Highlights of the day

  • 1838 Nils Von Schoultz surrenders with 137 Hunters Lodge rebels after 4 day Battle of the Windmill
  • 1857 William Hall wins the Victoria Cross for bravery at the Relief of Lucknow.
  • 1885 Louis Riel is hanged in the North West Mounted Police barracks in Regina.

List of Facts for November 16

  • 1764 Pontiac’s Rebellion - Native Americans surrender to the British in the Indian War of Chief Pontiac, also known as the Pontiac Rising or Pontiac’s Resistance. Detroit, Michigan
  • 1784 Henry Hamilton appointed Lieutenant-Governor and Administrator of Canada during Lord Haldimand’s absence; serves until November 2, 1785. Montréal, Québec
  • 1837 Lower Canada Rebellion - Rebel force of 150 led by Bonaventure Viger and Dr. Timothée Kimber ambush a 18-man troop of the Montréal Volunteer Cavalry led by Lieutenant Ermatinger and Constable Malo on the Chambly Road returning from St-Jean Québec where they had arrested Patriote leaders Notaire Pierre Desmarais and Dr. Joseph Davignon; shots are fired and there are several wounded on both sides, including Viger, who is hit in the leg; John Molson jr. takes several bullets in his cap, but is unharmed; the Patriotes liberate prisoners Desmarais and Davignon in this, the First military action in the Rebellion of 1837. Longueuil, Québec
  • 1837 Lower Canada Rebellion - Governor Lord Gosford issues warrants for the arrest of 26 Patriote leaders on charges of high treason, after the Rebellion of 1837’s First skirmish at Longueuil, Québec; Louis-Joseph Papineau and Wolfred Nelson among those named; only five leaders will be captured. Montréal, Québec
  • 1838 Upper Canada Rebellion - Edgeworth Ussher, militia captain, is murdered by republican rebels at Chippewa. Chippewa, Ontario
  • 1838 Upper Canada Rebellion - Battle of the Windmill - Republican Colonel Nils Von Schoultz surrenders with 137 of his Hunters Lodge rebels after the four day battle of the Windmill; Hunters’ losses estimated at 80, and British and Canadian losses were 20 dead and 60 wounded. On November 28, young Kingston lawyer John A. Macdonald agrees to act as legal counsel to von Schoultz and other republican rebel prisoners; Von Schoultz and 10 other men are later hanged at Fort Henry. Prescott, Ontario
  • 1838 Upper Canada Rebellion - Republican rebels battle with militiamen at Pakenham. Pakenham, Ontario
  • 1857 William Hall wins the Victoria Cross for his bravery at the Relief of Lucknow; First Canadian Sailor, First Black Canadian; First Nova Scotian to be awarded the VC. Lucknow, India
  • 1869 Red River Rebellion - Louis Riel invites settlers and Métis to meet at Fort Garry to form a provisional government; most reject his proposals. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1871 First Thanksgiving in the Province of Manitoba is observed. Manitoba
  • 1874 Religion - The body of printer Joseph Guibord is delivered by a military escort for burial in the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery, in an area of the cemetery that Bishop Ignace Bourget will immediately deconsecrate; Bourget had been a member of l’Institut canadien de Montréal; Bourget had forbidden Catholics from becoming members of the Institute on pain of excommunication; Guibord refused, and on his death, was not given the last rites; in 1874, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London ordered his burial. Montréal, Québec
  • 1885 North West Rebellion - Louis Riel is hanged in the North West Mounted Police barracks in Regina; before dying, he gives an exclusive interview to journalist Nicholas Flood Davin, who entered prison disguised as a priest. Just after eight in the morning, the hangman appears in the doorway of his cell; Riel asks, ‘Mr. Gibson, you want me? I am ready’; after receiving absolution from the priest, he ascends the scaffold; as he and the priest are reciting the words of the Lord’s Prayer, the trap door drops. Riel’s body is sent to St-Boniface, Manitoba and interred in the cemetery in front of the Cathedral. Regina, Saskatchewan
  • 1905 Rail - The CPR leases the Nicola, Kamloops and Similkameen Railway for 999 years. BC
  • 1926 Hockey - The New York Rangers play their First NHL game and beat the Montréal Maroons 1-0. New York, New York
  • 1928 Diplomacy - Georges-Jean Knight First French Ambassador to Canada presents credentials to the Governor-General. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1933 Sport - Alec Foster installs the first rope tow at Shawbridge in the Laurentians north of Montreal; first ski tow in North America is run by an old car engine, and tickets are 5¢ a ride; first ski tow was invented 1908 in the Black Forest, Germany by Robert Winterhalder. Prévost, Quebec.
  • 1935 Foreign Affairs - Mackenzie King signs a United States-Canada Trade Agreement with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Washington, DC November 16 - Retail - Bay Day ad in The Albertan features leather handbags at $1.47, men’s flannelette pyjamas at $1.00, and a 3-piece chesterfield set at $75.00. Calgary, Alberta
  • 1941 Second World War - The Royal Rifles of Canada (a Québec unit) and the Winnipeg Grenadiers arrive in Hong Kong to beef up the British garrison; the 1,975 Canadian troops were sent even though they were not considered fit for action; Dec 18 the Japanese crossed to the island of Hong Kong; Dec. 25 the governor surrendered and the Canadians were sent to Japanese prison camps; of the 1,975 Canadians sent to Hong Kong, 557 were killed in action or will die in prison camps. Hong Kong, China See: Canadian Troops Fight in the Battle of Hong Kong
  • 1959 Transport - Ontario Premier Leslie Frost turns First sod for the extension of Toronto’s Yonge Street Subway. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1960 Strike by BC fishermen ends; the 12-month labour dispute shut down the province’s herring fishery. BC
  • 1964 Media - Radio CJCX Sydney starts shortwave transmissions. Sydney, Nova Scotia
  • 1966 Police - Maxwell Mackenzie appointed to chair Royal Commission into Canada’s national security. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1967 Opening of the new Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1970 Springhill,, Nova Scotia’s Anne Murray awarded a gold record for her hit single, Snowbird; First Canadian recording artist to receive a gold record. New York, New York
  • 1970 Foreign Aid - Canada arranges $20 million development loan for Botswana. Botswana
  • 1972 Banking - Unity National Bank chartered; head offices in Toronto; Canada’s 11th bank . Toronto, Ontario
  • 1977 Canadian trio Rush awarded three gold records for their hit singles, 2112, All the World’s a Stage, and A Farewell to Kings. Los Angeles, California
  • 1979 Rail - Mississauga residents start to return after CP work crews drain liquid chlorine from rail tankers; no one killed or injured in largest single movement of people in Canada . Mississauga, Ontario
  • 1982 Culture - Lou Applebaum & Jacques Hebert release their Applebaum-Hébert Report on federal cultural policy; recommend more arts funding and Canadian content, plus severe changes to the CBC, such as the elimination of television commercials and dropping of private affiliates. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1983 Marriage - Margaret Trudeau files for divorce from Pierre Trudeau; granted April 2, 1984. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1989 Abortion - Supreme Court of Canada rules that the fetus has no right to life under common law, the Québec Civil Code or the Québec Charter; following injunctions brought under Barbara Dodd and Chantal Daigle cases. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1990 Horse Racing - Northern Dancer put down at age 29 after a severe attack of colic; first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby, for E. P. Taylor’s Windfield Farms; foaled at Oshawa, Ontario, May 27, 1961. Chesapeake City, Maryland
  • 1993 Marriage - Toronto born comic Jim Carrey files for divorce from his wife Melissa. Los Angeles, California
  • 1995 Finance - Cabinet puts Canadian National Railways on the block for $2.2-billion; privatization the biggest initial public offering in Canadian history. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1997 Football - Toronto Argonauts win the CFL Grey Cup, beating the Saskatchewan Rough Riders 47-23. Vancouver, BC
  • 1999 Justice - British Columbia judge jails 5 skinheads for 1998 beating death of Nirmal Singh Gill; rules the attack was racially motivated. Vancouver, BC
  • 2003 Football - The Edmonton Eskimos win the 91st Grey Cup, defeating the Montreal Alouettes 34-22. Toronto, Ontario
  • 2004 State Visit - US President George W. Bush to visit Canada November 30, 2004 for a two-day visit; his first formal visit to the country since becoming President in 2001. Washington, DC
  • 2010 The winners of the 2010 Governor General’s Awards are announced. Ottawa, Ontario (Canada Council site)