Ontario History Timeline

• 1786-06-29 Alexander Macdonell and over five hundred Roman Catholic highlanders leave Scotland to settle in Glengarry County, Ontario
• 1813-06-06 US invasion of Canada halted at Stoney Creek (Ontario)
• 1814-07-05 Americans defeat British and Canadians at Chippewa, Ontario

• 1822-07-08 Chippewas turn over huge tract of land in Ontario to the United Kingdom
• 1826-08-19 Canada Co. chartered to colonize Upper Canada (Ontario)
• 1832-05-30 The Rideau Canal in eastern Ontario is opened. Oldest continuously operated canal system in North America.
• 1838-01-08 Rebellion at Amherstburg, Ontario breaks out
• 1838-03-03 Rebellion at Pelee Island, Ontario, Canada
• 1841-06-14 1st Canadian parliament opens in Kingston, Ontario
• 1841-10-16 Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, is chartered

• 1857-03-12 Desjardins Canal Train Disaster: Canadian Great Western passenger train crashes through rotting timber bridge over Desjardins Canal, near Hamilton, Ontario, killing 59 people [1]

• 1866-06-01 Renegade Irish Fenians from US invade Fort Erie, Ontario

• 1867-09-28 Toronto becomes capital of Ontario
• 1867-12-27 Ontario & Quebec legislatures hold 1st meeting
• 1868-03-27 The Lake Ontario Shore Railroad Company is organized in Oswego, New York.
• 1874-07-12 Ontario Agricultural College founded
• 1875-10-16 1st Quebec vs Ontario football game, Ontario wins

• 1881-05-24 Overloaded Canadian river ferry "Princess Victoria" sinks near London, Ontario, 180 die
• 1883-01-04 Ontario Rugby Football Union (forerunner of CFL) forms
• 1883-01-06 Ontario Rugby Football Union forms
• 1884-01-04 Last sighting of an eastern cougar (Ontario)
• 1885-11-12 Montreal & Britannia Football Clubs (QRFU) defeat Ontario Combined Team (ORFU) 3-0 in CRFU Championship game
• 1891-06-29 Street railway in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, commences operation
• 1895-03-09 Stanley Cup, Victoria Rink, Montreal, Quebec: Montreal Victorias clinches trophy as Montreal HC beats Queens University (Kingston, Ontario), 5-1
• 1897-02-19 Inaugural meeting of the Women's Institute at Stoney Creek, Ontario, set at the suggestion of Adelaide Hoodless, the organization will rapidly spread around the world [1]
• 1903-03-14 Stanley Cup, Dey's Arena, Ottawa, Ontario: Ottawa HC beats Rat Portage Thisles, 4-2 for a 2-0 challenge series sweep
• 1903-06-12 Niagara Falls, Ontario incorporated as a city
• 1904-01-04 Stanley Cup, Aberdeen Pavilion, Ottawa, Ontario: Ottawa HC beats Winnipeg Rowing Club, 2-0 for 2-1 challenge series victory
• 1911-07-11 Forest fire destroys Canadian town of South Porcupine, Ontario, killing at least 70 people [1]
• 1915-07-07 A Great Gorge and International Railway trolley with an extreme overload of 157 passengers crashes near Queenston, Ontario, killing 15
• 1916-07-29 Cochrane and Matheson forest fire 500,000 acres (2,000 km2) in size in Ontario takes about 223 lives. Leads to improved techniques and legislation for prevention and control of forest fires. [1]

• 1934-05-28 Near Callander, Ontario, the Dionne quintuplets are born to Olivia and Elzire Dionne, later becoming the first quintuplets to survive infancy
• 1935-06-03 One thousand unemployed Canadian workers board freight cars in Vancouver, British Columbia, beginning a protest trek to Ottawa, Ontario
• 1936-01-06 Barbara Hanley becomes Canada's 1st woman mayor in Webbwood, Ontario
• 1940-04-13 Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario: New York Rangers beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2 for 4-2 series victory; Rangers last Cup win for 54 years
• 1946-09-22 Canadian woman Evelyn Dick charged with butchering her husband in Hamilton, Ontario
• 1947-04-19 Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario: Toronto Maple Leafs edge Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 for a 4-2 series win; first all-Canadian final since 1935
• 1957-10-04 Avro Arrow roll-out ceremony at Avro Canada plant in Malton, Ontario
• 1959-07-27 Baseball's new Continental League is formally announced by attorney William Shea; teams in Denver, Colorado; Houston, Texas; Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota; New York City; and Toronto, Ontario are confirmed, with three more to be named later
• 1961-08-08 Ham Tigercats (CFL) beat Buff Bills (NFL) 38-21 in Hamilton, Ontario

• 1972-09-03 Jerry Grant runs the first official 200mph qualifying lap in Champ Car history, posting a lap of 201.414mph around Ontario Motor Speedway
• 1974-04-06 200,000 attend rock concert "California Jam" at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California; line-up includes Earth, Wind & Fire; Black Sabbath; Deep Purple; and Emerson, Lake & Palmer
• 1976-06-23 CN Tower, world's tallest free-standing structure (555 m/1,815.3 ft), built by Canadian National Railway, opens in downtown Toronto, Ontario (surpassed in 2007)
• 1977-02-01 Blizzard in upstate New York and Southern Ontario claims 23 lives
• 1978-03-18 250,000 attend rock concert California Jam II in Ontario, California

• 1979-11-10 Train detrailment in Mississauga, Ontario; a 106 car train derails causing the evacuation of 200,000 people

• 1985-05-31 Tornado outbreak in the United States and Canada sees 41 tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario, leaving 90 dead
• 1988-05-21 New building for the National Gallery of Canada, designed by Moshe Safdie, opens in Ottawa, Ontario [1]

• 1995-04-29 Longest sausage ever, at 28.77 miles, made in Kitchener, Ontario
• 1996-06-30 Caroline Frolic (Miss Ontario), crowned Miss Renaissance USA

• 1997-07-22 The second Blue Water Bridge opens between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario
• 1998-01-05 Ice storm knocks out electricity in Quebec & Ontario
• 2004-09-26 Canadian runner Ed Whitlock (73) becomes 1st person over 70 to complete a marathon in under 3 hours (2:54:48) at Toronto Marathon (Toronto, Ontario)

• 2005-08-19 A series of strong storms lashes Southern Ontario spawning several tornadoes as well as creating extreme flash flooding within the city of Toronto and its surrounding communities. In Toronto, it is also dubbed as the Toronto Supercell.
• 2006-04-08 Shedden massacre: The bodies of eight men, all shot to death, are found in a field in Ontario, Canada. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos motorcycle gang.
• 2006-10-24 Justice Rutherford of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice struck down the "motive clause", an important part of the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act
• 2009-03-04 U.S. Steel announce the closure of the Stelco Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, Ontario due to the increasingly worsening effects of the global economic slowdown
• 2011-08-23 5.8 earthquake occurs in Mineral, Virginia felt as far north as Ontario and as far south as Atlanta, Georgia
• 2011-09-15 Ford Motor Company closes St. Thomas Assembly automobile plant in Southwold, Ontario, after 44 years resulting in the loss of roughly 1,400 jobs

• 2012-02-26 Train derailment kills 3 and injures 45 in Burlington, Ontario

• 2021-04-17 Canada registers more new daily COVID-19 cases than the US for the first time as infections surge in Ontario [1]
• 2021-06-06 Four members of a London, Ontario, family killed when they are struck by a truck in an anti-Muslim attack
• 2023-07-11 Scientists pick Crawford Lake, Ontario, as reference place beginning a new interval of geologic time, the human-caused Anthropocene Epoch, starting 1950s and ending the Holocene - proposal later rejected [1]

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 866

• 1774-09-26 Johnny Appleseed [John Chapman], American pioneer nurseryman (introduced apple trees to Pennsylvania, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois), born in Leominster, Massachusetts (d. 1845)
• 1796-10-04 John Richardson, Canadian writer (Wacousta, or the prophecy), born in Queenston, Ontario, Canada (d. 1852)
• 1820-08-12 Oliver Mowat, Canadian lawyer and politician (Premier of Ontario 1872-96, a founder of the Canadian Confederation), born in Kingston, Upper Canada (d. 1903) [1]
• 1831-05-01 Emily Stowe, Canadian suffragist and first woman licensed to practise medicine in Canada, born in Norwich Township, Oxford County, Ontario (d. 1903)
• 1838-09-16 James J. Hill, Canadian-American railroad entrepreneur (Great Northern Railroad), born in Eramosa Township, Ontario (d. 1916)
• 1839-08-15 Hugh Archibald Clarke, Canadian organist, composer, and educator (The Music of The Spheres), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1927)
• 1841-03-03 John Murray, Canadian-British oceanographer, marine biologist (Challenger Expedition, 1872-76), and writer (The Depths of the Ocean), born in Coburg, West Canada (now Ontario) (d. 1914)

• 1848-02-24 Grant Allen, Canadian writer (Woman Who Did), born in Alwington, Ontario (d. 1899)
• 1854-06-08 Douglas Colin Cameron, Canadian politician, born in Hawkesbury, Ontario (d. 1921)
• 1858-06-01 William Wilfred Campbell, Canadian poet (Beyond the Hills of Dream, Ian of the Orcades), born in Newmarket, Ontario (d. 1918)
• 1859-01-19 Alice Eastwood, Canadian-American botanist (Handbook of Trees of California), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1953)

• 1862-06-27 May Irwin, Canadian comedienne and singer ("Hot Time in the Old Town"), born in Whitby, Ontario (d. 1938)
• 1863-05-14 John Charles Fields, Canadian mathematician and founder of the Fields Medal, born in Hamilton, Ontario (d. 1932)
• 1865-11-17 John Stanley Plaskett, Canadian astronomer (Plaskett's twins), born in Hickson, Ontario (d. 1941)

• 1866-05-16 Ernest Burgess, American urban sociologist (ecological school), born in Tilbury, Ontario (d. 1966)
• 1866-10-19 Clarence Lucas, Canadian composer, librettist, conductor, and music professor, born in Six Nations Reserve, Ontario (d. 1947)
• 1867-06-28 William Courtleigh, Canadian actor (The Birth of Character, Ashes, The Nightingale), born in Guelph, Ontario (d. 1930)
• 1868-09-17 James Alexander Calder, Canadian politician, born in Oxford County, Ontario (d. 1956)

• 1871-01-30 Wilfred Lucas, Canadian actor (Pardon Us, Chump at Oxford), born in Ontario, Canada (d. 1940)
• 1871-05-19 Reginald Aldworth Daly, Canadian-American Geologist who independently developed the theory of magmatic stopping, born in Napanee, Ontario (d. 1957)

• 1873-09-20 Sidney Olcott, Canadian film director (Ben Hur), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1949)

• 1875-11-10 Maude Eburne, Canadian actress (Ladies They Talk About, Guardsman), born in Bronte-on-the-Lake, Ontario (d. 1960)

• 1876-12-09 Berton Churchill, Canadian-American actor (I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1940)
• 1877-08-05 Tom Thomson, Canadian painter, born in Claremont, Ontario (d. 1917)
• 1878-09-05 Ben Simpson, Canadian Football HOF running back, placekicker (Queen's University, Hamilton Tigers), born in Peterborough, Ontario (d. 1964)
• 1878-12-26 Isaiah Bowman, American geographer (co-founder of the Geographical Review), born in Waterloo, Ontario (d. 1950)
• 1878-12-31 Elizabeth Arden, Canadian businesswoman, born in Woodbridge, Ontario (d. 1966)
• 1879-05-25 William Maxwell Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, Canadian English newspaper publisher (Daily Express), born in Maple, Ontario (d. 1964)
• 1879-07-27 Jack Laviolette, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada (d. 1960)
• 1880-04-13 Charles Christie, Canadian film studio owner, born in London, Ontario, Canada (d. 1955)
• 1881-03-18 Oliver Seibert, Canadian hall of fame hockey player (elected 1963), born in Berlin, Ontario (d. 1944)

• 1881-11-04 Gena Branscombe, Canadian pianist and composer, born in Picton, Ontario (d. 1977)
• 1882-07-16 Edward Earle, Canadian actor (Charlie Chan-Meeting at Midnight), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1972)
• 1882-10-11 R. Nathaniel Dett, Canadian-American pianist, organist, choral director, and composer (In The Bottoms), born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada (d. 1943)
• 1883-04-05 Walter Huston, Canadian actor (Maltese Falcon, Treasure of Sierra Madre), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1950)
• 1883-11-19 Edward "Ned" Sparks, Canadian actor (42nd Street, Imitation of Life), born in Guelph, Ontario (d. 1957)
• 1884-06-23 Cyclone Taylor, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame rover (Stanley Cup 1909 Ottawa, 1915 Vancouver), born in Tara, Ontario (d. 1979)

• 1884-09-26 J. P. Bickell, Canadian businessman and sports team owner (Toronto Maple Leafs), born in Molesworth, Ontario, Canada (d. 1951)
• 1885-04-03 (Joseph Aloysius) "Allan" Dwan, Canadian-American screenwriter and film director (Robin Hood; Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farms; Sands Of Iwo Jima), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1981)
• 1885-10-23 Lawren Harris, Canadian landscape painter, born in Brantford, Ontario (d. 1970)
• 1885-12-21 Frank Patrick, Canadian Hockey HOF pioneer (Stanley Cup 1915 Vancouver Millionaires; introduced uniform numbers, blue line, penalty shots) and coach (Boston Bruins 1934-36), born in Ottawa, Ontario (d. 1960)
• 1886-01-02 Florence Lawrence [Bridgwood], Canadian stage and silent screen actress (Confidence; Lady Helen's Escapade), born in Hamilton, Ontario (d. 1938)

• 1887-06-04 Tom Longboat, Canadian athlete (Boston Marathon 1907 record time 2:24:24), born in Six Nations Reserve Brantford, Ontario (d. 1949)
• 1887-06-21 Norman L. Bowen, Canadian petrologist, born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada (d. 1956)
• 1887-10-31 Newsy Lalonde, Canadian ice hockey (Montreal Canadiens) and lacrosse player, born in Cornwall, Ontario (d. 1970)

• 1889-10-13 Douglass Dumbrille, Canadian actor (Mr Deed Goes to Town), born in Hamilton, Ontario (d. 1974)
• 1890-01-01 Florence Lawrence, Canadian silent screen actress (Confidence), born in Hamilton, Ontario (d. 1938)

• 1890-03-24 Agnes Macphail, Canadian politician (first women elected to Canada's House of Commons), born in Proton Township, Ontario (d. 1954) [1]
• 1890-04-18 James Rennie, Canadian actor (Lash, Little Damozel), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1965)
• 1890-12-04 Jack Darragh, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame right wing (Stanley Cup 1911, 20-21, 23; Ottawa Senators), born in Ottawa, Ontario (d. 1924)
• 1891-02-02 Frank Foyston, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame center (Stanley Cup 1914 Toronto Blueshirts, 1917 Seattle Metropolitans, 1925 Victoria Cougars), born in Minesing, Ontario (d. 1966)
• 1891-03-21 Jonathan Hale [Hatley], Canadian-American, actor (Blondie films; The Saint films), born in Hamilton, Ontario (d. 1960)
• 1891-04-01 Frank Rankin, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame rover (Toronto Eatons, Toronto St. Michael's Majors) and coach (Toronto Granites-Canada Olympic gold 1924), born in Stratford, Ontario (d. 1932)

• 1892-03-01 Billy Coutu, Canadian ice hockey defenceman (Stanley Cup 1924; Montreal Canadiens; only player banned from NHL for life, attacked referee 1927), born in North Bay, Ontario (d. 1977)

• 1892-07-19 Dick Irvin, Canadian Hockey HOF center (Chicago Black Hawks) and coach (Stanley Cup 1932 Toronto Maple Leafs; 1944, 46, 53 Montreal Canadiens), born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (d. 1957)
• 1892-08-02 Jack L. Warner [Jacob Warner], Canadian-American film executive and president of the Warner Bros. Studios, born in London, Ontario, Canada (d. 1978)
• 1892-11-20 James Collip, Canadian biochemist and physiologist (insulin), born in Belleville, Ontario (d. 1965)
• 1892-12-27 Alfred Edwin McKay, Canadian Royal Flying Corps WWI flying ace, born in Brussels, Ontario (d. 1917)
• 1893-05-07 Frank J. Selke, Canadian Hockey HOF executive (9 x Stanley Cup Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens), born in Berlin, Ontario (d. 1985)
• 1893-08-18 Ernest MacMillan, Canadian organist, conductor and composer, born in Etobicoke, Ontario (d. 1973)

• 1894-05-18 Lou Hooper, Canadian jazz pianist, and educator, born in North Buxton, Ontario (d. 1977)
• 1894-05-29 Beatrice Lillie, Canadian comedian and actress (Around World in 80 Days), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1989)
• 1894-06-01 Frank D. Smith, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame administrator (Beaches/Greater Toronto Hockey League), born in Chatham, Ontario (d. 1964)
• 1894-06-05 Roy Thomson, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet, Canadian-English publisher, born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1976)
• 1895-02-01 Conn Smythe, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame team owner (Toronto Maple Leafs 1927-61; Stanley Cup x 8), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1980)
• 1895-06-14 Jack Adams, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame center (Vancouver Millionaires, Toronto St. Patricks; Ottawa Senators) and coach / general manager (Detroit Red Wings), born in Fort William, Ontario (d. 1968) [1]

• 1896-03-08 Charlotte Whitton, Canadian politician, Mayor of Ottawa (1951-56), born in Renfrew, Ontario (d. 1975)
• 1896-08-18 Jack Pickford, Canadian-American actor (The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1933)
• 1896-08-30 Raymond Massey, Canadian-American stage and screen actor (Abe Lincoln In Illinois; Dr. Kildare (TV series)), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1983)
• 1896-12-15 Margaret Bannerman, Canadian actress (Elopement), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1976)

• 1897-05-13 Babe Dye, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame right wing (Stanley Cup 1922; NHL scoring champion 1922–23, 24-25; Toronto St. Patricks/Maple Leafs), born in Hamilton, Ontario (d. 1962)
• 1897-06-29 Fulgence Charpentier, French Canadian journalist, born in Sainte-Anne-de-Prescott, Ontario, Canada (d. 2001)
• 1898-05-17 A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (member of Group of Seven), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1992)
• 1898-11-08 Marie Prevost, Canadian actress (The Marriage Circle, The Racket), born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada (d. 1937)
• 1900-02-20 Graham Spry, Canadian radio pioneer, born in St Thomas, Ontario (d. 1983)
• 1900-05-24 Lionel Conacher, Canadian Hockey HOF defenceman (Stanley Cup 1934 Chicago Black Hawks, 1935 Montreal Maroons) and politician (MP Trinity), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1954)
• 1900-08-13 Gordon Sparling, Canadian pioneering filmmaker (Canadian Cameo series - Canada's first major films with sound), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1994) [1]
• 1900-10-19 Roy Worters, Canadian Hockey HOF goaltender (Hart Memorial Trophy 1929; Vezina Trophy 1931; NY Americans), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1957)
• 1901-06-14 Hap Day, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman (Stanley Cup 1932 [captain], 42, 45, 47, 48, 1949 [coach], 1951 [assistant manager]; Toronto Maple Leafs), born in Owen Sound, Ontario (d. 1990)
• 1901-10-07 Frank Boucher, Canadian Hockey HOF center (Ottawa Sens, Vancouver Maroons, NY Rangers), coach (Stanley Cup 1939–40 NY Rangers) and executive (GM NY Rangers), born in Ottawa, Ontario (d. 1977)

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