Highlights of the day

  • 1891 James Naismith Invents the Game of Basketball.
  • 1917 Montreal Canadiens play Montreal Wanderers, to benefit victims of Halifax Explosion; NHL’s first exhibition game.
  • 1964 Commons votes 163-78 to adopt design for National Flag of Canada after closure invoked at 2 am.
  • 1979 Photo editor Chris Haney and sportswriter Scott Abbott devise the Trivial Pursuit board game.

List of Facts for December 15

  • 1629 Samuel de Champlain returns home after meeting with the King of France regarding the settlement and trade at Québec. Paris, France
  • 1701 Pierre d’Iberville reaches Louisiana and moves settlers to Massacre (Dauphin) Island, to prepare for Mobile River colony. Louisiana
  • 1837 Lower Canada Rebellion - John Colborne marches from St-Eustache to St. Benoît; gets remaining 150 Patriotes to surrender their arms without a fight; the following day, Colborne orders them released, but puts the village to the torch. St-Benoît, Quebec
  • 1858 Rail - Opening of the Nova Scotia Railway from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Truro; distance of 150 km. Truro, Nova Scotia
  • 1869 Curling - Prince Arthur opens the Montreal Curling Club, the city’s First covered rink.. Montréal, Québec
  • 1891 Basketball - CBC Archives)
  • 1895 Rail - Nakusp and Slocan Railway opens to Sandon, BC.
  • 1897 Labour - First meeting of the Trades and Labour Council of British Columbia; James Wilkes elected VP of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada, and head of the British Columbia Council. Vancouver, BC
  • 1902 Communications - Governor General Lord Minto sends greetings to King Edward VII using Marconi’s radio system based at Table Head in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, via Poldhu, Cornwall, England; this is the First intelligible transatlantic radio message and the First transatlantc radio press report. A year earlier, Marconi had successfully sent a test signal from Cornwall to St. John’s, Newfoundland. Sydney, Nova Scotia
  • 1902 Honoré Mercier indicted for corruption over political fundraising; the former Premier of Québec is acquitted in 1903. Québec, Québec
  • 1902 Peter “Lordly” Verigin arrives in Canada to assume leadership of the Doukhobors after spending nearly 16 years in exile in Siberia. Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1904 Rail - The Great Northern Railroad’s Crow’s Nest Southern Railway begins service into Fernie, BC.
  • 1910 Transport - R. H. Bohart begins a stage service between Wardner and Fort Steele. BC
  • 1913 Cinema - Irving Berlin attends opening of Loew’s Yonge Street Theatre (today the Elgin Theatre), a vaudeville house; premieres his new song, The International Rag; theatre closed in 1982, but renovated and reopened in 1985 as the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1915 William Bowser sworn in as Premier of British Columbia, replacing Richard McBride, in office since June 1, 1903; Bowser moved to Vancouver in 1891 to set up a law practice; 1903 First elected to the legislature as a Conservative; 1907 Attorney General; Premier until defeat November 23, 1916; Leader of the Opposition until his defeat in 1924. Victoria, BC
  • 1917 Hockey - The NHL holds its First exhibition game four days before the start of the regular season. The Montreal Canadiens and the Montreal Wanderers play a benefit for victims of the Halifax Explosion, which had occurred 10 days earlier. Montréal, Québec
  • 1919 Conscription - Government proclaims general amnesty for those who avoided conscription during First World War. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1922 Diplomacy - Canada signs new commercial and trade treaty with France. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1924 Weather - Big blizzard paralyses south-eastern British Columbia. BC
  • 1925 Hockey - Montréal Canadiens beat the New York Americans 3-1 in First NHL hockey game played in Madison Square Gardens. New York, New York
  • 1930 George Henry sworn in as Premier of Ontario, replacing Howard Ferguson. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1936 Military - Canada’s first tank school opens at Wolseley Barracks in London; within eight years, its graduates would help liberate northwest Europe from the Nazis. London, Ontario
  • 1941 Second World War - Cabinet War Committee discusses financial aid to Britain; the billion dollar gift. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1941 Rail - New Kettle Valley Railway station opens at Penticton, BC.
  • 1951 Banking - Canada abolishes foreign exchange controls. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1959 Immigration - European tubercular refugee group and families arrive in Canada; part of Canadian responsibility in World Refugee Year. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1960 Aviation - Opening of Montréal’s new $30 million International Air Terminal at Dorval Airport. Dorval, Québec
  • 1961 Farming - Seager Wheeler dies; plant breeder and farmer, world champion hard spring wheat grower five times from 1911-1918. Saskatchewan
  • 1963 Medicine - Government promises compensation to victims of thalidomide. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1964 Symbols - Flag of Canada - Commons votes 163-78 to adopt design for a new National Flag of Canada at 2 am, after closure was invoked November 21, 1921, as advocated by Fortescue Duguid. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1964 Military - Continuing defence cutbacks close 6th Naval Reserve Division, HMCS Queen Charlotte. Charlottetown, PEI.
  • 1969 Education - Opening of Red River Community College in Winnipeg. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1973 Horse Racing - Canadian rider Sandy Hawley becomes the First jockey to win 500 races in one year. USA
  • 1974 Esmeil Jamha dies; Lebanese Albertan pioneer. Alberta
  • 1978 Communications - NASA launches the Anik IV satellite, Canada’s 4th domestic comsat. Cape Canaveral, Florida
  • 1979 Game - Photo editor Scott Abbott devise the Trivial Pursuit board game, with a current events theme; form investor group with Haney’s brother John and friend Ed Werner, and 30 others, including a copyboy from their newspaper; raised $40,000, rented an office and paid some of their help with shares; First 1,100 sets cost $75 each to manufacture; sold to retailers for $15 a game; took off at 1983 New York Toy Fair when distributed by US game company Selchow and Righter; now in 19 different languages. St. Catharines, Ontario
  • 1979 Hockey - Willy Lindstrom scores the Winnipeg Jets’ First hat trick; in a game against the Montréal Canadiens. Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 1980 Currency - Canadian dollar closes at US$.8271, a 47-year low. Canada
  • 1982 Labour - Ontario caps wage raises for 500,000 public employees at 5%; from October 1, 1982 to September 30, 1983. Toronto, Ontario
  • 1984 Hockey - Edmonton Oilers Wayne Gretzky scores 5 goals against St. Louis Blues. Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1984 Music - Springhill, Nova Scotia’s Anne Murray has a #1 Billboard hit with her single, Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (with Dave Loggins). New York, New York
  • 1988 Language - In the Ford v. Quebec (Attorney General), [1988] 2 S.C.R. 712 judgment, the Supreme Court of Canada strikes down sections of Québec’s Bill 101 requiring that commercial signs be in French only; called an unreasonable violation of freedom of expression. On December 19, 1988, Premier Gary Filmon withdraws his resolution to ratify the Meech Lake Accord from the Manitoba legislature. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 1988 Hockey - Jean Perron appointed head coach of the Québec Nordiques, after Ron Lapointe resigns to battle cancer. Québec, Québec
  • 1991 Aboriginal - Ronald George leads BC chiefs protesting Columbus 500th Anniversary celebrations; asks Spanish consul to apologize for native oppression. Fajardo, Puerto Rico
  • 1992 Peacekeeping - First advance party of Canadian Airborne Regiment peacekeepers arrives in Somalia. Baledogle, Somali Republic
  • 1992 Casino - Former French pavilion at Expo 67 on Île Notre-Dame announced as the site of the First casino in the province. Montréal, Québec
  • 1993 Olympics - Synchronized swimmer Sylvie Fréchette finally receives her Barcelona Olympics gold medal that was awarded to American Kristen Babb-Sprague because of a judge’s error. Montréal, Québec
  • 1994 Environment - UNESCO declares million hectare Tatshenshini-Alsek Wilderness in the north-west corner of BC as a World Heritage Site; along with adjacent wilderness preserves in Alaska and the Yukon, the world’s largest UNESCO site, with a total of 8.5 million hectares. Paris, France
  • 1995 Politics - Jacques Parizeau resigns as 26th Premier of Québec; after referendum loss and comments about being defeated by the ethnic vote and money. Québec, Québec
  • 2006 Disaster - Strong windstorm devastates Stanley Park in Vancouver, destroying thousands of trees; park forced to close for the first time in 40 years. Vancouver, BC.
  • 2009 Foreign Affairs - Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive arrives in Canada to discuss security and development of Haiti. Ottawa, Ontario
  • 2011 Agriculture - Harper government passes 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”. The CWB will cease to operate as a single desk buyer for western cereal crops on [August 1 August 1st, 2012]].