VICTORIA DAY (CANADA)

Victoria Day commemorates the May 24, 1819, birthday of Britain’s Queen Victoria (who since has had a whole era named for her–the Victorian era). The British have always celebrated the birthday of the ruling monarch. After Queen Victoria’s death in 1901, the people of Canada continued to mark her birthday to show loyalty to the British Empire. In the early 1890s, this day was known as Empire’s Day. In 1947, the name was changed to Commonwealth Day. Today it is again known as Victoria Day, and it is a legal holiday in all Canadian provinces except Quebec.

1540s

• DIED 1543: NICOLAUS COPERNICUS (ASTRONOMER)

1810s

• BORN 1819: QUEEN VICTORIA (BRITISH MONARCH)

1830s

• 1833: CANADA’S FIRST MEDICAL GRADUATE, WILLIAM LOGIE, AWARDED DEGREE BY MCGILL UNIVERSITY

1840s

• 1844: SAMUEL MORSE TRANSMITTED THE FIRST TELEGRAPHIC MESSAGE FROM THE U.S. SUPREME COURT ROOM, WASHINGTON, D.C., TO BALTIMORE. THE MESSAGE: WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT

1860s

• BORN 1863: GEORGE GREY BARNARD (SCULPTOR)

1870s

• DIED 1879: WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON (WRITER)

1880s

• 1881: THE STEAMER, VICTORIA, SANK IN THAMES RIVER NEAR LONDON, ONTARIO

1890s

• 1893: OHIO ANTI-SALOON LEAGUE FOUNDED, OBERLIN, OHIO

1930s

• 1935: FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL NIGHT GAME WAS PLAYED IN CINCINNATI, OHIO

1940s

• BORN 1941: BOB DYLAN (MUSICIAN)
• BORN 1943: GARY BURGHOFF (ACTOR)
• BORN 1944: PATTI LABELLE (SINGER)
• BORN 1945: PRISCILLA PRESLEY (ACTRESS)
• BORN 1949: JIM BROADBENT (ACTOR)

1960s

• BORN 1960: KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS (ACTRESS)
• 1962: AURORA 7 TOOK FLIGHT. IT WAS THE SECOND U.S. MANNED ORBITAL SPACE FLIGHT
• BORN 1965: JOHN C. REILLY (ACTOR)

1970s

• 1972: UNITED STATES AND USSR AGREED TO COOPERATE IN SPACE EXPLORATION
• DIED 1974: DUKE ELLINGTON (JAZZ COMPOSER, PIANIST, & BANDLEADER)

1980s

• BORN 1988: BILLY GILMAN (COUNTRY SINGER)

2000s

• DIED 2002: MILTON SHEDD (CO-FOUNDER OF SEA WORLD)
• 2003: CROP CIRCLE DISCOVERED IN HAYSVILLE, KANSAS
• 2006: CANADA’S FAMOUS CLOCK ON THE PEACE TOWER OF THE PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS IN OTTAWA STOPPED FOR THE FIRST TIME
• DIED 2008: DICK MARTIN (COMEDIAN)

2010s

• 2013: PENUMBRAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOON.

COURTESY www.almanac.com