Nova Scotia in History
Nova Scotia: Halifax
Historical Events
Historic Event
1497-06-24 John Cabot claims parts of North America (what is now Eastern Canada) for England believing he has found Asia in Newfoundland
Historic Event
1621-09-21 King James I of England gives Sir William Alexander a royal charter for colonisation of Nova Scotia
- 1690-05-11 English troops of W Phips conquer Port Royal, Nova Scotia
- 1710-10-13 English troops occupy Acadia (Nova Scotia)
- 1710-10-16 British troops occupies Port Royal, Nova Scotia
- 1713-06-23 The French residents of Acadia are given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia, Canada
- 1749-06-21 Town of Halifax, Nova Scotia, is founded by the British - sparks Father Le Loutre's War
- 1750-07-11 Halifax, Nova Scotia, is almost completely destroyed by fire.
- 1758-07-25 Seven Years' War: the island battery at Fortress Louisbourg in Nova Scotia is silenced and all French warships are destroyed or taken
- 1760-06-04 Great Upheaval: New England planters arrive to claim land in Nova Scotia, Canada taken from the Acadians
- 1773-07-20 Scottish settlers arrive at Pictou, Nova Scotia (Canada)
- 1776-03-17 British forces evacuate Boston to Nova Scotia during Revolutionary War
- 1782-07-01 American privateers attack Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
- 1840-07-04 The Cunard Line's 700 ton wooden paddle steamer RMS Britannia departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia on the first transatlantic crossing with a scheduled end
Historic Event
1867-07-01 The Dominion of Canada is formed, comprising the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario & Quebec, with John A. Macdonald serving as the first Prime Minister
- 1873-04-01 British White Star steamship Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia, 547 die
- 1890-12-22 Cornwallis Valley Railway begins operation between Kingsport and Kentville, Nova Scotia.
Historic Event
1907-10-17 Guglielmo Marconi's company begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service between Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada and Clifden, Ireland
- 1918-11-10 Western Union Cable Office in North Sydney, Nova Scotia receives a top-secret coded message from Europe stating on November 11, 1918 all fighting would cease on land, sea and in the air
- 1950-09-04 D McI Hodgson of St Ann Bay, Nova Scotia catches a 997 lb tuna
Conference of Interest
1955-07-13 Industrialist Cyrus Eaton first offers to host a conference on dangers of nuclear weapons in Pugwash, Nova Scotia
- 1957-07-08 First Pugwash Conference, the "Thinkers Lodge" held on nuclear disarmament at Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Canada, founded by Joseph Rotblat and hosted by Cyrus Eaton
- 1958-10-23 The Springhill Mine Bump - underground earthquake traps 174 miners in No. 2 colliery at Springhill, Nova Scotia, deepest coal mine in North America. By 1st November rescuers had dug out 100 victims, with death toll at 74.
- 1964-11-16 Radio CJCX Sydney Nova Scotia (Canada) starts shortwave transmission
- 1977-02-11 20.2-kg lobster caught off Nova Scotia (heaviest known crustacean)
- 1996-04-01 The Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia is created.
- 1998-09-02 Swissair Flight 111 crashes near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia. All 229 people on board are killed.
- 2003-09-29 Hurricane Juan makes landfall in Nova Scotia.
Famous Birthdays
- 1787-11-21 Samuel Cunard, Canadian-British shipping magnate and founder (1st regular Atlantic steamship line), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia (d. 1865)
- 1795-10-05 Alexander Keith, Scottish-Canadian politician (4th Mayor of Halifax) and brewer (founder of the Alexander Keith's Nova Scotia Brewery), born in Halkirk, Caithness, Highland, Scotland (d. 1873)
Abraham Gesner
1797-05-02 Abraham Gesner, Canadian geologist (inventor of kerosene), born in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia (d. 1864)
- 1804-12-13 Joseph Howe, Canadian politician (3rd Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia (d. 1873)
- 1810-09-04 Donald McKay, Canadian-American naval architect (built fastest clipper ships), born in Nova Scotia, Canada (d. 1880)
- 1813-02-14 John McNeil, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (d. 1891)
- 1820-10-13 John William Dawson, Canadian geologist, born in Pictou, Nova Scotia (d. 1899)
Charles Tupper
1821-07-02 Charles Tupper, 6th Prime Minister of Canada (C: 69-day term), born in Amherst, Nova Scotia (d. 1915)
- 1824-09-28 Alfred Gilpin Jones, 8th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (1900-06), born in Weymouth, NOva Scotia, Canada (d. 1906)
John Thompson
1845-11-10 John Thompson, 4th Prime Minister of Canada (C: 1892-94), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia (d. 1894)
Robert Borden
1854-06-26 Robert Borden, 8th Prime Minister of Canada (C: 1911-20), born in Grand-Pre, Nova Scotia (d. 1937)
- 1863-07-01 William Grant Stairs, Canadian-British explorer and adventurer who had a leading role in two of the most controversial expeditions in the history of the colonisation of Africa, born in Halifax, Nova Scotia (d. 1892)
- 1882-11-18 Wyndham Lewis, English author (Tarr, Apes of God) and co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art, born in Amherst, Nova Scotia (d. 1957)
Cyrus Eaton
1883-12-27 Cyrus Eaton, Canadian-American financier, industrialist and steel magnate, born in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia (d. 1979)
- 1885-09-17 George Cleveland, Canadian actor (Mystery Liner, Courage of Lassie), born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada (d. 1957)
- 1886-08-02 John Alexander Douglas McCurdy, Canadian aviator, born in Baddeck, Nova Scotia (d. 1961)
- 1892-08-16 Harold Foster, Canadian-American cartoonist (Prince Valian), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (d. 1982)
- 1901-09-22 Charles Huggins, American-Canadian physician and cancer researcher (1966 Nobel Prize), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia (d. 1997)
- 1904-12-18 Wilf Carter, Canadian country and western singer, born in Port Hilford, Nova Scotia (d. 1996)
- 1909-08-25 Ruby Keeler, Canadian actress, singer, and dancer (Dames, 42nd Street), born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (d. 1993)
- 1909-09-12 Donald MacDonald, Canadian politician and former president of the Canadian Labour Congress (1967-74), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia (d. 1986)
- 1914-01-14 Harold Russell, Canadian actor (Best Years of Our Life, Dogtown), born in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada (d. 2002)
- 1914-05-09 [Clarence] Hank Snow, Canadian country singer (I'm Moving On; I Went to Your Wedding), born in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia (d. 1999)
- 1917-04-11 Danny Gallivan, Canadian radio and television sportscaster, born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada (d. 1993)
- 1920-11-26 Daniel Petrie, Canadian television and movie director, born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada (d. 2004)
- 1925-09-07 Allan Blakeney, Canadian politician (10th Premier of Saskatchewan), born in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia (d. 2011)
- 1928-01-20 Peter Donat, Canadian-American actor (Flamingo Road, Different Story), born in Kentville, Canada (d. 2018)
- 1943-10-30 Joanna Shimkus, Canadian actress (Marriage of a Young Stockbroker), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
- 1944-08-24 Rocky Johnson, Canadian pro wrestler (father of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson; with Tony Atlas first black champions in WWE history), born in Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada (d. 2020)
- 1945-06-20 (Morna) Anne Murray, Canadian popsinger ("Snow Bird"; "You Needed Me"), born in Springhill, Nova Scotia Canada,
- 1947-02-03 Stephen McHattie [Smith], Canadian actor (300, Watchmen, The Fountain), born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia
- 1948-05-04 Billy O'Donnell, Canadian harness racer driver of year (1984), born in Springhill, Nova Scotia, Canada
- 1948-07-21 Art Hindle, actor (Jeff-Dallas, Berrengers), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia
- 1949-03-04 Carroll Baker, Canadian country singer and songwriter, born in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
- 1952-06-25 Brian MacLeod, Canadian rock guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist (Chilliwack), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (d. 1992)
- 1963-11-25 Holly Cole, Canadian jazz singer (Temptation), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia
- 1966-01-24 Mike Forgeron, Canadian rower (Olympics 1996), born in Main-a-dieu, Canada
- 1970-05-12 Todd Hallett, Canadian rower (Olympics-7-92, 96), born in Shelburne, Nova Scotia
- 1970-07-16 Phil Graham, Canadian rower (Olympics 1996), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia
- 1972-06-13 Natalie MacMaster, Canadian Cape Breton-style fiddler, born in Troy, Nova Scotia, Canada
- 1972-10-22 Tyrone Williams, Canadian football defensive tackle (first to win Vanier Cup [Western Ontario Uni], Super Bowl [Dallas Cowboys], Grey Cup [Toronto Argonauts]), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia
- 1974-01-29 Kris Burley, Canadian gymnast (Olympics 1996), born in Truro, Canada
Elliot Page
1987-02-21 Elliot Page [born Ellen Page], Canadian actor (Juno) and LGBT activist, born in Halifax, Nova Scotia
- 1987-08-07 Sidney Crosby, Canadian hockey player, born in Nova Scotia, Canada
- 1988-04-25 James Sheppard, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada
Famous Weddings
Charles Tupper
1846-10-08 Prime Minister of Canada Charles Tupper (25) weds Frances Amelia Morse (20) in Amherst, Nova Scotia
Famous Deaths
- 1873-06-01 Joseph Howe, Canadian politician (3rd Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia), dies at 68
- 1873-12-14 Alexander Keith, Scottish-Canadian politician (4th Mayor of Halifax) & brewer (founder of the Alexander Keith's Nova Scotia Brewery), dies at 78
- 1906-03-15 Alfred Gilpin Jones, 8th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (1900-06), dies at 81
- 2003-12-16 Robert Stanfield, Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1914)