Highlights of the day

  • 1583 The Delight, with 85 persons aboard, founders on Sable Island; first Canadian shipwreck on record.
  • 1775 Benedict Arnold begins second wing of invasion of Canada up the Kennebec River toward Québec.
  • 1871 Adams Archibald negotiates Treaty #2 (Manitoba Post Treaty) in Southern Manitoba with Chippewa.

List of Facts for August 21

  • 1583 The Delight, with 85 persons aboard, founders on the banks of Sable Island; First Canadian shipwreck on record. Sable Island, Nova Scotia
  • 1624 Samuel de Champlain and his wife Hélène de Champlain leave for France; arrive in Dieppe, France October 1, 1624. Québec, Québec
  • 1660 Mgr. François de Laval visits Montréal. Montréal, Québec
  • 1760 French & Indian War - Brigadier General James Murray puts the village of Sorel to the torch. Sorel, Québec
  • 1775 American Revolutionary War - Benedict Arnold begins second wing of invasion of Canada up the Kennebec River toward Québec. Kennebec River, Maine
  • 1796 Mississauga Chief Wabakinine, protecting his sister from a British soldier, is struck on the head with a rock and killed; his wife is also seriously injured. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1816 Weather - Québec has an early season snowfall. Québec, Québec
  • 1847 Founding of the Canada Life Insurance Company. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1852 Tlingit warriors destroy Hudson’s Bay Company Fort Selkirk after the HBC tries to break the Tlingit monopoly on trade with interior tribes. Fort Selkirk, Yukon
  • 1853 Edward Inglefield Captain of the Royal Navy barque HMS Phoenix rescues all 21 crew of its sister ship HMS Breadalbane, which sank in 15 minutes after her wooden hull was pierced by an ice slab; both ships carrying supplies to Sir Edward Belcher’s Arctic expedition; wreck discovered August 13, 1980 after 3 year search by Dr. Joe McInnes. Beechey Island, Nunavut
  • 1860 Albert Edward the Prince of Wales continues visit to Montréal; later King Edward VII. Montréal, Québec
  • 1871 Manitoba Lieutenant Governor Adams Archibald negotiates Treaty #2 (Manitoba Post Treaty) in Southern Manitoba with Chippewa (Ojibway) of the Souris and Assiniboine River watersheds; awards them 57,452 sq km; $3 per Indian, acreage. Old Fort Garry, Manitoba
  • 1877 Opening of the Chemin de fer des Laurentides, a railway running from Montréal. Ste-Agathe, Québec
  • 1890 First YMCA in Saskatchewan is organized at Regina. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1900 Granby Consolidated Mining and Smelting blows in No.1 furnace of its Grand Forks smelter. Grand Forks, BC
  • 1912 Francis Carter-Cotton chosen as First Chancellor of the University of British Columbia; successor to McGill University College. Vancouver, BC
  • 1919 Edward, Prince of Wales arrives in Québec City on official visit to open the Québec Bridge; son of King George V; future King Edward VIII. Québec, Québec
  • 1919 Manitoba’s court system is overwhelmed by divorce cases, most involving returning veterans who found their wives had been unfaithful. Manitoba
  • 1928 Simon Tolmie sworn in as Premier of British Columbia, replacing John MacLean; serves to November 15, 1933. Victoria, BC
  • 1944 Second World War - Canadian Army Major David Currie wins VC in final fighting as Canadians help close Falaise gap and crush the German Seventh Army. France August 21 - Second World War - RCAF planes have hit 2600 German vehicles in the past four days. The First Canadian Army connects with the Poles, with the Canadian Grenadier Guards rescuing the 1st Polish Armoured Division, trapped by the SS; the Falaise Gap is finally closed, encircling the remnants of Kurt Meyer’s 12th SS; from D-Day to Aug 21 the Germans have lost 300,000 men; in early June Mayer had a division of 20,000 men with 150 tanks; now he has less than 300 men and no tanks or artillery. The next task of the Canadians is to move up the Channel coast and liberate the ports of Le Havre, Dieppe, Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk. Canadian casualties in taking Falaise and the Gap were 18,444 casualties including over 5,021 dead. The 3rd Canadian Division lost more than any other under Montgomery’s command, primarily due to inferior equipment, such as the Sherman tank, no march for the German armour. Falaise, France August 21 - Second World War - RCN Flower Class corvette HMCS Alberni is torpedoed and sunk by U-480, southeast of the Isle of Wight; 59 of her ship’s company are lost. English Cannnel See The Alberni Project.
  • 1956 Canadian Sunset, by the Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra and Eddie Haywood, reaches #1 on the Billboard Charts. Other than the name, the song has no Canadian content. New York, New York
  • 1957 Saskatchewan section of the Trans-Canada Highway officially opens. Saskatchewan
  • 1957 Government announces $150 million loan program for low-cost housing. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1957 Nels Stewart dies; born Dec 29 1900 at Montréal; centred the Montréal Maroons’ S line between Babe Siebert and Hooley Smith from 1925 to 1932; later with Boston Bruins (1932-35, 1936-37) and the New York Americans (1935-36, 1937-40); First player to score 300 goals in the NHL; had league-leading 324 goals and 191 assists in 653 league games until overtaken by Rocket Richard; took Hart Trophy in 1926 and 1930 as the NHL’s MVP; one Stanley Cup with Bruins; still holds NHL record for fastest 2 goals - in 4 seconds. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1960 Patrice Lumumba Premier of Congo apologizes for beating of Canadians on August 18. Leopoldville, Congo
  • 1961 Disaster - Truck-train collision kills 8 at Leonard. Leonard, Ontario
  • 1964 Record - Canadian Bette Singer dives a record-setting 307 feet into Bahaman waters. Bahamas
  • 1965 Québec’s Mad Dog Vachon defeated by The Crusher, to lose National Wrestling Association championship. St. Paul, Minnesota
  • 1968 Germaine Guévremont dies; born Marianne-Germaine Grignon at St-Jérôme, Québec April 16, 1893. Guévremont started writing for the Montréal Gazette, Le Courrier de Sorel, Paysana and L’Oeil in the 1930s. In 1942 she published a collection of stories, En pleine terre, and the following year published chapters from her novel, Le Survenant (Beauchemin: 1945); the sequel, Marie-Didace, appeared in 1947 (Governor General’s Award for English translation as The Outlander in 1950); also adapted for radio and TV in the 1950s. Montréal, Québec
  • 1968 Post Office announces closing of century-old Post Office Savings Bank. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1971 First Banff Festival of the Arts ends. Banff, Alberta
  • 1972 Opening of ten-day Canadian Trade Exposition in Beijing; largest ever trade fair for Canada. Beijing, China
  • 1979 Federal government agree to provide complete bilingual air traffic control inside Québec. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1980 Brigadier Frederick Watson VC dies; awarded Victoria Cross in First World War. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1981 Record - CFL Ottawa Roughriders Tony Gabriel catches a pass in his 128th consecutive game; sets world pro football record; record eclipsed in 1987 by the Steve Largent of the NFL. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1986 Canadian opera star Teresa Stratas makes her Broadway debut in Rags, a $5 million musical about Jewish immigrants who fail to find riches in the New World; closes after four performances. New York, New York
  • 1987 Geraldine Kenney-Wallace named First woman chair of the Science Council of Canada; McMaster University chemist and physicist. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1990 United Church of Canada’s third General Council ends three days of intense debate, voting 302-74 to reaffirm 1988 statement on homosexuality, which permits avowed gays and lesbians to seek ordination; policy had split Canada’s largest Protestant denomination. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1990 Closing of the Mont-Rolland paper mill. Mt-Rolland, Québec
  • 1993 Car driven by Claude McKenzie of the Innu pop group Kashtin hits and injures a 10 year-old girl on a first nations reserve; will plead guilty to drunk driving causing bodily harm; sentenced to nine months in jail and ordered to undergo treatment for alcoholism.. Sept-Îles, Québec
  • 1995 Fire - Forest fire forces evacuation of the village of Parent. Parent, Québec
  • 1995 Cambior Inc. floods its large Omai gold mine in Guyana to limit environmental damage caused by cyanide-laced water escaping into a river. Guyana
  • 1999 Chief Justice Antonio Lamer announces retirement from Supreme Court of Canada, effective January 7, 2000. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1999 Glen Clark resigns as British Columbia Premier one day after it was revaled that he was under investigation for exerting political influence to advance a neighbour’s application for a casino licence. Dan Miller appointed acting BC Premier. Victoria, BC
  • 2002 Jean Chrétien announces he will not seek a 4th term as Prime Minister and will resign in February 2004; amid growing rifts within his Liberal Party and pressure from Paul Martin loyalists. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2005 British Columbia court mortgages Robert Pickton’s land for $10 million; accused of string of serial killings. Vancouver, BC
  • 2017 Astronomy - Next total solar eclipse visible from Canada will happen on this day.