Highlights of the day

  • 1869 William Hamilton awarded Canada’s 1st patent, for his “Eureka Fluid Meter”.
  • 1883 Lord Lansdowne named Governor General of Canada; from October 23, 1883 to May 30, 1888.
  • 1940 King and Roosevelt sign Ogdensburgh Agreement for Joint Board of Defence.
  • 1979 Opening of the Dempster Highway, from Dawson, Yukon, to Inuvik, NWT.

List of Facts for August 18

  • 1603 Samuel de Champlain hears of copper mines from the local native people. Gaspé, Québec
  • 1621 Samuel de Champlain sends a list of grievances of Québec’s habitant settlers to the King, including requests for stronger courts and a military presence, plus a boost in Champlain’s pension. Québec, Québec
  • 1634 Samuel de Champlain writes to Cardinal Richelieu outlining the importance of New France; the last words on his record. Québec, Québec See November 17
  • 1663 St. Sulpice Seminary obtains Seigneury of Montréal from La Société Notre-Dame de Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1670 Jean Talon again appointed Intendant of New France. Québec, Québec
  • 1689 Count Frontenac leaves France to return to Québec. France
  • 1704 Military - Mixed force of French and Native Americans operating out of Placentia, Newfoundland besiege the English settlement at Bonavista; destroyed August 29, 1704. Bonavista, Newfoundland
  • 1833 Steamship Royal William leaves Pictou; will arrive in Gravesend September 11, 1833; First vessel to cross the Atlantic under steam power. Pictou, Nova Scotia
  • 1837 Opening of fourth session of fifteenth Parliament of Lower Canada; meets until August 26, 1833; after long debate, the Assembly refuses budget subsidies to Lord Gosford, forcing the Governor to act against their wishes. Québec, Québec
  • 1843 George Brown begins to publish The Banner with his father, Peter Brown; Free Kirk weekly newspaper with Presbyterian and Reform principles. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1849 Economy - Commercial recession hits the St. Lawrence Valley; many businesses close their doors. Montréal, Québec
  • 1862 Julie Bruneau dies; wife of Louis-Joseph Papineau. Montebello, Québec
  • 1869 Patent - Inventor William Hamilton, owner of the St. Lawrence Foundry, Engine Works and Machine Shop, receives Canada’s first patent, for his “Eureka Fluid Meter”, which measured the flow of gases and liquids. The uncomplicated invention, “a piston and valve mechanism,” moved with little friction and not much draw of power. Ottawa, Ontario See: Library and Archives Canada
  • 1873 Pacific Scandal - Appointment of Royal Commission on the Canadian Pacific Railway to replace parliamentary committee; reports October 17, 1873. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1875 North West Mounted Police start to build an NWMP post on the site of the city of Calgary. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1878 P. G. Laurie publishes First issue of the Saskatchewan Herald. Battleford, Saskatchewan
  • 1883 Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, Lord Lansdowne appointed Governor General of Canada; serves from October 23, 1883 to May 30, 1888. Lansdowne was an enthusiastic supporter of the CPR, was later Viceroy of India, and from 1895-1905 served as British Secretary of State for War and Foreign Secretary. London, England
  • 1886 John A. Macdonald drives in the last spike of the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway (E&N) at Cliffside Station. Nanaimo, BC
  • 1887 Captain John Palliser dies at Comeragh House in County Waterford; led the Palliser Expedition of 1857-1860 on Canada’s western plains, to study the natural resources of the region and its potential for agricultural development. The expedition Report advised against settlement because of drought conditions they encountered; his name survives in the semiarid corner of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan known as the Palliser Triangle. Waterford, Ireland
  • 1898 Cariboo Consolidated Gold Mining Company robbed of some 30 lbs. of gold at Camp McKinney; the gold will not be recovered. BC
  • 1898 Pincher Creek, NWT, incorporated as a Village. Pincher Creek, Alberta
  • 1898 Regular service on the CNL extended to Wardner, BC
  • 1900 Nelson Electric’s dam on Cottonwood Creek collapses. Nelson, BC
  • 1914 First World War - Special fourth session of 12th Parliament meets until August 22, 1914; operating under War Measures Act; sets up Canadian Patriotic Fund to assist soldiers’ dependents. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1917 Canadian Army powder magazine explodes at Rigaud. Rigaud, Québec
  • 1925 Blessing of the cornerstone of l’Oratoire St-Joseph. Montréal, Québec
  • 1925 Deux-Montagnes incorporated. Deux-Montagnes, Québec
  • 1932 Scottish aviator Jim Mollison lands in Pennfield after making the First westbound transatlantic solo flight, from Portmarnock, Ireland. Pennfield, New Brunswick
  • 1935 Weather - New Brunswickers swelter through the province’s warmest day on record, at 39.4 degrees Celsius. New Brunswick
  • 1938 Mackenzie King and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicate the Thousand Islands Bridge (Ivy Lea Bridge) connecting Ontario and New York state. Gananoque, Ontario
  • 1940 Second World War - Mackenzie King and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt sign agreement for Canada-US Permanent Joint Board of Defence after two days of talks; Board composed of senior officials from both countries; to deal with delivery of arms from US factories to Canadian forces, exchange of defence information and other continental defence matters. Ogdensburg, New York
  • 1944 Second World War - Camilien Houde returns to Montréal after his release from internment camp at Petawawa; former Montréal Mayor held under War Measures Act because of fascist sympathies. Montréal, Québec August 18 - Second World War - Major General George Kitching’s 4th Canadian Armoured division occupies Trun, France from the north and advances toward St-Lambert sur Dives; a squadron of the South Alberta Regiment and a company of infantry from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders prepares a line of defence along the Falaise-Trun-Chambois highway to bar the Germans from breaking out of the pocket; most of the 1st Polish Armoured take up position further east to head off any attempt to break in and extricate the trapped Germans; the rest drive on to Chambois by nightfall but are spread over 10 miles of hilly countryside in numbers too few to link up with Patton’s advancing Americans and Free French forces; Major David Currie assigned to close the Falaise Gap with 175 men, 16 tanks and 4 MIOs from the 5th Anti-Tank Regiment. Blamed for having been too slow in making his junction with the US troops, thereby allowing German forces to escape, Kitching will be relieved of his command. Trun, France
  • August 18 - Second World War -Major David Currie from Sutherland, Saskatchewan performs military duties that will win him the Victoria Cross for Gallantry in Action in northern France. St- Lambert-sur-Dives, France
  • 1946 Disaster - Fire burns down 14 houses in Petite-Rivière, killing nine. Petite-Rivière, Québec
  • 1954 Canada and the United States reach formal agreement on joint construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Washington, DC
  • 1956 Opening of Bell Museum at Baddeck, showcasing the life and works of Alexander Graham Bell. Baddeck, Nova Scotia
  • 1960 Peacekeeping - Canadian peace-keepers man-handled by Congolese troops. Leopoldville, Congo
  • 1961 First Mariposa Folk Festival opens at Oval Park in Orillia; 1,500 people gather over two days to hear The Travellers, Ian and Sylvia and fiddler Al Cherny; Mariposa Festival moves to Toronto Island in 1964 after fan violence. Orillia, Ontario
  • 1968 Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) opens on a Sunday for the First time. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1972 Parks Canada declares Norman Bethune birthplace as a national historic site, and unveils a plaque for a visit of Chinese dignitaries. Gravenhurst, Ontario
  • 1975 Premiers Conference - Premiers start 4-day meeting; discuss wage and price controls and shared-cost programs. St. John’s, Newfoundland
  • 1976 Premiers Conference - Premiers start 3-day 17th annual Conference; no agreement on patriation of the constitution. Banff, Alberta
  • 1978 Maurice Bolyer dies at age 57; Canada’s ‘King of the Banjo’ and a regular on CBC’s Tommy Hunter TV show since 1965. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1979 Opening of the Dempster Highway, from Dawson, Yukon, to Inuvik, NWT. Dawson, Yukon
  • 1981 Tom Kent’s Royal Commission on Newspapers Report recommends action to curb the growth of newspaper conglomerates, break up monopolies in Canada. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1986 Folk singers Ian Tyson and Sylvia Fricker, formerly husband and wife, reunite for concert at Kingswood Music Theatre; First Ian and Sylvia performance in eleven years; joined by Judy Collins, Emmylou Harris and Murray McLauchlan. Maple, Ontario
  • 1987 Denis Boucher signs with the Toronto Blue Jays baseball club. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1988 Former Montréal Canadiens star Guy Lafleur signs with the New York Rangers. New York, New York
  • 1992 Charlottetown Accord - First day of constitutional negotiation at Charlottetown. Charlottetown, PEI
  • 1995 Cards reliever Tom Henke earns his 300th career save, surviving a rally by the Atlanta Braves in the ninth inning of the St. Louis Cardinals’ 4-3 victory; the former Toronto Blue Jays closer becomes only the seventh pitcher to reach 300 career saves. St. Louis, Missouri
  • 1995 Regina, Saskatchewan PetroCanada pump attendant Dick Assman - his name is pronounced ‘OSS-man’ - makes a cameo appearance on CBS’s Late Show With David Letterman, after being the butt of jokes for months; his filling station business triples over the month of August. New York, New York
  • 1998 Micmac on the Listuguj First Nation end a 3 week standoff with Québec government over timber right. Québec.
  • 2005 Canadian Forces warship HMCS Fredericton (FFH 337) deployed to the Canadian Arctic to prohibit illegal fishing and to reassert sovereignty in the North. Halifax, Nova Scotia