Ottawa creates two new national parks; one at Artillery Lake northeast of Yellowknife; the other on the Trent Canal, Ontario. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1982 Hockey - Los Angeles Kings score 5 unanswered goals in the third period to tie the Edmonton Oilers, then beat the Oilers 6-5 in overtime, on a goal by Daryl Evans; the co-called “Miracle on Manchester”. Los Angeles, California
  • 1984 Labour - British Columbia’s pulp and paper workers go back to work after two-month lockout and strike. BC
  • 1985 Hockey - Los Angeles Kings 2, Edmonton Oilers 3 (OT)
  • 1988 Hockey - Edmonton Oilers 5, Winnipeg Jets 3
  • 1990 Brian Mulroney meets US President George Bush for talks on Acid Rain and East-West relations; US Acid Rain Act cleared Senate April 3; cuts emissions 50% by year 2000. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1990 Commons passes the Goods and Services Tax bill 144 to 114, ending nine months of bitter wrangling; the 7% tax will replace the 13.5% Manufacturers Sales Tax as of Jan 1; Alex Kindy and David Kilgour ejected from Tory Caucus for voting against the GST; the bill now goes to the Senate. Ottawa, Ontario - CBC Archives
  • 1990 Hockey - Edmonton Oilers 3, Winnipeg Jets 4 (OT)
  • 1990 International Joint Commission says Canada and the US must stop dumping toxic substances into Great Lakes; disease and birth defects a serious threat. Washington, DC
  • 1991 Hockey - Wayne Gretzky scores his 93rd career playoff goal, an NHL record, to lead the Kings to a 6-1 win over the Canucks. Vancouver, BC
  • 1992 Hockey - The NHL and NHLPA announce the end of the NHL players’ strike, after 10 days. North America
  • 1994 Hockey - Buffalo Sabres’ Dominik Hasek finishes his season with a 1.95 GAA after a 3-2 Sabres’ loss to the NY Rangers; first goalie in 20 years to post a goals-against average of under 2.00.
  • 1996 Hockey - Scotty Bowman’s Detroit Red Wings defeat Winnipeg Jets 5-2 becoming the second team in NHL history to win 60 regular-season games; the 1976-77 Montréal Canadiens were the First; the Wings will end the season with 62 wins. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 2003 Hockey - Jean-Sebastien Giguère makes 63 saves in his first playoff game, setting a Stanley Cup record for goaltenders.