Highlights of the day

  • 1834 Emancipation Act goes into effect; outlaws slavery in Empire, including BNA; an estimated 770,280 slaves become free.
  • 1928 Canada’s Percy Williams wins the gold medal in the 200-metre race at the Amsterdam Olympics.
  • 1959 Georges Vanier appointed Governor General of Canada; First French Canadian to hold the post.

List of Facts for August 1

  • 1534 Jacques Cartier sights the mountains on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence; he had left St-Malo on April 20, 1534, with two ships and 61 men, arriving off Newfoundland 20 days later; before heading back to France on Aug. 15, 1534, he will claim Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the lands adjacent for France. Québec
  • 1578 Martin Frobisher starts mining on Anne Warwick Island (Kodlunarn Island) and at other sites; 1200 tonnes of supposed gold ore will be loaded on board his ships. Qallunaq Island, Nunavut
  • 1615 Samuel de Champlain arrives in Huronia with ten Indians and Étienne Brulé, to back Hurons against Iroquois; winters in Huronia; estimates population at 30,000. Midland, Ontario
  • 1621 Guillemette Hébert and Guillaume Couillard are married at Québec; First wedding on record in the town. Québec, Québec
  • 1629 Samuel de Champlain reprimands Étienne Brulé and Nicolas Marsolet, who had gone over to the Iroquois. Tadoussac, Québec
  • 1639 Marie de l’Incarnation arrives in Québec to found a convent and hospital of Ursuline nuns (Sisters of the Hôtel-Dieu) in the Lower Town of Québec; First hospital in North America north of Mexico; will also open a school for girls. Québec, Québec
  • 1685 Jacques de Denonville arrives at Québec to serve as Governor of New France. Québec, Québec
  • 1685 Jean-Baptiste de St-Vallier named Vicar Apostolique at Québec. Québec, Québec
  • 1685 Michel Sarrazin, surgeon and naturalist, arrives at Québec. Québec, Québec
  • 1714 George Louis, Elector of Hanover, named King George I of Great Britain upon the death of Queen Anne. London, England
  • 1792 First issue of The Québec Magazine; First magazine published in Canada. Montréal, Québec
  • 1805 Mississauga Indians cede over 101,170 hectares in York County to the Crown. Ontario
  • 1818 First issue of the literary journal, L’Abeille Canadienne. Québec, Québec
  • 1834 Human Rights — Emancipation Act comes into effect, outlawing slavery in the British Empire, including British North America; estimated 770,280 slaves become free; 30 years before it was outlawed in the US, after the Union victory in the Civil War. London, England — see 1833 Emancipation Act, August 28.
  • 1837 Queen Victoria proclaimed Queen in Canada.
  • 1866 British Parliament in Westminster passes the Act uniting the colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island; under Governor Frederick Seymour; serves to June 10, 1869. London, England
  • 1869 Judge J. C. Haynes pre-empts a homestead at the north end of Lake Osoyoos. BC
  • 1877 Seat of the NorthWest Territorial government formally transferred to Battleford. Battleford, Saskatchewan
  • 1882 Canada joins ten other countries in marking the thirteen months between August 1, 1882, and September 1, 1883, as International Polar Year; sponsors fifteen expeditions to study marine meteorology, geophysics and the earth sciences by collecting data in the Arctic and Antarctic. London, England
  • 1885 NorthWest Rebellion — Louis Riel found guilty of treason and sentenced to death; defence’s plea of insanity not believed by Anglo-Saxon, Protestant jury. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1887 Post Office opens a bureau at the Daly Ranch near present-day Keremeos, BC.
  • 1889 Manitoba School Question — Manitoba government announces its decision to abolish the dual school system. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1891 First spike driven for the southern extension of C&E Railway. BC
  • 1895 D. B. Bogle buys the Rossland Miner from John Houston. Rossland, BC
  • 1897 Finance Minister Joseph Fielding brings in a heavy tariff, but with reciprocal provisions; Fielding Tariff contains 25% preference for British & Empire imports. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1898 Tariffs — End of 1865 British-German tariff treaty means no more preference for German goods. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1898 Vermilion Forks Mining and Development Company acquires its first coal leases. Princeton, BC
  • 1899 Parliament — Thomas Bain appointed Speaker of the House of Commons; term ends February 5, 1901; Liberal
  • 1899 Tariffs — Financial panic in Montréal; due to recession brought on by higher world tariffs. Montréal, Québec August 1 — Rossland local of the Western Federation of Miners bans contract mining. Rossland, BC
  • 1900 Police — Aylesworth Bowen Perry appointed sixth Commissioner of the NWMP, RNWMP, and RCMP; serves to March 31, 1923. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1901 Mining — Operations on the Bedlington and Nelson mines north of Creston Junction (Wynndel) suspended. Creston, BC
  • 1901 Post Office opens branch at Frank, Alberta
  • 1907 Strike by Springhill coal miners; will last for three months. Springhill, Nova Scotia
  • 1908 Fire begins at Fernie and burns up the Elk River valley, over Hosmer and up Michel Creek to Michel, BC. Fernie, BC
  • 1908 Fire destroys coal-mining town of Fernie. Fernie, BC
  • 1914 First World War — Duke of Connaught formally offers services of Canadian troops to assist Britain; offer accepted August 6, 1914. London, England
  • 1917 Minister of Railways Thomas White, announces immediate nationalization of the Canadian Northern Railway. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1925 BC Minister of Lands, T. D. Patullo, officially opens West Kootenay Power’s modified and refurbished Lower Bonnington dam and powerhouse. BC
  • 1926 Entertainment — Herd of escaped circus elephants stampedes down Jasper Avenue in Edmonton. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1928 Vancouver track star Percy Williams wins the gold medal in the 200-metre sprint at the Amsterdam Summer Olympics, against the fastest field ever assembled; also won the 100m race. Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • 1930 Aviation — British airship R-100 makes a successful, and very fast, mooring at St-Hubert shortly after sunrise, after crossing Atlantic in 78 hours, 51 minutes; the First passenger-carrying flight from England to Canada set out on July 29, 1930, with 37 crew members and six passengers on board, including the recently knighted Sir Charles Dennistoun Burney and Nevil Shute Norway. The transatlantic passage was smooth but near l’Île aux Coudres, the airship was badly buffeted by shifting winds which tore holes in three of her fins, so that the engines had to be stopped for eight hours to make repairs. The people of Québec City then cheered and waved as the airship flew overhead; nearing Montréal the following morning the R-100 had to fly through thunder clouds, and strong updrafts caused more damage to the fabric of the fins. Montréal gave the R-100 a wild welcome, and over a million people visited her at St-Hubert over the next ten days before she left for Toronto. St-Hubert, Québec
  • 1931 James Macbrien appointed eighth Commissioner of the RCMP; serves to March 5, 1938. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1932 Politics — J. S. Woodsworth chosen by a conference of labour political parties to lead a new party called the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF); leader to July 1942; calls for socialization of health services, finance, utilities and natural resources; will elect 7 members to the House of Commons in the 1935 federal election. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1932 See: J. S. Woodsworth Chosen to Lead New CCF Party
  • 1932 Congress of l’Armée des Chômeurs [Army of the Unemployed meets at Ottawa. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1936 Olympics — German Chancellor Adolf Hitler presides over the opening ceremonies of the 11th modern Olympic games in Berlin; Canada takes part in the Berlin Summer Olympics with a total of 49 nations and 4,066 competitors. Berlin, Germany
  • 1938 Agriculture — Department of Agriculture estimates wheat carryover of 25 million bushels into new crop year; down from 37 million bushels. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1939 Journal La Nation stops publishing. Québec, Québec
  • 1940 World War II — Part of the 2nd Canadian Division reaches Britain. Liverpool, England
  • 1940 World War II — Beginning of the Battle of Britain between the RAF and the German Luftwaffe; 80 Canadian pilots will participate in the Battle, which ends September 17, 1940. Liverpool, England
  • 1941 World War II — Wartime rationing forces the Prince Albert Restaurant Association to raise coffee prices from 5¢ cents/cup to 6¢ cents/cup. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
  • 1942 Coinage — Finance Minister says 5¢ coin will be changed to a copper-zinc alloy (Tombac), 12-sided to help distinguish it from 1¢ and 25¢ coins; change in metal to preserve nickel supplies for wartime steel making. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1942 Parliament passes the Veterans Land Act (VLA) to provide settlement assistance to returning vets. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1944 Parliament passes Family Allowances Act; monthly baby bonuses to parents of children under 18. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1945 Harold Alexander, Lord Alexander becomes Governor General of Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1950 RCMP — Royal Canadian Mounted Police take over Newfoundland Rangers and policing of Newfoundland and Labrador. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1952 W. A. C. Bennett sworn in as Social Credit Premier of British Columbia, taking over from Byron Johnson. Victoria, BC
  • 1953 Founding of the Université de Sherbrooke. Sherbrooke, Québec
  • 1955 Schefferville incorporated as a city. Schefferville, Québec
  • 1957 Defence — The US and Canada reach an agreement to create NORAD — the North American Air Defense Command — to meet the threat from Soviet bombers. Washington, DC
  • 1959 Georges Vanier appointed Governor General of Canada; First French Canadian to hold the post; serves from September 15, 1959. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1960 Melville becomes Saskatchewan’s eleventh incorporated city. Melville, Saskatchewan
  • 1961 British Columbia Electric becomes a Crown corporation. Victoria, BC
  • 1962 Ontario Construction Safety Act comes into effect; employers responsible for safety of workers. Ontario
  • 1966 Provincial premiers start a two-day conference; 6 of 8 reject proposed federal medicare plan. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1968 Royal Canadian Mint starts replacing silver with nickel in Canadian coinage, except for commemorative items and the silver dollar. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1968 BC Hydro burns the steamboat Minto, in danger of being refloated by the rising Arrowhead Lakes. BC
  • 1968 Premiers Conference — Premiers start 9th annual conference for 3 days in Waskesiu; discuss education, health, pollution. Waskesiu, Saskatchewan
  • 1969 Record — Largest hailstones ever measured fall on Ottawa; up to 2 3/4 inches in diameter. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1969 Saskatchewan Premier Ross Thatcher says government will accept feed grain as payment for university tuition. Saskatchewan
  • 1971 Prisons — Government ends censorship of letters to and from prisoners in federal institutions. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1974 Parliament passes the Elections Act, limiting campaign contributions. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1974 Robert Charlebois, Félix Leclerc and Gilles Vigneault hold a live music concert on the Plains of Abraham, telecast by Radio Canada. Québec, Québec
  • 1975 Canada signs the Treaty of Helsinki with the US, Russia and 32 other countries; ratifies Europe’s post-war boundaries and guarantees human rights. Helsinki, Finland
  • 1975 Record — Saskatchewan Rough Riders George Reed rushes for 100 or more yards for the 59th time, setting a pro football record. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1976 Greg Joy honoured for his silver medal high jump the day before by being Canada’s flag-bearer for the closing ceremonies of the XXI Olympiad. Montréal, Québec
  • 1976 XXI Olympic games at Montréal close after 16 days of events attended by 3.3 million spectators; Soviet Union takes 49 gold, 41 silver and 35 bronze to top the standings; East Germany pushes the US into third place; apparently fuelled by steroid use, they win 40 gold, double their total in Munich. This harms Canada, which wins only 5 silver and 6 bronze medals, becoming the first host nation in the history of the modern Games not to win a gold. Canada’s Silver: Greg Joy, high jump; John Wood, 500 metres, canoeing; Michel Vaillancourt, Grand Prix equestrian jumping; Cheryl Gibson, 400 metre individual medley, swimming; Stephen Pickell, Graham Smith, Clay Evans, Gary MacDonald, 4x100-metre medley relay. Canada’s Bronze: Nancy Garapick (2), 100 and 200-metre backstroke; Becky Smith, 400-metre individual medley; Shannon Smith, 400-metre freestyle; Gail Amundrud, Barbara Clark, Becky Smith, Anne Jardin, 4x100-metre freestyle relay, swimming Wendy Hogg, Robin Corsiglia, Susan Sloan, Anne Jardin, 4x100-metre medley relay. Montréal, Québec
  • 1985 Record — Erection of the world’s tallest unsupported flagpole, at 282’ 4. Vancouver, BC
  • 1985 US icebreaker leaves Greenland for a voyage through the Northwest Passage and Canada’s Arctic waters without Canadian permission.
  • 1995 Ottawa TV sportscaster Brian Smith is shot in the parking lot of CJOH-TV by escaped mental patient Jeffrey Arenburg; dies in hospital the following day. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2012 Agriculture — Canadian Wheat Board ceases to be the sole purchaser and marketer of Canadian wheat in western Canada; under Bill C-18, “An Act to reorganize the Canadian Wheat Board and to make consequential and related amendments to certain Acts,” otherwise known as the Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act, passed December 15, 2011. Winnipeg, Manitoba