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Canadian Red Ensign

Canadian Red Ensign

The Canadian Red Ensign is the former Flag of Canada, though it was never adopted as official by the Parliament of Canada. It is a British Red Ensign design, featuring the Union Flag in the canton, defaced with the shield of the Coat of Arms of Canada.

History

Coat of Arms of Canada The Red Ensign was used as early as 1868 on an informal basis. From 1892 it became the official flag for use on Canadian merchant ships, though the official national flag on land was the Union Flag. Despite its lack of official status, the Red Ensign began to be widely used on land as well, and flew over the Parliament buildings until 1904 when it was replaced by the Union Flag. The original Canadian Red Ensign had the arms of the four original provinces on its shield. In 1922, the shield of the Coat of Arms of Canada replaced the provincial arms. In 1924, the Red Ensign was approved for use on Canadian government buildings outside Canada, and in 1945, the flag was officially approved for use by government buildings inside Canada as well, and once again flew over Parliament. The Red Ensign served until 1965 when it was replaced by today's Maple Leaf Flag. The flag bore various forms of the shield from the Canadian coat of arms in its fly during the period of its use. The picture (top) shows the official form between 1957 and 1965. A blue ensign, also bearing the shield of the Canadian coat of arms, was the jack flown by the Royal Canadian Navy and the ensign of ships owned by the Canadian government until 1965. From 1865 until Canadian Confederation in 1867, the United Province of Canada could also have used a blue ensign, but there is little evidence such a flag was ever used.

Others

Today, two Canadian provincial flags are Red Ensigns, the flag of Ontario and the flag of Manitoba, both of which were introduced when the Canadian Red Ensign was replaced by the Maple Leaf Flag. The Liberal government of Lester Pearson promised to introduce a new flag to replace the Red Ensign, as a means of promoting national unity and Canadian identity, by replacing what was seen as a symbol of the British Empire and colonialism, with one that would be more inclusive of Canadians who are not of British stock, particularly French-Canadians. In 1965, after the Great Flag Debate in Parliament and throughout the country as a whole, the Maple Leaf flag was adopted. Groups such as the Royal Canadian Legion and others who had sympathies with maintaining Canada's links to Britain opposed the new flag as they saw it as a means of loosening that connection. The leader of the Progressive Conservative party, John George Diefenbaker, was especially passionate in his defence of the Red Ensign. In protest of the federal government's decision, Tory governments in Manitoba and Ontario adopted red ensigns as their provincial flags.

Use today

The Canadian Red Ensign continues to be flown by some Canadians, particularly monarchists, other traditionalists and those who cherish Canada's British heritage. Conservative commentator Mark Steyn has derided the Maple Leaf flag, remarking that 'unhappy nations change their flags' and 'at least the Red Ensign had the guts to be a boring flag, not a propaganda symbol'. However, in subsequent decades, the Maple Leaf flag has been widely accepted as the national flag. Ironically, it is perhaps least popular in Quebec, not because of any nostalgia for the Red Ensign, but because it has become a symbol of Canadian federalism and is thus rejected by Quebec nationalists. Today, the Canadian Red Ensign can still be seen in some Royal Canadian Legion halls, where it is still popular with veterans, although the Maple Leaf flag is flown as well. It is also flown by many individual Canadians, particularly in parts of the country populated by the descendants of United Empire Loyalists. Most people who fly the Canadian Red Ensign today, however, also accept the Maple Leaf flag, and neither the Royal Canadian Legion, nor any other traditionalist groups advocate the return of the ensign as Canada's national flag. In recent years, many far-right and neo-Nazi groups in Canada, particularly those affiliated with Paul Fromm, have attempted to appropriate the Canadian Red Ensign as a symbol of their movement to emphasize what they assert is their adherence to traditional Canadian values. Fromm's groups, as well as other white supremacist groups such as the Canadian Heritage Alliance, advocate the re-adoption of the ensign as Canada's national flag. Most supporters of the Canadian Red Ensign, however, reject attempts by white supremacists to co-opt the symbol and decry attempts to associate the Canadian Red Ensign with racist views.

See also


- British ensigns

External links


- [http://flagspot.net/flags/ca_ensgn.html Red and Blue Ensigns, Canada] History including chronology
- [http://www.geocities.com/denionca/puzzles/pzensign.html Red Ensign jigsaw puzzle] online game
- [http://www.canadaflagmart.com/Detail.bok?no=53 Red Ensign Flag - Canada] online sales
- [http://fraser.cc/FlagsCan/toc.html The Flags of Canada] by Alister B. Fraser
- [http://www.fotw.us/flags/ca_ensgn.html#chr Chronology of the Canadian Red Ensign]
- [http://www.fotw.us/flags/ca-1868.html Canada - history of the flag (1867-1870)]
- [http://www.fotw.us/flags/ca-1870.html Canada - history of the flag (1870-1873)]
- [http://www.fotw.us/flags/ca-1873.html Canada - history of the flag (1873-1892)]
- [http://www.fotw.us/flags/ca-1892.html Canada - history of the flag (1892-1907)]
- [http://www.fotw.us/flags/ca-1907.html Canada - history of the flag (1907-1921)]
- [http://www.fotw.us/flags/ca-1921.html Canada - history of the flag (1921-1957)]
- [http://www.fotw.us/flags/ca-1957.html Canada - history of the flag (1957-1965)] Red Ensign Red Ensign, Canadian Category:Historical flags Category:Red Ensigns

Canada

Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms of area, extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean with claims extending to the North Pole. The northern-most country on the mainland of North America, Canada has land borders only with the United States. Governed as a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, Canada is a federation of ten provinces with three territories. Initially constituted in 1867, the country's constitution was patriated in 1982 from the United Kingdom. Canada's head of state is its monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented in Canada by the Governor General, presently Michaëlle Jean. The head of government is the Prime Minister, currently Paul Martin; his minority government recently lost a vote of non-confidence in the Canadian House of Commons and asked for the dissolution of the Parliament by the Governor General, who then issued a Royal proclamation authorising the issue of election writs, and stating a federal election will take place on 2006 January 23. Canada's official languages are English and French. As of 2005, its official population estimate is approximately 32.4 million [http://www.statcan.ca/english/edu/clock/population.htm].

Overview

The capital city is Ottawa, Ontario, the seat of Canada's Parliament. The Governor General, the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Loyal Opposition, and the Speaker of the House of Commons have official residences in the National Capital Region.National Capital Region, Ontario.]] Originally a union of British colonies with significant French influence and entitled as a "dominion", Canada is a founding member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, and La Francophonie. Canada defines itself as a bilingual and multicultural nation:
- English is the official (and majority) language in most provinces of Canada.
- French is the official language of Quebec, an official language of New Brunswick, and is spoken in various areas throughout the country.
- Several Aboriginal languages have official status in the Northwest Territories; Inuktitut is the majority language in Nunavut and has official status there. Canada is a technologically advanced and industrialized nation. It is a net exporter of energy because of its large fossil fuel deposits, nuclear energy generation, and hydroelectric power capacity. Its diversified economy relies heavily on an abundance of natural resources and trade, particularly with the United States, with which it has had a long and complex relationship. Canada has ten provinces and three territories: Canada's major cities that are not capital cities include Montreal, Quebec; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Calgary, Alberta.

Canada's name

The name Canada is believed to come from the Huron-Iroquois word kanata, which means "village" or "settlement". In 1535, locals used the word to tell Jacques Cartier the way to Stadacona, site of present-day Quebec City. Cartier used Canada to refer not only to Stadacona, but also to the entire area subject to Donnacona, Chief at Stadacona; by 1547, maps began referring to this and the surrounding area as Canada.

History

Aboriginal tradition holds that the First Peoples have inhabited parts of what is now called Canada since the dawn of time. Archaeological records show that these lands have been inhabited for at least 10,000 years. Several Viking expeditions occurred circa AD 1000, with evidence of settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows. British claims to North America date from 1497, when John Cabot reached what he called Newfoundland, though it is unclear whether Cabot landed in current Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, or Maine. French claims date from explorations by Jacques Cartier (from 1534) and Samuel de Champlain (from 1603). Neither Cabot's nor Cartier's explorations left any permanent settlers behind. On August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland as England's first overseas colony under Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1604, French settlers were the first Europeans to settle permanently in what is now Canada. After an unsuccessful winter in St. Croix Island (today in Maine), they settled Port-Royal in what is now the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, but moved to found Quebec City in 1608. The current Acadians are descendants of settlers who came later in the same century and re-founded Port-Royal. New France was generally the name given to the French colonies of Canada and Acadia (and later Louisiana).Louisiana, depicts British General Wolfe's final moments during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759.]] British settlements were established along the Atlantic seaboard and around Hudson Bay. As these colonies expanded, a struggle for control of North America took place between 1689 and 1763 (see French and Indian Wars), exacerbated by wars in Europe between France and Great Britain. France progressively lost territory to Great Britain, surrendering peninsular Nova Scotia in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht and the remainder of New France including what was left of Acadia in the Treaty of Paris (1763). During and after the American Revolution approximately 70,000 [http://www.uelac.org/whatis.html] Loyalists fled the Thirteen Colonies. Of these, roughly 50,000 United Empire Loyalists [http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0850061.html] settled in the British North American colonies which then consisted of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, the Province of Quebec, and Prince Edward Island (created 1769). To accommodate the Loyalists, Britain created the colony of New Brunswick in 1784 from part of Nova Scotia, and divided Quebec into Lower Canada and Upper Canada under the Constitutional Act of 1791. The War of 1812 began when the U.S. attacked British forces in Canada in an attempt to end British influence in North America (and particularly, the British seizures of American merchant ships in the Atlantic). In April 1813, U.S. forces burned York (now Toronto). The British/Canadians retaliated with the burning of Washington (DC) in a surprise attack in August 1814, but were subsequently turned back at Plattsburgh, Baltimore, and New Orleans. The Treaty of Ghent was signed in December 1814. It was only after the French and Napoleonic wars ended in Europe that large-scale immigration to Canada resumed. The Canadas were merged into a single colony, the United Province of Canada, with the Act of Union (1840) in an attempt to assimilate the French Canadians. Once the U.S. agreed to the 49th parallel north as its border with western British North America, the British government created the colonies of British Columbia in 1848 and Vancouver Island in 1849. By the late 1850s, politicians in the Province of Canada had launched a series of western exploratory expeditions with the intention of assuming control of Rupert's Land (administered by the Hudson's Bay Company) and the Arctic. In 1864 and 1866, British North American politicians, in what became known as the Great Coalition, held three conferences to create a federal union. Spearheaded by John A. Macdonald, on July 1, 1867, three colonies—Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were granted a constitution, the British North America Act, by the United Kingdom, creating the Dominion of Canada. The term "Canadian Confederation" refers to this 1867 unification of the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec (formerly Canada East or Lower Canada), and Ontario (formerly Canada West or Upper Canada). The remaining British colonies and territories soon joined Confederation. By 1880 Canada included all of its present area except for Newfoundland and Labrador, which joined in 1949. (It should be noted that, although part of Canada, Alberta and Saskatchewan did not gain Provincial status until 1905.) Newfoundland and Labrador In 1919, Canada became a member of the League of Nations and, in the Imperial Conference of 1926, Canada assumed full control of its own through the Balfour Declaration. In 1927, Canada appointed its first ambassador to a foreign country, the United States. In 1931, the Statute of Westminster gave the Balfour Declaration constitutional force, confirming that no act of the UK's parliament would thereafter extend to Canada without its consent. Canadian citizenship was first distinguished from British in 1947; judicial appeals to the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ended in 1949. The power to amend Canada's constitution remained with the British parliament, although subject to the Statute of Westminster, until it was finally "patriated" to Canadian control by the Canada Act 1982. The Quebec sovereignty movement has led to two referendums held in 1980 and 1995, with votes of 59.6% and 50.6% respectively against its proposals for sovereignty-association. In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unilateral secession by a province to be unconstitutional.

Geography

unconstitutionalCanada occupies the northern portion (precisely 41%) of North America. It is bordered to the south by the contiguous United States and to the northwest by Alaska. The length of these borders are 6,416 km (3,987 mi) and 2,477 km (1,539 mi), respectively. Off the southern coast of Newfoundland lies Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, an overseas community of France. The country stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west (hence the country's motto). To the north lies the Arctic Ocean; Greenland is to the northeast. Since 1925, Canada has claimed the portion of the Arctic between 60° and 141° W longitude ([http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/maps/historical/territorialevolution/1927/1]); this claim is not universally recognized. The northernmost settlement in Canada (and in the world) is Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island – latitude 82.5° N – just 834 kilometres (518 mi) from the North Pole. Also, the magnetic North Pole lies within Canadian boundaries (although is moving towards Siberia). Canada is the world's second-largest country in total area, after Russia. Much of Canada lies in Arctic regions, however, and thus Canada has only the fourth-most arable land area behind Russia, China, and the U.S. The population density of 3.5 people per square kilometre (9.0/mi²) is among the lowest in the world: Canada has more land area than the U.S., but only one-ninth of its population. The most densely populated part of the country is the Quebec City-Windsor Axis in the east. To the north of this region is the broad Canadian Shield, an area of rock scoured clean by the last ice age, thinly soiled, rich in minerals, and dotted with lakes and rivers—over 60% of the world's lakes are in Canada. The Canadian Shield encircles the immense Hudson Bay, extending from Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories at its westernmost point, to the Atlantic coast in Labrador in the east. Newfoundland, North America's easternmost island if Greenland is excluded, is at the mouth of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the world's largest estuary. The Canadian Maritimes protrude eastward from the southern coasts of Quebec. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are divided by the Bay of Fundy, which experiences the world's largest tidal variations. Prince Edward Island is Canada's smallest province. Prince Edward Island; at 5 959 m (19,551 ft), Canada's highest point and second highest in North America.]]West of Ontario, the broad, flat Canadian Prairies spread toward the Rocky Mountains, which separate them from British Columbia. Northern Canadian vegetation tapers from coniferous forests to tundra and finally to Arctic barrens in the far north. The northern Canadian mainland is ringed with a vast archipelago containing some of the world's largest islands. Some specific geographical features of note include the world's largest freshwater island, Manitoulin Island, which divides Georgian Bay and Lake Huron and the world's longest freshwater beach, Wasaga Beach, on the Georgian Bay shoreline. Thanks to past glacial activity in the Canadian Shield, Canada boasts a considerable reserve of fresh water and more lakes than any other nation, roughly two million in all, the overwhelming majority of which are relatively small.

Climate

Canada has a reputation for cold temperatures in the winter months. Winters can be harsh in many regions of the country, particularly in the Prairie Provinces. Temperatures can reach lows of -50°C (-58°F) in the far North however, such low temperatures are not the norm; the record coldest temperature in North America was -63°C (-81°F), at Snag, Yukon, in 1947. Coastal British Columbia is an exception: it enjoys a temperate climate with much milder winters than the rest of the country however, rainy winters are common. Summers in Canada range from mild (low 20s Celsius [70°F]) on the east and west coasts, to hot (mid 20s to low 30s Celsius [75-90°F]) in Central Canada, the Prairies and the intermontane regions of British Columbia. The highest recorded temperature in Canada was 45°C (113°F) at both Midale and Yellow Grass in Saskatchewan on July 5, 1937. For a more complete description of weather norms around Canada, go to www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/climate_normals/index_e.html

Politics

1937] Canada's head of state is the monarch, currently Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and commonly referred to as the Queen of Canada. However, the day-to-day duties of head of state are exercised by the Governor General, who is generally a retired politician, military leader, or other notable Canadian; the current Governor General is Michaëlle Jean. All government authority is derived from the monarch, and executive power is wielded by the Prime Minister of Canada and the cabinet. The Governor General is formally appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and is a non-partisan figure who fulfils many ceremonial and symbolic roles including providing Royal Assent to bills, reading the Speech from the Throne, officially welcoming dignitaries of foreign countries, presenting honours such as the Order of Canada, signing state documents, formally opening and ending sessions of Parliament, and dissolving Parliament for an election. The Governor General is also the titular Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces. The position of Governor General also beholds considerable reserve powers, but these have been rarely used. The last to do so was Jeanne Sauvé, who ignored the National Capital Commission and closed the grounds of Rideau Hall in the late 1980s; the most famous use of the Governor General's extraordinary powers was during the King-Byng Affair in 1926. Canada's constitution governs the legal framework of the country and consists of [http://lois.justice.gc.ca/en/const/index.html written text] and unwritten traditions and conventions (see Westminster system). The federal government and the governments of nine provinces agreed to the patriation of the constitution, with procedures for amending it, at a meeting of First Ministers in November 1981. The Quebec government did not agree to the changes, and Quebec nationalists refer to that night as the Night of the Long Knives. The patriation of the Constitution included the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees basic rights and freedoms for Canadians that, generally, cannot be overridden by legislation of any level of government in Canada. It contains, however, a "notwithstanding clause", which allows the federal parliament and the provincial legislatures the power to override other sections of the Charter temporarily, for a period of five years. notwithstanding clause]]The position of Prime Minister, Canada's head of government, in practice belongs to the leader of the political party who can command a majority in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister and his or her cabinet are formally appointed by the Governor General; however, the Prime Minister effectively chooses the cabinet and the Governor General, by convention, has to appoint the Prime Minister's desired choices. The Cabinet is drawn, by convention, from members of the prime minister's party in both legislative houses, though mostly from the Commons. Executive power is exercised by the prime minister and cabinet, all of whom are sworn into the Privy Council of Canada and become ministers of the Crown. The Prime Minister exercises a great deal of individual political power, especially in terms of the appointment of other officials within the government and civil service. The legislative branch of government has two houses: the elected House of Commons and the appointed Senate. Each member in the Commons is elected by simple plurality in one electoral district or "riding"; general elections are called by the Governor General when the prime minister so advises, and must occur every five years or less. Members of the Senate, whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis, are chosen by the prime minister and formally appointed by the Governor General, and serve until age 75. electoral district]]Canada has four main political parties today. The traditionally centrist / left-of-centre Liberal Party of Canada formed the government in Canada for most of the 20th century, and is the party of the current Prime Minister Paul Martin. The only other party to have formed a government is the now-defunct, right-of-centre Progressive Conservative (PC) Party and its predecessor, the Conservative Party, which was the dominant political party in the 19th century. The PC Party merged with the Canadian Alliance to form a new rightist Conservative Party of Canada in December 2003. The New Democratic Party (NDP) is the major party furthest to the political left. The Bloc Québécois promotes Quebec independence from Canada and currently holds a majority of Quebec's seats in the Commons. There are many smaller parties and, while none have current representation in Parliament, the list of historical parties with elected representation is substantial. Canada's judiciary plays an important role in interpreting laws and has the power to strike down laws that violate the constitution. The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court and final arbiter; its nine members are directly appointed by Cabinet. All judges at the superior and appellate levels are selected and appointed by the federal government, after consultation with non-governmental legal bodies. The federal cabinet also appoints justices to superior courts at the provincial and territorial levels. Judicial posts at the lower provincial and territorial levels are filled by their respective governments (see Court system of Canada for more detail). Common law prevails everywhere except in Quebec, where civil law predominates. Criminal law is solely a federal responsibility and is uniform throughout Canada. Law enforcement, including criminal courts, is a provincial responsibility, but in most provinces policing is contracted to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The RCMP is one of few police forces in the world to perform three different levels of enforcement: municipal, provincial, and federal.

Foreign relations

Canada has a close relationship with the United States, sharing the world's longest undefended border, co-operating on some military campaigns and exercises, and being each other's largest trading partners. Canada also shares a history and long relationship with the United Kingdom as its "mother country". United Kingdom.]] In the last century, Canada has been an advocate for multilateralism, making efforts to reach out to the rest of the world and promoting itself as a "middle power" able to work with large and small nations alike. This was clearly demonstrated during the Suez Crisis when Lester B. Pearson mollified the tension by introducing the idea of peacekeeping and the inception of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. In 1957, Pearson was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. In that spirit, Canada developed and has tried to maintain a leading role in UN peacekeeping efforts. Canada has cumulatively contributed more troops to peacekeeping operations worldwide than all other nations combined and currently serves in over 40 different peacekeeping missions, most recently in Afghanistan. Canada has contributed in some way to all UN peacekeeping missions. Canada is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, the Organization of American States (OAS), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the World Trade Organization, the G8, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Military

Asia-Pacific Economic CooperationA founding member of the NATO alliance, Canada currently employs about 62,000 regular and 26,000 reserve military personnel.[http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/about/family_e.asp] The unified Canadian Forces (CF) are comprised of army, navy, and air force branches. Major CF equipment deployed includes 2,400 armoured fighting vehicles, 34 combat vessels, and 140 combat aircraft. Defence is an exclusive federal jurisdiction: defence spending in fiscal year 2004-5 was approximately $14 billion.[http://www.vcds.forces.gc.ca/dgsp/pubs/rep-pub/ddm/rpp/rpp05-06/sec3c_e.asp] However, in the 2005 federal budget, the Liberal government allocated an additional $12.8 billion over five years to the armed forces, and committed to increasing troop levels by an additional 8,000 regular and reserve personnel over the same period.[http://www.fin.gc.ca/budget05/speech/speeche.htm] Canadian forces have served in various wars including World War I, World War II, the Korean War and recently, in Afghanistan. Since Lester B. Pearson proposed the first UN peacekeeping force in 1956, the Canadian Forces have served in 42 peacekeeping missions — more than any other country. Canada was also the prime destination of American draft dodgers during the Vietnam War. These factors – along with its comparatively low level of military spending, other positions such as nuclear non-proliferation, and an international treaty banning personnel land mine usage – have led to Canada sometimes being referred to as a pacifist country. Battles significantly contributing to Canada's development and self-identity include the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the Second Battle of Ypres, the Third Battle of Ypres, and Juno Beach. Currently, CF personnel are involved in the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Smaller missions are also taking place in Haiti and Kosovo. Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) has participated in two relief operations in the last year. The two-hundred member relief crew helped in Southeast Asia after the December 2004 tsunami, and DART was also deployed in response to the devastating earthquake that struck the Kashmir region in South Asia in October 2005. Moreover, CF (and RCMP) personnel recently assisted in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Provinces and territories of Canada

Canada is composed of ten provinces and three territories. The provinces have a large degree of autonomy from the federal government, the territories somewhat less. Each has its own provincial or territorial symbols. The provinces are responsible for most of Canada's social programs (such as health care, education, and welfare) and together collect more revenue than the federal government, an almost unique structure among federations in the world. The federal government can initiate national policies that the provinces can opt out of, but this rarely happens in practice. Equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure that reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces. All provinces have unicameral, elected legislatures headed by a Premier selected in the same way as the Prime Minister of Canada. Each province also has a Lieutenant-Governor representing the Queen, analogous to the Governor General of Canada, appointed on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada, though with increasing levels of consultation with provincial governments in recent years. Lieutenant-Governor.]] Most provinces have provincial counterparts to the three national federal parties. However, some provincial parties are not formally linked to the federal parties that share the same name. Some provinces have regional political parties, such as the Saskatchewan Party. The provincial political climate of Quebec is quite different: the main split is between separatism, represented by the Parti Québécois, and federalism, represented by the Parti Libéral du Québec. The three territories have fewer political powers than provinces, having been created by acts of the national Parliament rather than having their status enshrined in the Constitution. There is no lieutenant-governor to represent and fulfil the functions of the Queen, but each has a politically neutral Commissioner appointed by the federal government to act as its senior representative. Only Yukon's legislature follows the same political system as the provincial legislatures. The other two territories use a consensus government system in which each member runs as an independent and the premier is elected by and from the members. There is also interest within Canada and the Turks and Caicos Islands, an overseas UK territory in the Caribbean, for the latter to enter into Confederation.

Economy

Caribbean, depicting (from top to bottom) Wilfred Laurier, John A. Macdonald, Queen Elizabeth II, William Lyon Mackenzie King, and Robert Borden.]]As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, Canada today closely resembles the U.S. in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and high living standards. In the last century, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. Canada has vast deposits of natural gas on the east coast and in the west, and a plethora of other natural resources contributing to self-sufficiency in energy. The 1989 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which included Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the U.S. Since 2001, Canada has successfully avoided economic recession and has maintained the best overall economic performance in the G8. Two long-term concerns loom. One is the continuing political differences over the Constitution between Quebec and the rest of Canada, periodically raising the possibility of Quebec independence. As the economy becomes stronger, notably in Quebec, fears of separation have generally waned. Another concern is the "Brain Drain", the emigration of professionals to the U.S. in search of higher pay, lower taxes, and high-tech opportunities. (However, a [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1124920225033&call_pageid=971358637177&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes recent Toronto Star article] claims that the "Brain Drain" of doctors has abated, as more are returning to Canada due to high insurance rates in the U.S. and a more efficient medicare system in Canada.) Simultaneously, a larger, under-recognised "Brain Gain" is occurring, as educated immigrants (particularly from developing countries, a controversy in and of itself) continue to enter Canada [http://www.statcan.ca/english/indepth/81-003/feature/eqhi2000006003s1a01.htm].

Demographics

The 2001 national census recorded 30,007,094 people, and as of October 2005 the population has been estimated by Statistics Canada as 32.3 million people[http://www.statcan.ca/english/edu/clock/population.htm], an increase of some 2.3 million people by both immigration and natural growth. About three-quarters of Canada's population live within 150 km of the U.S. border, and a similar proportion live in urban areas. In the 2001 census, 39.42% of respondents reported their ethnic origins as "Canadian", most of whom are believed to be of British, Irish, and French heritage of earlier immigrants. In addition, 20.17% identified their origin as English, 15.75% as French, 14.03% as Scottish, and 12.90% as Irish. Numerous other groups were also reported. Ethnic origins reported by more than 1 million people included: German (9.25%), Italian (4.29%), Chinese (3.69%), Ukrainian (3.61%) and North American Indian (3.38%). Close to four million people reported they were members of a visible minority, amounting to 13.44% of the total population. (Note that Aboriginal peoples are not considered visible minorities). Also, the 2001 census reported that Canada had 5,448,480 immigrants. [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/Immigration/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=0&View=1&Table=1&StartRec=1&Sort=2&B1=Counts] According to the last census[http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/analytic/companion/rel/contents.cfm], 72% of Canadians identified as being Christians; of this, Catholics make up the largest group – 43% of Canadians. One-sixth of Canadians declared no religious affiliation, and the remaining 12% were affiliated with religions other than Christianity.

Language

Catholics]] Canada's two official languages are English and French. On July 7, 1969, under the Official Languages Act, French was made commensurate to English throughout the federal government. This started a process that led to Canada redefining itself as a bilingual and multicultural nation:
- English and French have equal status in federal courts, Parliament, and in all federal institutions.
- Any defendant in a criminal case has the right to a trial in either English or French.
- The public has the right, where there is sufficient demand, to receive federal government services in either English or French.
- Official language minority groups in most provinces and territories have the right to be educated in their language, in their own schools, with their own elected school boards, where they exist in sufficient numbers.
- While multiculturalism is official policy, to become a citizen one must be able to speak either English or French.
- More than 98% of Canadians speak English or French or both. While the nation remains officially bilingual, the majority of Canadians are fluent only in English. The official language of Quebec is French, as defined by the province's Charter of the French Language, which was introduced by the Parti Quebecois in 1976. However, the charter also provides certain rights for speakers of English and aboriginal languages. Quebec provides most government services in both French and English. French is mostly spoken in Quebec with pockets in New Brunswick, eastern and northern Ontario, Saskatchewan, and southern Manitoba. In the 2001 census, 6,864,615 people listed French as a first language, of whom 85% lived in Quebec. 17,694,835 people listed English as a first language. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province, a status specifically guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Some provincial governments, notably Manitoba and Ontario, offer many services to their French minority populations. Aboriginal languages are co-official in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Non-official languages are also important in Canada, with 5,470,820 people listing a non-official language as a first language. (The above three statistics include those who listed more than one first language.) Among the most important non-official first language groups are Chinese (853,745 first-language speakers), Italian (469,485), German (438,080), and Punjabi (271,220).

Aboriginal peoples

The Constitution Act of 1982 recognizes three groups of aboriginal peoples in Canada: the Indians (now often called First Nations), Inuit, and Métis. The aboriginal population is growing almost twice as fast as the rest of the population in Canada. According to the Canada 2001 Census, people identified themselves as aboriginal numbered 976,305 people (or 3.3% of Canada's population) of whom about 62% are First Nations, 30% are Métis, and 5% are Inuit. Also, ethnic origin figures from the Census show that 1.3 million Canadians stated that they were partially of fully of aboriginal ancestry, including about one million people claiming full or partial First Nation ancestry, 307,000 Métis ancestry and 56,000 Inuit ancestry.

Culture

Canada 2001 Census originated from Canada when residents began playing hurley on ice.]] Due to its colonial past, Canadian culture has historically been heavily influenced by British and French cultures and traditions. In more modern times, Canadian culture is now greatly influenced by American culture, due to the proximity and the migration of people, ideas, and capital. Amidst this, Canadian culture has developed unique characteristics. In many respects, a more robust and distinct Canadian culture has developed in recent years, partially because of the civic nationalism that pervaded Canada in the years prior to and following the Canadian Centennial in 1967, and also due to a focus by the federal government on programs to support culture and the arts. There were and are many distinct First Nations across Canada, each with its own culture, language and history. Their culture was transmitted largely through oral means and stories were passed down through the elders to the younger generations. Various tribes created unique styles of artifacts such as woven baskets, painted pictures, and carved sculptures of animals. Much of this artistic legacy remains celebrated in Canada to this day. The emblem of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics is the inukshuk, a stack of rocks in human form that is a part of Inuit culture. [http://www.vancouver2010.com/Emblem/home.htm] From as early the 1500s, European explorers, traders, and fishermen from England, Ireland and France helped form the basis of Canadian culture. During their colonization of Canada, settlers created a folklore about the land around them. The tales of Paul Bunyan are a product of French-Canadian folklore and the style of jigs from Newfoundland found their origins in Ireland. Canada and the United Kingdom share a common history and continue to work together through many organizations such as the Commonwealth, G-8, and NATO. The two countries share the same head of state, and have among the oldest parliamentary democracies in the world. They still share many of the same customs, values, and traditions, which have been reinforced by working side by side in two world wars and over half a century of expanding peace and prosperity. The United Kingdom is Canada’s third largest trading partner and is the second largest source of tourists visiting Canada. The Canadian and U.S. governments share a variety of close working partnerships in trade, economic, legal, security, and military matters. These are occasionally strained by domestic politics; for instance, the ongoing softwood lumber dispute and the war in Iraq. This has led to successive drives by Canadian leaders to diversify trade with other countries; examples include Diefenbaker's efforts to increase trade with the U.K., Trudeau's efforts with Europe, and current efforts with China and India. As well, the decision to switch to the metric system in 1970 (though, like the U.K., both the metric and Imperial systems are in common usage) has similar roots. As Canada and the U.S. grew closer after World War 2 (the U.S. became Canada's largest trading partner in the late-1940s), many Canadians started to develop complex feelings and concerns regarding what makes Canada "distinct" within North America. The large American cultural presence in Canada has prompted some fears of a "cultural takeover" that have led to the establishment of laws and institutions to protect Canadian culture, including the CBC, the National Film Board of Canada, and the CRTC. Many American movies, authors, TV shows, and musicians are equally popular in Canada (and vice versa), many have been successful worldwide. Most cultural products of these types are now increasingly marketed toward a unified "North American" market, and not specifically a Canadian or American one. Though debatable, Canada has increasingly distinguished itself politically in recent years by being more fiscally conservative on issues such as balanced budgets, tax cuts, and reductions in government, while also being more socially liberal: the Canadian government currently supports universal health care, same-sex marriage, and decriminalization of marijuana. All of these issues are of varying contention amongst Canadians. Many Canadian citizens see Canadian culture as based on the policy of multiculturalism.

Sports

multiculturalism.]] Notable sports which are enjoyed throughout Canada include ice hockey, curling, lacrosse, basketball and the home-grown Canadian Football League. Although CFL teams compete in a variant of American football, traditional football (soccer) is hardly an unknown in Canada, and in 1986 the Canucks qualified for their only appearance at the World Cup in Mexico. In addition, as the vast majority of Canadians live in very close proximity to the United States, Canadians can also watch sporting events from the professional leagues in that country, such as NASCAR and the National Football League. The National Hockey League, the National Basketball Association, the National Lacrosse League and Major League Baseball are comprised of teams from both Canada and the United States. Major League Baseball As of the 1994 National Sports of Canada Act, Canada officially has two national sports. Ice hockey is the national winter sport and lacrosse is the national summer sport.

National symbols

Major League Baseball The use of the maple leaf as a Canadian symbol dates back to the early 18th century, and is depicted on its current and previous flags, the penny, an

Red Ensign

]] The Red Ensign is a flag that originated in the early 1600s as an ensign flown by the Royal Navy. The precise date of its first appearance is not known, but surviving receipts indicate that the Navy was paying to have such flags sewn during the 1620s.

History

1620s 1620s In 1674, a Royal Proclamation of Charles II confirmed that the Red Ensign was the appropriate flag to be worn by British merchant ships. The wording of the 1674 proclamation indicates that the flag was customarily being used by British merchantmen before that date. At this time, the ensign displayed the English Cross of St George in the canton. In 1707, an Act of Union united Scotland, England and Wales in the Kingdom of Great Britain, which resulted in a new red ensign. This flag placed the first Union Flag1 in the first quarter. The new design of the Red Ensign was proclaimed by Queen Anne, who indicated that it was to be used by both the navy and ships owned by "our loving subjects." In 1801, with another Act of Union, Ireland joined the United Kingdom, which resulted in the present Union Flag being added to the canton. The St Patrick's Cross was added to the Union Flag of the United Kingdom and, accordingly, to the first quarters of the British ensigns. Until 1864, the Red Ensign was the principal ensign of the Royal Navy, and as such it was worn by ships of the Red Squadron of the navy, as well as by those warships that were not assigned to any squadron (i.e., those sailing under independent command). The white ensign and the blue ensign were also used by the Royal Navy. In 1854, the Merchant Shipping Act included a specific provision that the Red Ensign was the appropriate flag for a British merchantman. This provision was repeated in successive British shipping legislation (i.e., 1889, 1894 (section 73) and 1995). By the mid-1800s, however, many in the Admiralty felt that the Royal Navy's use of three separate ensigns (i.e., the red, white, and blue) was outdated and confusing. Many also felt that steam merchantmen should be clearly distinguishable from warships. (Recall that until 1864, both British merchantmen and many warships of the Royal Navy were using the Red Ensign). In July 1864, an order-in-council provided that the White Ensign was the ensign of the Royal Naval Service. The Blue Ensign was designated as the proper national colours for ships commanded by an officer of the Royal Naval Reserve, and (with an appropriate badge) as national colours for ships in government service. The Red Ensign was assigned to British merchantmen. This basic structure remains today. A few years later (1867–1869), the Admiralty determined that the blue ensign charged with an appropriate badge in the fly would be used as the ensign by those ships in the armed, or public, service of the many British colonies. Most all British colonies needed to use the blue ensign due to the fact that most had government vessels; some colonies, such as South Australia, had warships. As a result, the Blue Ensign was used throughout the Empire and thus became the model for the flags used by a number of colonies and former colonies in the British Empire. At the same time, the red ensign (which was designated in 1864 as the flag for merchant shipping) was used by merchantmen of those colonies which obtained an Admiralty warrant. Not all colonies obtained an Admiralty warrant, however; ones that did tended to be larger, and included Canada (1892); New Zealand (1899); Australia (1901); South Africa (1910) and Cyprus (1922). Those areas that did not have an Admiralty warrant used the plain Red Ensign, although unofficial local versions of the Red Ensign were used. Today, Red Ensigns charged with the local emblem are available to be used by ships registered on several of the component registers of the Red Ensign Group: Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey and Isle of Man. For more information see British ensigns.

Australia

British ensigns The Australian Red Ensign, is a red version of the Australian Flag and is a reserved civil ensign. From 1901 to 1954 the flag was used as a civil flag, to be flown by private citizens on land, while the government used the Blue Ensign reflecting British practice. In 1941, Prime Minister Robert Menzies stated that there should be no restrictions on private citizens using the Blue Ensign on land and, in 1947, Prime Minister Ben Chifley reaffirmed this position but it wasn't until the passage of the Flags Act 1953 that the restriction on civilians flying the Blue Ensign was officially lifted after which use of the Red Ensign on land became a rarity. Under the Navigation and Shipping Act 1912 and the Shipping Registration Act 1981 the Red Ensign remains the only flag permitted for use by merchant ships registered in Australia. Pleasure craft may use either the Red Ensign or the national flag, but not both at the same time.
- External link: [http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-flags/red_ensign.htm Australia's forgotten flag: The Red Ensign]

Bermuda

Ben Chifley Bermuda, uniquely among British overseas territories, uses the Red Ensign as its land flag, which apparently has been flown unofficially since Bermuda's arms were granted in 1910. (Note, however, that many other British territories use local versions of the Red Ensign at sea). There appears to be no formal adoption of the Bermuda flag for use on land, although a 1969 Foreign & Commonwealth Office circular mentions its use. The white and green shield has a red lion holding a scrolled shield showing the sinking of the ship Sea Venture one mile off the coast of Bermuda in 1609. The ship struck a reef after being caught in a hurricane. The Red Ensign is likely to have been chosen as Bermuda's land flag due to Canadian influence. (In the early 20th century, Canada made use of the Red Ensign defaced with the Canadian shield as an unofficial land flag). Bermuda's 2002 shipping legislation officially recognizes the flag as an ensign for Bermudian registered ships. Prior to 2002, the flag was often used unofficially by Bermudian ships as an ensign, as reflected in Admiralty correspondence dating back to the 1950s.

Canada

1950s]] The term Red Ensign is often used in particular to refer to the Canadian Red Ensign, the former de facto national flag of Canada. It was informally adopted following Canadian Confederation in 1867 and, from 1892, it was the official flag for use on Canadian merchant ships, but on land the official national flag was the Union Flag. Despite its lack of official status the Red Ensign was widely used on land as well. In 1924 it was approved for use on Canadian government buildings outside Canada, and in 1945 for those inside Canada as well. Canada's Red Ensign bore various forms of the shield from the Canadian coat of arms in its fly during the period of its use. The picture shows the official form between 1957 and 1965. Canada also used a blue ensign for ships operated by the Canadian government and for the Royal Canadian Navy. The Red Ensign served as Canada's national flag until 1965 when, after considerable debate, it was replaced by today's Maple Leaf Flag. The Red Ensign is still popular amongst traditionalists and monarchists. It is not uncommon to see it flown throughout Canada. See also: Great Flag Debate; see Flag of Manitoba and Flag of Ontario for surviving provincial Red Ensigns.

New Zealand

provincials]]provincial The New Zealand Red Ensign with the Union Flag in the first quarter, and the Southern Cross, represented by four five-pointed white stars featured in the fly became the official flag in New Zealand for merchant vessels in 1901.[http://flagspot.net/flags/nz_ens.html#cen] Previously a plain red ensign was used. The red ensign may continue to be flown on land in Maori areas or during Maori events under the Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981 [http://www.mch.govt.nz/nzflag/other-flags.htm] in recognition of long held Maori preference for red flags. New Zealand law allows the defacement of the flag in accordance to Maori custom in which white capital letters identifying a particular family or Maori tribe are added. In the case of the flag on the left, TAKITIMU refers to a grouping of Maori tribes descended from the crew of the ancestral canoe of that name [http://flagspot.net/flags/nz_mao.html#red]. Today, private and merchant craft can choose to fly the Flag of New Zealand (which is a blue ensign) or the Southern Cross red ensign.

South Africa

Flag of New Zealand to 1912.]] The Union of South Africa used a Red Ensign as its de facto national flag from 1910 until 1928, with the shield of its coat of arms in the fly. There was also a Blue Ensign which was mostly used on overseas offices. Both ensigns were changed slightly in 1912 when the shield of the coat of arms was placed on a white roundel. The South African coat of arms that defaced the flag was intended to represent both British and the Boer settlers equally. The most notable usage of the flag was when General Louis Botha flew the flag over Windhoek in what was then German South West Africa after the town's capture by South African troops in 1915. The Red Ensign was used in the early years after the creation of the Union of South Africa in the aftermath of the Boer Wars when the pro-British South African Party of Botha and Jan Smuts formed the government. However in 1924, the Afrikaner nationalist National Party first gained power, and the South African Flag Controversy of 1925 to 1928 ensued. The government, led by republican James Barry Munnik Hertzog sponsored a contest to choose a new banner based on the old Prinsevlag horizontal tricolour was chosen in 1927, and became the official flag in 1928. See also Flag of South Africa (source: Harry Saker, The South African Flag Controversy 1925-1928, Oxford University Press, Cape Town, 1980.)

See also


- Blue Ensign
- Green Ensign

Footnote


- Note 1: The Union Flag is sometimes called the Union Jack. This is correct only when the flag is being flown as a jack; that is, on a jack staff at the stem-head of a ship. This is proper only in a ship of the Royal Navy. Category:Flags of the United Kingdom Category:British Empire

Canton

canton may refer to:
- a territorial subdivision of a country: canton (subnational entity)
- the upper left (hoist) quarter of a flag, see flag terminology
- a subordinary in heraldry occupying the (shield holder's) upper right-hand ("dexter") ninth of the field
- a ginger-flavored liqueur produced in the Guangdong province of China
- Canton Iron Works built by Peter Cooper in Baltimore.
- the name of a number of places:
  - Canton, Cardiff, a district of the Welsh capital.
  - Canton Island (together with Enderbury Island) formed an area disputed by the United States of America and the United Kingdom in the Pacific Ocean during the 1930s -- see Canton and Enderbury Islands. (The island is now the property of The Republic of Kiribati and spelled Kanton Island.)
- the name of a number of places in China:
  - Canton, Canton, China, a city in China, see Guangzhou
  - Canton (province), China, a province in China, see Guangdong
- the name of a number of cities/towns in the United States:
  - Canton, Connecticut, USA.
  - Canton, Georgia, USA.
  - Canton, Illinois, USA.
  - Canton neighborhood and park in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
  - Canton, Massachusetts, USA.
  - Canton, Michigan, USA.
  - Canton, Mississippi, USA.
  - Canton, Missouri, USA.
  - Canton, New York
    - Village of Canton, New York, USA.
    - Town of Canton, New York, USA.
  - Canton, North Carolina, USA.
  - Canton, Ohio, USA.
  - Canton, Oklahoma, USA.
  - Canton, Pennsylvania, USA.
  - Canton, South Dakota, USA.
  - Canton Township, Michigan, USA.
  - Canton Township, Pennsylvania, USA. nb:Kanton

1892

1892 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar).

Events

January-June


- January 1 - Ellis Island begins accepting immigrants to the United States.
- January 14 - Death of Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, second in line heir to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Next in line is his younger brother Prince George of Wales.
- January 15 - James Naismith publishes the rules for basketball.
- January 20 - At the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, the first official basketball game is played.
- February 12 - Former President Abraham Lincoln's birthday is declared a national holiday in the United States.
- March 1 - Theodoros Deligiannis ends his term as Prime Minister of Greece and Konstantinos Konstantopoulos takes office
- March 13 - Ernest Louis, a grandson of Queen Victoria becomes Grand Duke of Hesse and the Rhine on the death of his father, Grand Duke Louis IV.
- March 15 - Liverpool Football Club founded by John Houlding, the owner of Anfield. Houlding decided to form his own team after Everton left Anfield in an argument over rent.
- March 31 - The world's first fingerprinting bureau formally opened by the Buenos Aires Chief of Police; it had been operating unofficially since the previous year.
- April - Johnson County War in Wyoming
- April 15 - The General Electric Company is established through the merger of the Thomson-Houston Company and the Edison General Electric Company.
- May 7 - The Cook Islands issue their first postage stamps.
- May 19 - British troops defeat Ijebu infantry at the battle of Yemoja river, in modern-day Nigeria, using a maxim gun
- May 22 - British conquest of Ijebu-Ode marks major extension of colonial power into Nigerian interior.
- May 24 - Prince George of Wales becomes Duke of York.
- May 28 - In San Francisco, California, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club.
- June 11 - The Limelight Department, one of the world's first film studios, is officially established in Melbourne, Australia.

July-December


- July 4-18 British general election: Unionist government loses its majority.
- July 6 - Dr. Jose Rizal, a Filipino writer, Philosopher, and political activist arrested by Spainish authorities in connection with La Liga Filipina.
- July 6 - Homestead Strike - the arrival of a force of 300 hundred Pinkerton detectives from New York and Chicago resulted in a fight in which about 10 men were killed
- July 12 - A hidden lake bursts out of a glacier on the side of Mont Blanc, flooding the valley below and killing around 200 villagers and holidaymakers in [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Gervais-les-Bains Saint Gervais]
- August 4 - The family of Lizzie Borden is found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home.
- August 9 - Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph.
- August 18 - William Ewart Gladstone assumes British premiership at head of Liberal government with Irish Nationalist Party support.
- September 15 - Sergei Witte replaces Ivan Vishnegradksy as Russian finance minister.
- October 5 - Master criminal Adam Worth is captured in Liege, Belgium during an attempted robbery of a money delivery cart.
- October 12 - To mark 400 anniversary Columbus Day holiday, the "Pledge of Allegiance" was first recited in unison by students in US public schools.
- October 31 - Arthur Conan Doyle publishes The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- November 8 - U.S. presidential election, 1892: Grover Cleveland is elected over Benjamin Harrison and James B. Weaver to win the second of his non-consecutive terms.
- November 8 - Anarchist bomb kills six in police station in Avenue de l'Opera, Paris
- November 17 - French troops occupy Abomey, capital of kingdom of Dahomey.
- December 5 - John Thompson becomes Canada's fourth prime minister.

Unknown dates


- Last open land rush is held in Oklahoma.
- The Stanley Cup is donated by Sir Frederick Arthur.
- Pennsauken is incorporated.
- Rudolf Diesel patents the diesel engine.
- Oil fire rages in Oil City, Pennsylvania: 130 dead.
- Cholera in Hamburg, Germany
- Tortoise called Timothy is brought to the estate of Powderham Castle in England (allegedly alive as of 2001 - at least 148 years old).
- Abu Dhabi becomes a British protectorate.
- The Cadet Band (current day Highty-Tighties) of the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanicla College (current day Virginia Tech) is established in the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets
- Abercrombie and Fitch, a now popular clothing brand, is established as an outdoor and sporting supply store.

Births

January-March


- January 1 - Artur Rodzinski, Croatian conductor (d. 1958)
- January 3 - J. R. R. Tolkien, South African-born author (d. 1973)
- January 14 - Hal Roach, American film and television producer (d. 1992)
- January 18 - Oliver Hardy, American comedian and actor (d. 1957)
- January 18 - Paul Rostock, German surgeon (d. 1956)
- January 28 - Ernst Lubitsch, German-born film director (d. 1947)
- January 31 - Eddie Cantor, American actor, singer (d. 1964)
- February 6 - William Parry Murphy, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1987)
- February 13 - Grant Wood, American painter (d. 1942)
- February 15 - James Forrestal, first United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1949)
- February 18 - Wendell Wilkie, U.S. Presidential candidate (d. 1944)
- February 22 - Edna St. Vincent Millay, American writer (d. 1950)
- February 27 - William Demarest, American actor (d. 1983)
- March 10 - Arthur Honegger, French-born Swiss composer (d. 1955)
- March 10 - Gregory La Cava, American director, producer, and writer (d. 1952)
- March 28 - Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
- March 30 - Stefan Banach, Polish mathematician (d. 1945)

April-September


- April 6 - Donald Wills Douglas, American industrialist (d. 1981)
- April 6 - Lowell Thomas, American journalist (d. 1981)
- April 8 - Mary Pickford, American actress and studio founder (d. 1979)
- April 12 - Johnny Dodds, American jazz clarinettist (d. 1940)
- April 19 - Germaine Tailleferre, French composer (d. 1983)
- May 2 - Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron), German figher pilot (d. 1918)
- May 3 - George Paget Thomson, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
- May 7 - Archibald MacLeish, American poet (d. 1982)
- May 7 - Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (d. 1980)
- May 9 - Zita of Bourbon-Parma, Empress of Austria-Hungary (d. 1989)
- May 11 - Margaret Rutherford, English actress (d. 1972)
- May 12 - Fritz Kortner, Austrian-born director (d. 1970)
- May 18 - Ezio Pinza, Italian bass (d. 1957)
- May 31 - Michel Kikoine, Belarusian painter (d. 1968)
- June 21 - Reinhold Niebuhr, American theologist (d. 1971)
- June 26 - Pearl S. Buck, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
- July 8 - Richard Aldington, English poet (d. 1962)
- July 12 - Bruno Schulz, Polish writer and painter (d. 1942)
- July 23 - Haile Selassie I, Ethiopian emperor (d. 1975)
- July 26 - Sad Sam Jones, baseball player (d. 1966)
- August 2 - Jack Warner, Canadian film producer (d. 1978)
- August 8 - Rafael Moreno Aranzadi, Spanish footballer (d. 1922)
- August 15 - Louis, 7th duc de Broglie, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- September 4 - Darius Milhaud, French composer (d. 1974)
- September 5 - Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (d. 1973)
- September 6 - Edward Victor Appleton, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
- September 10 - Arthur Compton, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1962)
- September 12 - Alfred A. Knopf, American publisher (d. 1984)

October-December


- October 9 - Ivo Andrić, Serbo-Croatian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d.1975)
- October 9 - Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet (d. 1941)
- October 23 - Gummo Marx, American actor and comedian (d. 1977)
- October 28 - Dink Johnson, American jazz musician (d. 1954)
- October 31 - Alexander Alekhine, Russian chess champion (d. 1946)
- November 5 - J. B. S. Haldane, British geneticist (d. 1964)
- November 12 - Guo Moruo, Chinese author,poet (d. 1978)
- December 2 - Leo Ornstein, Russian-born composer and pianist (d. 2002)
- December 4 - Francisco Franco, Spanish dictator (d. 1975)
- December 6 - Osbert Sitwell, English writer (d. 1969)
- December 8 - Bert Hinkler, Australian pioneer aviator (d. 1933)
- December 12 - Herman Potočnik Noordung, Slovenian rocket engineer (d. 1929)

Deaths


- January 14 - Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, second in line for the throne of the United Kingdom (b. 1864)
- January 21 - John Couch Adams, English astronomer (b. 1819)
- January 31 - Charles Spurgeon, English preacher (b. 1834)
- March 13 - Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
- March 26 - Walt Whitman, American poet (b. 1819)
- April 22 - Edouard Lalo, French composer (b. 1823)
- April 25 - William Backhouse Astor, Jr., American businessman (b. 1830)
- April 26 - Sir Provo William Perry Wallis, British admiral and naval hero
- May 29 - Bahá'u'lláh, Persian founder of the Bahá'í Faith (b. 1817)
- June 9 - William Stairs, Canadian explorer (b. 1863)
- October 12 - Ernest Renan, French philologist and historian (b. 1823)
- October 23 - Emin Pasha, German doctor and Governor of Equatoria (b. 1840)
- December 2 - Jay Gould, American financier (b. 1836)
- December 6 - Werner von Siemens, German inventor and industrialist (b. 1816)

Marriages


- January 10 - John C. Porter & Mattie Lee
- January 19 - Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu & Dagmar Therese Louise Lerche
- April 27 - Elinor Glyn & Clayton Glyn
- May 2 - Gustaf Mannerheim & Anastasia Mannerheim
- June 10 - Jean Sibelius & Aino Sibelius
- July 16 - Claude Monet & Alice Hoschedé
- September 8 - Minna Gale & Archibald Cushman Haynes
- November 6 - Joseph Stringer & Lucy Ann MacKinnon
- November 8 - Cy Young & Robba Miller
- December 2 - Grace Lutz & Rev. T. G. F. Hill Category:1892 ko:189