Canadian Events of the 1900s
February 20, 1900 | Birth of Graham Spry, broadcasting pioneer. |
April 19, 1900 | Birth of Roland Michener, who became a lawyer, politician and Governor-General of Canada. |
1900 | The world’s first wireless spoken message via radio is transmitted by Reginald Fessenden. |
June 3, 1900 | Birth of Gordon Sinclair, journalist, writer and television commentator. |
June 21, 1900 | Birth of Edward S. Rogers, Sr., inventor and radio pioneer. |
July 5, 1900 | Sergeant Arthur Richardson of Strathcona’s Horse, earns Victoria Cross for gallantry in Second Boer War. |
1900 | Sergeant Edward Holland of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, earns Victoria Cross for gallantry in the Second Boer War. |
January 12, 1901 | Birth of painter Jack Humphrey. |
January 29, 1901 | Birth of E. P. Taylor, a business tycoon and breeder of race horses. |
1901 | Karl Benz’s creation of the first petrol-powered car becomes a marketed Mercedes automobile. |
April 15, 1901 | Birth of Thomas Ricketts, a soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross in 1918. |
December 12, 1901 | First transatlantic radio message received at St. Jon’s, Newfoundland by Guglielmo Marconi. |
April 20, 1902 | Birth of Elizabeth Goudie, writer. |
May 24, 1902 | Celebration of first Victoria Day in honour of the late Queen. |
1902 | The first movie theatre in Canada opens in Vancouver. |
June 19, 1902 | Birth of Guy Lombardo, bandleader and violinist. |
1902 | The Good brothers build the Le Roy, the first truly Canadian produced vehicle. |
July 15, 1902 | Birth of Donald Creighton, historian and writer. |
August 10, 1902 | Birth of Norma Shearer actress and Academy Award winner. |
November 21, 1902 | Birth of Foster Hewitt, radio pioneer in broadcasting sports events. He is especially recalled for his Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts. |
February 22, 1903 | Birth of Morley Callaghan, novelist, writer and television personality. |
February 25, 1903 | Birth of King Clancy, ice hockey player. |
1903 | Silver, as well as cobalt and nickel are discovered at Cobalt, Ontario. |
April 29, 1903 | Landslide at Frank, Alberta in the Crowsnest Pass. |
July 2, 1903 | Death of Oliver Mowat, who had been the third Premier of Ontario and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. |
April 30, 1903 | Death of Emily Stowe the first practicing female doctor in Canada. |
January 4, 1904 | Birth of Pegi Nicol MacLead, artist. |
April 19, 1904 | Deemed the Great Toronto Fire, it destroyed much of the city’s downtown area, but killed no one. |
June 24, 1904 | The North-West Mounted Police becomes the Royal North-West Mounted Police. |
August 17, 1904 | Gordon McGregor, founds the Walkerville Wagon Works at Walkerville, Ontario. The company invested in Henry Ford’s new automobile, manufacturing it in Canada. |
September 14, 1904 | Birth of Frank Amyot, canoeist and Olympic gold medalist. |
September 10, 1904 | An American, Bill Miner, is behind Canada’s first-ever train robbery. |
1904 | Canada wins a gold medal in soccer at the Olympic Games in St. Louis. |
September 29, 1904 | Birth of Robert Legget, civil engineer, historian and non-fiction writer. He established the National Building Code. |
January 28, 1905 | Birth of Ellen Fairclough. She became the first female member of the Canadian Cabinet. |
March 27, 1905 | Birth of Elsie MacGill, first female aircraft designer in the world. |
August 1, 1905 | Birth of Helen Hogg-Priestley, astronomer. |
September 1, 1905 | The Autonomy Act is passed, thereby creating Saskatchewan and Alberta as provinces within Confederation. |
November 1, 1905 | Birth of Paul-Émile Borduas, painter. |
November 24, 1905 | Canadian Northern Railway completed as far as Edmonton. |
February 23, 1906 | Tommy Burns, first Canadian boxing heavyweight champion. |
May 7, 1906 | Ontario Hydro was created. |
1906 | The first two-way spoken message transmission takes place under the guidance of Reginald Fessenden. |
May 15, 1906 | Birth of Robert Methven Petrie, astronomer. |
June 11, 1906 | Death of Hector Louis Langevin, a lawyer, politician and Father of Confederation. |
December 16, 1906 | Birth of Barbara Kent, in Gadsby, Alberta. She was a Canadian actress prominent in silent films and early talking pictures. |
January 31, 1907 | Death of Timothy Eaton, businessman and founder of the Eaton store. |
1907 | The National Council for Women voices the demand, “equal pay for equal work”. |
April 16, 1907 | Birth of Joseph Armand Bombardier, inventor and founder of Bombardier Inc. |
1907 | Tom Longboat, an Onondaga from the Six Nations and a world runner, wins the Boston Marathon in record time. |
July 6, 1907 | Birth of George Stanley, historian and designer of the present day Canadian flag. |
1907 | Use of the first rotary telephone in the town of Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia. |
1907 | Founding of the McLaughlin Car Company and the beginning of production of the McLaughlin Buicks. |
November 21, 1907 | Birth of Christie Harris, author of children’s books such as Mouse Woman and the Vanished Princesses and The Raven’s Cry. |
January 2, 1908 | Opening of the Royal Canadian Mint. |
February 7, 1908 | Birth of Lela Brooks, in Toronto. She became a speed skater and ultimately set 17 world records. |
March 7, 1908 | Establishment of the University of British Columbia. |
April 7, 1908 | Birth, in Toronto, of Percy Faith, band leader, composer and conductor. |
May 19, 1908 | Birth in Vancouver, of athlete Percy Williams. |
September 23, 1908 | Opening of the University of Alberta. |
1908 | Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery is published. |
December 23, 1908 | Birth of Yousuf Karsh, photographer, born in the city of Mardin, in the eastern Ottoman Empire. He came to Canada in 1924. |
February 23, 1909 | John McCurdy makes the first powered flight in Canada aboard the Silver Dart. |
March 22, 1909 | Birth of author Gabrielle Roy in Saint Boniface, Manitoba. |
July 13, 1909 | Gold discovered in Cochrane, Ontario. |
October 13, 1909 | Establishment of the Ontario Provincial Police. |
October 19, 1909 | Birth of Robert Beatty at Hamilton, Ontario. He became an actor whose many credits include parts in 2001: A Space Odyssey; Where Eagles Dare; Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet; The New Avengers. |
November 14, 1909 | Death of Joshua Slocum, Nova Scotia born first man to sail single-handedly around the world. |
December 4, 1909 | The first Grey Cup ever awarded was won by the University of Toronto. |
1909 | Leon’s Furniture Store opens at Welland, Ontario. |
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