Highlights of the day

  • 1838 Republican rebels occupy Prescott windmill; beat off a counter attack by 470 loyalist militia.
  • 1930 Norway gives up claim to Sverdrup Islands, Nunavut; after payment to Otto Sverdrup’s widow.
  • 1931 Conn Smythe opens Maple Leaf Gardens; Leafs beat Chicago Blackhawks 2-1.
  • 1981 Canadarm performs flawlessly on shuttle Columbia; $100 million robot arm made by Spar Aerospace.

List of Facts for November 12

  • 1633 Religion - Jesuit priest Paul LeJeune starts his mission to the Indians. Québec, Québec
  • 1757 French and Indian war - Beletre attacks and burns German Flats, on the Mohawk River, with 300 Canadians and Indians; kills 50 English settlers. German Flats, New York
  • 1775 American Revolutionary War - American General Richard Montgomery lands at Point St. Charles and marches toward Montréal a day after Guy Carleton evacuates the town; will enter the town the following morning through the Recollets Gate. All Canada except Trois-Rivières and Québec City is now under the occupation of the Army of the Continental Congress, and the French habitants are being urged to join the Revolution. Montréal, Québec
  • 1775 American Revolutionary War -American General Richard Montgomery orders a siege of St. John’s; the Americans will capture 600 British troops. St-Jean, Québec
  • 1813 Fur Trade - John McTavish takes possession of Astoria for the North West Company; establishes fort at the mouth of the Columbia River. Astoria, Oregon
  • 1833 Space - Shooting stars of Leonid Meteor Shower amaze witnesses in western North America. Canada
  • 1838 Upper Canada Rebellion - Battle of the Windmill - Republican Colonel Nils von Schoultz is able to land raiders and munitions from the Charlotte of Toronto at the windmill mid-morning, but the other Hunter schooner, holding the bulk of their supplies, including several large cannon, stays stuck in the mud. That afternoon, the rebel supporters beat off a counter attack by 470 loyalist militia, who drive the Hunters from the houses into the 6 storey windmill; Canadians send a small vessel, the Experiment, to cut Schoultz off from the US, while 700 Glengarry, Dundas and Grenville militia start arriving from the surrounding counties and a force of 70 British marines comes down river by steamer from Kingston; on November 16. Prescott, Ontario
  • 1840 Science - Imperial Government sets up magnetical and meteorological observatory at Toronto. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1880 Disaster - Explosion in Foord Pit of Drummond Coal Mine kills 44 miners. Stellarton, Nova Scotia
  • 1885 Football - Combined Montréal Football Club & Britannia Football Club, (QRFU) defeat the Ontario Combined Team, (ORFU) 3-0 in the CRFU Championship game. Montréal, Québec
  • 1898 Lord Minto appointed Governor General of Canada. London, England
  • 1902 Rail - Vancouver, Victoria & Eastern Railway completed into Grand Forks, BC.
  • 1917 First World War - First Victory Loan of $150 million oversubscribed, yielding over $400 million. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1921 Diplomacy - Robert Borden represents Canada at the Washington Conference on the Limitation of Armaments; until February 6, 1922. Washington, DC
  • 1922 Cinema - Toronto actress Mary Pickford stars in Tess of the Storm Country, released today; appeared in a 1914 version of the same story. Hollywood, California
  • 1927 Diplomacy - Canada admitted to the League of Nations. Geneva, Switzerland
  • 1930 Territory - Norway recognizes Canadian sovereignty and relinquishes its claim to the Sverdrup Islands; after payment and negotiation with Otto Sverdrup’s widow over title. Sverdrup Islands, Nunavut
  • 1931 Hockey - Conn Smythe opens the Maple Leaf Gardens arena, home of the Leafs 1931–1999; has to pay workers with shares because of the Depression; in the First game this day, the home town NHL Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1933 Weather - Freak storm damages rooves and chimneys in Regina, Moose Jaw and Saskatoon. Saskatchewan
  • 1935 Aviation - First flight of Noorduyn Norseman prototype bush plane; 904 Norsemans built before production ends in 1959. Montréal, Québec
  • 1935 Welfare - Food shipments start for Manitoba to relieve 40,000 individuals in six municipalities hit by drought and depression. Manitoba
  • 1938 Lions Gate Bridge opens for traffic to North Vancouver, BC, after one and a half years construction at a cost of $5.8 million; construction began on May 29. Vancouver, BC
  • 1939 Medicine - Canadian surgeon Dr. Norman Bethune dies of blood poisoning (septicemia) while operating a battlefield hospital in North China for Communist troops under Mao Tse Tung; becomes hero of the Revolution. China
  • 1940 Publishing - Canadian government bans import of comic books; various Canadian wartime heroes like Johnny Canuck developed to aid the war effort instead of US imports. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1941 Arthur Meighen again elected Leader of the Conservative Party, replacing interim leader R. B. Hanson; was Leader 1920-26. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1951 Dance - National Ballet of Canada gives First performance in Toronto. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1953 Treaty - US-Canada agreement establishes St. Lawrence River Joint Board of Engineers; to plan construction of St. Lawrence Seaway. Washington, DC
  • 1956 Arts - Ottawa founds the Canada Council/Conseil des arts, with funding from government and two major estates, to encourage the growth of the arts, humanities and social sciences. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1962 International Exhibition Bureau approves Montréal, Québec bid to hold the 1967 World’s Fair, Expo ‘67. Geneva, Switzerland
  • 1965 Pro Wrestling - Québec’s Mad Dog Vachon beats The Crusher in Denver, to become NWA champ. Denver, Colorado
  • 1966 Pro Wrestling - Dick The Bruiser beats Québec’s Mad Dog Vachon in Omaha, to become NWA champ. Omaha, Nebraska
  • 1969 Riot - Montréal Mayor Jean Drapeau bans street demonstrations in the city. Montréal, Québec
  • 1970 New Brunswick Election - Richard Hatfield becomes Premier of New Brunswick after his Conservatives defeat Louis Robichaud’s Liberals. New Brunswick
  • 1971 Crime - Paul Joseph Cini hijacks Air Canada plane over the prairies, but soon subdued and arrested without incident; brandishing 54 sticks of dynamite and a shotgun. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1975 Strike - 8,800 Toronto teachers go on strike at 135 high schools. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1976 Horse Racing - Canadian jockey Sandy Hawley breaks thoroughbred racing’s all-time money-winning record for single year; $4,255,912 winnings in 1 year. USA
  • 1978 Jean Drapeau elected Mayor of Montréal for the 7th consecutive time. Montréal, Québec
  • 1979 Energy - Metis Association of the Northwest Territories offers $160 million for Ottawa’s 1/3 share of Norman Wells operation. Norman Wells, NWT
  • 1981 Space - NASA shuttle Columbia STS-2 blasts off for the second time from the Kennedy Space Center, carrying Canada’s $100 million robot arm, made by Spar Aerospace in Toronto; the Canadarm will perform flawlessly; Columbia the First spaceship to be relaunched. Cape Canaveral, Florida
  • 1982 Communications - NASA Shuttle Columbia flight STS-5 deploys Canadian Anik-C3 comsat (mass 632 kg). Space
  • 1983 Vancouver group Loverboy’s single, Queen of the Broken Hearts, peaks at #34 on the Billboard pop chart. New York, New York
  • 1983 Hockey - New Jersey Devils play in their First overtime game, lose to Calgary Flames 4-3. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1984 Technology - NASA shuttle astronauts use Canadarm to snare a wandering satellite; history’s First space salvage. Space
  • 1987 Dennis Patterson becomes government leader of the Northwest Territories, replacing Nick Sibbeston. Yellowknife, NWT
  • 1990 Medicine - Robert Bourassa in hospital for diagnostic tests; Québec Premier suffering from melanoma. Montréal, Québec
  • 1991 June Rowlands elected Mayor of Toronto, defeating Jack Layton; First woman mayor of the city. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1991 Nellie Cournoyea elected as leader of Northwest Territories legislature; 12 year veteran of assembly. Yellowknife, NWT
  • 1991 Bryan Adams’ single, Can’t Stop This Thing We Started, stays at #1 on the Billboard pop chart. New York, New York
  • 1991 Communications - Northern Telecom wins $1.05 billion order for digital switching and transmission equipment; to midwest Ameritech phone network. Mississauga, Ontario
  • 1992 Plebiscite - Referendum endorsing the creation of Nunavut is successful in the Northwest Territories; polling results show 69% of 9,648 eligible Inuit vote Yes to accept a $580 million federal land claim settlement and creation of a third semi-autonomous northern territory, Nunavut, to come into being April 1, 1999; Inuit to get clear title to land, hunting and fishing rights. Iqaluit, Nunavut
  • 1995 Space - Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield blasts off on board Atlantis shuttle flight STS-74 from Kennedy Space Center for 8 day mission, including rendezvous with the Russian space station Mir; Hadfield the fourth Canadian to go into space; First Canadian to perform NASA Mission Specialist duties including operation of the Canadarm remote manipulator. Cape Canaveral, Florida
  • 1996 Baseball - Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Pat Hentgen wins the Cy Young Award, edging Andy Pettitte of the New York Yankees, with 11 Firsts, 16 seconds and one third for 104 points; Hentgen was 20-10 with a 3.22 ERA; First player from a Canadian team to win. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1997 Hockey - Jacques Demers hired as Head Coach of the NHL Tampa Bay Lighting. Tampa, Florida
  • 2004 Police - Saskatoon Police Department fires two constables for their involvement in the Neil Stonechild case. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (See CBC News Timeline)