Browsing: Canada

A Brief History On October 15, 1930, Herbert Dow, founder of Dow Chemical Company died.  A graduate of Cleveland’s Case School of Applied Science, the brilliant chemist and inventor turned his company into an international chemical powerhouse. Digging Deeper This iconic “American” scientist and businessman was born in Canada back in 1866.  Many other famous people considered “American” were also born in Canada, including: Senator Ted Cruz, actors Jim Carrey, Pamela Anderson, Michael J. Fox, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Phil Hartman, Martin Short, Eliot Page, Seth Rogan, Howie Mandel, Christopher Plummer, Ryan Gosling, Michael Cera, Donald Sutherland and…

A Brief History On September 8, 1952, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, having been broadcasting radio since 1936, made its first TV broadcast on a subject seldom associated with The Great White North, the second escape from jail by the notorious Boyd Gang of criminals operating out of Toronto. Digging Deeper Canada has a reputation for being a country of nice folks, many of whom have gone on to great success in the United States, but there is more to Canada than poutine and snow, including some nasty criminals. Named for Edwin Boyd who cut his criminal teeth in Saskatchewan and…

A Brief History On June 22, 1813, an intrepid Canadian woman, Laura Secord, made a harrowing 20 mile trek through American occupied territory in Ontario, Canada, to warn British troops of an impending American attack. Digging Deeper Secord was 38 years old at the time of her heroics, and her efforts led British and Mohawk forces to defeat the American surprise attack.  For her service, Canada has honored her as a war hero and used her example in the cause of women’s suffrage in Canada.  With schools named after her, commemorative plaques, and her route dedicated as the Laura Secord…

A Brief History On June 21, 1734, a 29 year old African woman was executed for setting her slave master’s house on fire which spread through Montreal in New France, what is now Canada. Digging Deeper Born a slave in Madeira around 1705 and named Marie-Joseph Angélique by a Flemish man that bought her and sold her to a Frenchman in Montreal around 1725, Marie was not submissive and tried to escape with a White indentured servant she had taken as a lover in 1733. The White servant was jailed, and Marie was returned to domestic duties, although her sale…

A Brief History On July 8, 1874, about 300 newly recruited troopers of the North-West Mounted Police began the trek Westward to the vast prairie areas of Canada, what is now Manitoba and Alberta to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.  The Canadian government created this force to patrol and protect this area in the wake of violence that culminated in the Cypress Hills Massacre, a battle between White, Native, and mixed-race hunters, trappers, and traders. Digging Deeper An intriguing fact about the deployment of this new force was that each of the six divisions was given a particular color…