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John Graves Simcoe

John Graves Simcoe

John Graves Simcoe (February 25, 1752 – October 26, 1806) was the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada (modern-day southern Ontario plus the shoreline of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior) from 1791-1796. He founded York (now Toronto) and was instrumental in introducing British institutions such as the courts, trial by jury, English common law, freehold land tenure, and for abolishing slavery in Upper Canada long before it was abolished in the British Empire as a whole (it had disappeared from Upper Canada by 1810, but wasn't abolished throughout the Empire until 1834). 1834

Military career

Simcoe was born in Cotterstock, Northamptonshire, England. In 1770, after graduating from Eton College and Oxford, he entered the British army. He obtained a commission in the 35th Regiment of Foot, and was sent to Boston to fight in the American Revolution. He purchased a majority in the 40th Regiment, but then in 1777 was made commanding officer of the 1st American Regiment (the Queen's Rangers) of loyalist volunteers. Simcoe was one of the army's most successful commanders during this war. He achieved the rank of lieutenant-colonel and was wounded three times before being captured in 1779. He returned to Britain two years later.

Appointment as Lieutenant-Governor

The Province of Upper Canada was created under the Constitutional Act of 1791. This law stipulated that the provincial government would consist of the Lieutenant-Governor, an appointed Executive Council and Legislative Council and an elected Legislative Assembly. Simcoe was selected as the Lieutenant-Governor, and made plans to move to Upper Canada with his wife Elizabeth and daughter Sophia, leaving three other daughters behind with their aunt. They left England in September and arrived on November 11. This was too late in the year to make the trip to Upper Canada and the Simcoes spent the winter in Quebec City. The next spring they moved to Kingston and then Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake). Simcoe's first priority was to establish a provincial government. The first meeting of the nine-member Legislative Council and sixteen-member Legislative Assembly took place at Newark on September 17, 1792. Simcoe soon realized that Newark made an unsuitable capital because it was right on the US border and subject to attack. He proposed moving the capital to a more defensible position in the middle of Upper Canada's southwestern peninsula between Lake Erie and Lake Huron. He named the new location London and renamed the river as the Thames in anticipation of the change. The Governor-General, Lord Dorchester, rejected this proposal but accepted Simcoe's second choice of Toronto. Simcoe moved the capital to Toronto in 1793 and renamed the location York after Frederick, Duke of York, George III's second son.

Achievements

As a military-minded leader, one of Simcoe's major works after founding York was the construction of several roads connecting York to various larger towns in Upper Canada. The Kingston Road runs along the north shore of Lake Ontario to Kingston about 260 km to the east. The Dundas Road, named after Simcoe's friend Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, starts on the Lake Ontario shoreline running northwest, but soon bends westward to its namesake near Hamilton. Simcoe planned to continue it to London, where he had wanted to form the capital of Upper Canada. His most notable bit of road building remains Yonge Street, running from the shoreline in the middle of York directly north until it reaches Lake Simcoe (then known as Lake Toronto). Built by the newly reformed Queen's Rangers between 1793 and 1796, the road was extended several times to eventually develop into the world's longest street, at some 1,896 km. Although military in nature, these roads were more influential in trade and settlement, opening wide areas of southern Ontario to easy travel and dramatically increasing settlement rates. Simcoe's most notable achievement was the limitation of slavery. Initially, Simcoe proposed the outright abolition of slavery, but the Legislative Assembly opposed this because many Loyalists brought slaves with them to Upper Canada after the American Revolution. As a compromise, Simcoe passed legislation that allowed for gradual abolition: slaves already in the province would remain enslaved until death, no new slaves could be brought into Upper Canada, and children born to female slaves would be freed at age 25. This effectively ended all slavery in 1810. The act remained in force until 1833 when the Emancipation Act abolished slavery in all British holdings.

Later career

In July 1796 poor health forced Simcoe to return to Britain. He was unable to return to Upper Canada and resigned his office in 1798. He later served briefly as governor of St. Domingo (Haiti) and commander of the Western District in Britain. In 1806, he was appointed commander-in-chief of India but died in Exeter before assuming that post. A plaque placed by the Ontario Heritage Foundation in Exeter's cathedral precinct commemorates his life. He was buried in Wolford Chapel on the Simcoe family estate near Honiton, Devon. The Ontario Heritage Foundation acquired title to the [http://www.heritagefdn.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_1_7786_1.html/ chapel] in 1982.

Legacy

The town of Simcoe in southwestern Ontario and Simcoe County to the west and north of Lake Simcoe are named for him (Lake Simcoe itself was named by John Graves Simcoe for his father). A provincial holiday held on the first Monday in August is known as Simcoe Day in Toronto [http://www.toronto.com/feature/491]. Simcoe's regiment still exists as the Queen's York Rangers, an armoured reconnaissance regiment of the Canadian Forces reserves.

External links

- [http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=36781 Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online] Simcoe, John Graves Simcoe, John Graves Simcoe, John Graves Simcoe, John Graves Simcoe, John Graves Simcoe, John Graves Simcoe, John Graves Simcoe, John Graves Simcoe Simcoe, John Simcoe, John

February 25

February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 309 days remaining, 310 in leap years.

Events

- 138 - The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor.
- 1570 - Pope Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England.
- 1793 - George Washington holds the first Cabinet meeting as President of the United States.
- 1836 - Samuel Colt receives an American patent for the Colt revolver.
- 1837 - First US electric printing press patented by Thomas Davenport
- 1870 - Hiram Rhoades Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in the U.S. Congress.
- 1901 - J.P. Morgan incorporates the United States Steel Corporation.
- 1912 - Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
- 1913 - The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution, authorizing a graduated income tax, is ratified.
- 1919 - Oregon places a 1 cent per US gallon tax on gasoline, becoming the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax.
- 1921 - The Democratic Republic of Georgia is occupied by the Soviet Russia.
- 1925 - Glacier Bay National Monument (now Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve) is established in Alaska.
- 1928 - Charles Jenkins Laboratories of Washington, DC becomes the first holder of a television license from the Federal Radio Commission.
- 1933 - The USS Ranger is launched, becoming the first custom-built aircraft carrier.
- 1951 - The first Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- 1954 - Gamal Abdul Nasser is made premier of Egypt.
- 1964 - Cassius Clay beats Sonny Liston in Miami Beach, Florida, and is crowned the heavyweight champion of the world.
- 1969 - Germany gives $5 million to an Arab terrorist as ransom for the passengers and crew of a hijacked jumbo jet.
- 1986 - EDSA Revolution: President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines flees the nation after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the first Filipino woman president.
- 1991 - Gulf War: An Iraqi Scud missile hits an American military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia killing 28 US Marines.
- 2004 - On Ash Wednesday, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ is released in movie theaters across the United States, grossing approximately $370 million domestically.
- 2005 - BTK suspect Dennis Rader arrested in Park City, Kansas.

Births

- 1398 - Xuande, Emperor of China (d. 1435)
- 1591 - Friedrich von Spee, German writer (d. 1635)
- 1643 - Ahmed II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1695)
- 1663 - Pierre Antoine Motteux, French-born English dramatist (d. 1718)
- 1682 - Giovanni Battista Morgagni, Italian anatomist (d. 1771)
- 1692 - Karl Ludwig, Freiherr von Pöllnitz, German adventurer and writer (d. 1775)
- 1707 - Carlo Goldoni, Italian writer (d. 1793)
- 1714 - René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, Chancellor of France (d. 1792)
- 1714 - Hyde Parker, British admiral (d. 1782)
- 1725 - Karl Wilhelm Ramler, German poet (d. 1798)
- 1752 - John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (d. 1806)
- 1778 - José de San Martín, Argentine general and liberator of South America
- 1841 - Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French painter, graphic artist and sculptor (d. 1919)
- 1842 - Karl May, German writer (d. 1912)
- 1845 - George Reid, fourth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1918)
- 1873 - Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor (d. 1921)
- 1877 - Erich von Hornbostel, Austrian musicologist (d. 1935)
- 1888 - John Foster Dulles, U.S. Secretary of State (d. 1959)
- 1890 - Dame Myra Hess, English pianist (d. 1965)
- 1890 - Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet politician (d. 1986)
- 1901 - Zeppo Marx, American actor (d. 1979)
- 1910 - Millicent Fenwick, American fashion editor and politician (d. 1992)
- 1913 - Jim Backus, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1913 - Gert Fröbe, German actor (d. 1988)
- 1916 - Reinhard Bendix, German sociologist (d. 1991)
- 1917 - Anthony Burgess, English author (d. 1993)
- 1918 - Barney Ewell, American athlete (d. 1996)
- 1918 - Bobby Riggs, American tennis player (d. 1995)
- 1919 - Karl Pribram, Austrian neuroscientist
- 1921 - Pierre Laporte, Canadian statesman (assassinated) (d. 1970)
- 1925 - Edward Gorey, American illustrator (d. 2000)
- 1928 - Larry Gelbart, American comedy writer
- 1932 - Faron Young, American singer (d.1996)
- 1935 - Sally Jessy Raphaël, American talk show host
- 1937 - Tom Courtenay, British actor
- 1937 - Bob Schieffer, American broadcast journalist
- 1938 - Diane Baker, American actress
- 1938 - Herb Elliott, Australian runner
- 1940 - Billy Packer, American sports broadcaster
- 1940 - Ron Santo, baseball player
- 1942 - Karen Grassle, American actress
- 1943 - Wilson Piazza, Brazilian footballer
- 1943 - George Harrison, Lead guitarist of The Beatles (d. 2001)
- 1946 - Franz Xaver Kroetz, German dramatist
- 1947 - Lee Evans, American athlete
- 1947 - Doug Yule, American bass guitarist, (The Velvet Underground)
- 1948 - Danny Denzongpa, Indian actor
- 1949 - Ric Flair, American professional wrestler
- 1950 - Neil Jordan, Irish director, writer, and producer
- 1950 - Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina
- 1951 - Don Quarrie, Jamaican runner
- 1952 - Joey Dunlop, Irish motorcycle racer (d. 2000)
- 1953 - José María Aznar, Prime Minister of Spain
- 1954 - John Doe, American musician
- 1960 - Stefan Blöcher, German field hockey player
- 1961 - Davey Allison, American race car driver (d. 1993)
- 1961 - Todd Blackledge, American football player
- 1962 - Birgit Fischer, German kayaker
- 1963 - Nancy O'Dell, American reporter and television personality
- 1964 - Don Majkowski, American football player
- 1966 - Alexis Denisof, American actor
- 1966 - Samson Kitur, Kenyan athlete (d. 2003)
- 1966 - Téa Leoni, American actress
- 1969 - Paul Trimboli, Australian footballer
- 1971 - Sean Astin, American actor
- 1971 - Dave Harris, American disc jockey
- 1977 - Josh Wolff, American hockey player
- 1978 - Sara Sinha, English singer and guitarist
- 1981 - Park Ji-Sung, Korean footballer
- 1982 - Bert McCracken, American singer (The Used)
- 1986 - Justin Berfield, American actor
- 1998 - Brendon Baerg, American actor

Deaths

- 1246 - Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Prince of Gwynedd
- 1522 - William Lilye, English classical scholar
- 1536 - Berthold Haller, German-born reformer (b. 1492)
- 1553 - Hirate Masahide, Japanese diplomat and tutor of Oda Nobunaga (suicide) (d. 1492)
- 1558 - Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal and France (b. 1498)
- 1577 - King Eric XIV of Sweden (b. 1533)
- 1601 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, English politician (b. 1566)
- 1634 - Albrecht von Wallenstein, Austrian general (b. 1583)
- 1643 - Marco da Gagliano, Italian composer (b. 1582)
- 1655 - Daniel Heinsius, Flemish scholar (b. 1580)
- 1682 - Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (b. 1644)
- 1713 - King Frederick I of Prussia (b. 1657)
- 1715 - Pu Songling, Chinese writer (b. 1640)
- 1723 - Sir Christopher Wren, English architect (b. 1632)
- 1756 - Eliza Haywood, English actress and writer (b. 1693)
- 1798 - Louis-Jules Mancini-Mazarini, Duc de Nivernais, French diplomat and writer (b. 1716)
- 1805 - Thomas Pownall, British colonial statesman (b. 1722)
- 1831 - Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German writer (b. 1752)
- 1850 - Daoguang, Emperor of China (b. 1782)
- 1852 - Thomas Moore, Irish poet (b. 1779)
- 1860 - Chauncey Allen Goodrich, American clergyman, educator, and lexicographer (b. 1790)
- 1899 - Paul Julius Reuter, German-born journalist (b. 1816)
- 1912 - Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (b. 1852)
- 1945 - Mário de Andrade, Brazilian writer and photographer (b. 1893)
- 1950 - George Minot, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1885)
- 1957 - George "Bugs" Moran, American gangster (b. 1893)
- 1964 - Grace Metalious, American writer (b. 1924)
- 1971 - Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1884)
- 1975 - Elijah Muhammad, American Black Muslim leader (b. 1897)
- 1978 - Daniel "Chappie" James Jr., American general (b. 1920)
- 1983 - Tennessee Williams, American playwright (b. 1911)
- 1986 - Ezher"Bracko"Salihbasic, Illest Bosnian
- 1987 - James Coco, American actor (b. 1930)
- 1994 - Baruch Goldstein, American-born mass killer (b. 1956)
- 1994 - Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (b. 1914)
- 1996 - Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian-born actor (b. 1940)
- 1999 - Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)
- 2001 - Sir Donald Bradman, Australian cricketer (b. 1908)
- 2003 - Tom O'Higgins, Irish Chief Justice (b. 1916)
- 2003 - Alberto Sordi, Italian actor (b. 1920)

Holidays and observances

- Februaristaking (Netherlands) - strike against Nazi occupier, 1941
- Kuwait's national day.

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/25 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050225.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- February 24 - February 26 - January 25 - March 25 -- listing of all days ko:2월 25일 ms:25 Februari ja:2月25日 simple:February 25 th:25 กุมภาพันธ์

October 26

October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 66 days remaining.

Events

- 740 - An earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death.
- 1640 - The Treaty of Ripon is signed, restoring peace between Scotland and Charles I of England
- 1774 - The first Continental Congress adjourns.
- 1795 - The French Directory, a five-man revolutionary government, is created
- 1825 - The Erie Canal opens - passage from Albany, New York to Lake Erie
- 1859 - The Royal Charter is wrecked on the coast of Anglesey, Wales with 459 dead.
- 1863 - The Football Association is formed
- 1881 - The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral takes place at Tombstone, Arizona.
- 1905 - Norway becomes independent from Sweden
- 1917 - Battle of Caporetto: Italy suffers a catastrophic defeat at the hands of Germany and Austria during the First World War
- 1918 - Erich von Ludendorff, quartermaster-general of the Imperial German Army, is dismissed by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany for refusing to cooperate in peace negotiations.
- 1936 - The first electric generator at Hoover Dam went into full operation.
- 1944 - The Battle of Leyte Gulf ends.
- 1944 - Future Vice-president, and later, President Harry Truman publicly denies ever having been a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
- 1947 - The Maharaja of Kashmir agrees to allow his kingdom to join India
- 1948 - Killer smog settles into Donora, Pennsylvania.
- 1954 - Trieste return to Italy.
- 1955 - After the the last Allied troops have left the country and following the provisions of the Austrian Independence Treaty, Austria declares its permanent neutrality.
- 1955 - Ngo Dinh Diem declares himself Premier of South Vietnam
- 1958 - Pan American Airways makes the first commercial flight of the Boeing 707 from New York to Paris.
- 1965
- The Beatles are appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBEs)
- The body of Sylvia Likens is found in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
- 1977 - The last natural case of smallpox was discovered in Merca district, Somalia. The WHO and the CDC consider this date the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination.
- 1976 - Transkei declares its "independence" from South Africa
- 1978 - Independent Counsel Act signed into law
- 1979 - Park Chung-hee, President of South Korea is assassinated by KCIA head Kim Jae-kyu. Choi Kyu-ha becomes the acting President; Kim is executed the following May.
- 1984
- "Baby Fae" receives a heart transplant from a baboon
- John D. McCollum shoots and kills himself after spending a day listening to Ozzy Osbourne records; a lawsuit is later filed by his parents over the song "Suicide Solution", but the case eventually gets thrown out.
- 1984 - The Terminator is released in theaters nationwide.
- 1991 - Lori Keevil-Matthews is killed after a 485-pound umbrella slams her against a boulder in a Christo art installation.
- 1992 - The command and control system of the London Ambulance Service fails catastrophically.
- 1992 - The Charlottetown Accord fails to win majority support in a Canada wide referendum.
- 1994 - Jordan and Israel sign a peace treaty
- 1994 - Announcement of Andrew Wiles correct proof of Fermat's last theorem.
- 1995 - Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Mossad agents assassinate Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shikaki in his hotel in Malta.
- 1997 - The left arms of Chen Ming-Kuo and Yang Chung-ming are amputated by the rope in a 1,500-person tug-of-war contest in Taipei; both arms are successfully reattached later on.
- 1997 - Basketball player Charles Barkley is charged with aggravated battery and resisting arrest after throwing Jorge Lugo through a plate glass window in a dance club in Orlando, Florida.
- 1999 - Britain's House of Lords votes to end the right of hereditary peers to vote in Britain's upper chamber of Parliament.
- 2000 - Laurent Gbagbo takes over as president of Côte d'Ivoire following a popular uprising against President Robert Guéï
- 2001 - The United States passes the controversial USA Patriot Act into law.
- 2002 - Moscow Theater Siege ends: Approximately 50 Chechen rebels and 150 hostages die when Russian commandos storm the House of Culture theater in Moscow, which had been occupied by the rebels three days before.
- 2005 - Last day of Cream reunion shows at Madison Square Garden.
- 2005 - The Chicago White Sox win the World Series after defeating the Houston Astros 1-0 in a four game sweep. It is their first championship since 1917.

Births

- 1427 - Archduke Sigismund of Austria (d. 1496)
- 1473 - Friedrich of Saxony (d. 1510)
- 1491 - Zhengde, Emperor of China (d. 1521)
- 1673 - Dimitrie Cantemir, Moldavian Prince, linguist and scholar (d. 1723)
- 1684 - Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin, Prussian field marshal (d. 1757)
- 1685 - Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1757)
- 1694 - Johan Helmich Roman, Swedish composer (d. 1758)
- 1757 - Karl Leonhard Reinhold, Austrian philosopher (d. 1823)
- 1759 - Georges Jacques Danton, French Revolutionary leader (d. 1794)
- 1794 - Konstantin Thon, Russian architect (d. 1881)
- 1800 - Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Prussian field marshal (d. 1891)
- 1802 - King Miguel of Portugal (d. 1866)
- 1854 - C. W. Post, American entrepreneur (d. 1914)
- 1865 - Benjamin Guggenheim, American businessman (d. 1912)
- 1869 - Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa, President of Brazil (d. 1957)
- 1873 - Thorvald Stauning, Prime Minister of Denmark (d. 1942)
- 1874 - Martin Lowry, British chemist (d. 1936)
- 1880 - Andrei Bely, Russian writer (d. 1934)
- 1883 - Paul Pilgrim, American athlete (d. 1958)
- 1902 - Jack Sharkey, American boxer (d. 1994)
- 1906 - Primo Carnera, Italian boxer (d. 1967)
- 1911 - Sid Gilman, American football player, coach, and manager (d. 2003)
- 1911 - Mahalia Jackson, American singer (d. 1972)
- 1911 - Sorley MacLean, Scottish poet (d. 1996)
- 1912 - Don Siegel, American director (d. 1991)
- 1914 - Jackie Coogan, American actor (d. 1984)
- 1916 - François Mitterrand, President of France (d. 1996)
- 1919 - Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran, Shah of Iran (d. 1980)
- 1925 - Jan Wolkers, Dutch author
- 1942 - Bob Hoskins, British actor
- 1945 - Pat Conroy, American writer
- 1946 - Pat Sajak, American game show host
- 1947 - Hillary Rodham Clinton, First Lady of the United States and Senator from New York
- 1947 - Jaclyn Smith, American actress
- 1947 - Holly Woodlawn, Puerto Rican actress
- 1951 - Bootsy Collins, American musician (P Funk)
- 1952 - Andrew Motion, English poet
- 1957 - Bob Golic, American football player
- 1958 - Rita Wilson, American actress
- 1961 - Dylan McDermott, American actor
- 1962 - Cary Elwes, British actor
- 1963 - Natalie Merchant, American singer
- 1965 - Aaron Kwok Fu-Shing, Hong Kong singer and actor
- 1967 - Keith Urban, New Zealand singer
- 1971 - Anthony Rapp, American singer and actor
- 1973 - Seth MacFarlane, American animator
- 1977 - Jon Heder, American actor
- 1986 - Bassem Emile, An Egyptian Manufacturing engineer
- 1993 - Lauren Cover, An American Girl

Deaths

- 899 - Alfred the Great
- 1440 - Gilles de Rais, French serial killer (b. 1404)
- 1633 - Horio Tadaharu, Japanese warlord (b. 1596)
- 1671 - John Gell, English politician (b. 1593)
- 1679 - Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, British soldier, statesman, and dramatist (b. 1621)
- 1686 - John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater, English politician (b. 1623)
- 1717 - Catherine Sedley, English mistress of James II of England
- 1751 - Philip Doddridge, English religious leader (b. 1702)
- 1764 - William Hogarth, British painter (b. 1697)
- 1803 - Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, English politician (b. 1721)
- 1806 - John Graves Simcoe, first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada (b. 1752)
- 1817 - Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, Austrian scientist (b. 1727)
- 1890 - Carlo Collodi, Italian writer (b. 1826)
- 1902 - Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American feminist and suffragette (b. 1815)
- 1909 - Prince Hirobumi Ito, Japanese governor of Korea (assassinated) (b. 1841)
- 1931 - Charles Comiskey, baseball team owner (b. 1859)
- 1937 - Józef Dowbór-Muśnicki, Polish general, commander of the Greater Poland Uprising (b.1867)
- 1941 - Arkady Gaidar, Russian children's writer (killed in combat) (b. 1904)
- 1943 - Marc Aurel Stein, Hungarian-born archaeologist (b. 1862)
- 1944 - William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1881)
- 1945 - Paul Pelliot, French explorer (b. 1878)
- 1947 - Canon Edwin Sidney Savage, English rector (b. 1862)
- 1952 - Hattie McDaniel, American singer (b. 1895)
- 1956 - Walter Gieseking, French conductor (b. 1895)
- 1957 - Gerty Cori, Austrian-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1896)
- 1957 - Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek writer (b. 1883)
- 1972 - Igor Sikorsky, Ukrainian-born inventor (b. 1889)
- 1979 - Park Chung-hee, President of South Korea (b. 1917)
- 1986 - Jackson Scholz, American runner (b. 1897)
- 1989 - Charles J. Pedersen, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 1995 - Gorni Kramer, Italian bandleader and songwriter (b. 1913)
- 1999 - Hoyt Axton, American musician (b. 1938)
- 2002 - Jacques Massu, French general (b. 1908)

Holidays and observances

- Roman festivals - first day of Ludi Victoriae Sullanae (until 1 November)
- R.C. Saints - October 26th is the feast day of the following Roman Catholic Saints:
- St. Bean
- St. Evaristus
- St. Albinus
- St. Alfred the Great
- St. Cedd
- St. Cuthbert
- Saint Demetrius of Salonika
- St. Eadfrid
- St. Fulk
- St. Gibitrudis
- St. Lucian
- St. Rogatian
- St. Rusticus
- St. Quadragesimus
- Also see October 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Austria - National Day: Anniversary of the Declaration of Neutrality (1955)
- Nauru - Angam Day

Fiction

- In the movie Back To The Future, all of the "present" events occur on this date in 1985.
- In the movie Death Becomes Her, Helen first drinks the immortality potion on October 26, 1985. Like Back To The Future, this movie was also directed by Robert Zemeckis.

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/26 BBC: On This Day] ---- October 25 - October 27 - September 26 - November 26 - more historical anniversaries ko:10월 26일 ms:26 Oktober ja:10月26日 simple:October 26 th:26 ตุลาคม

1806

1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar).

Events

- January 8 - Cape Colony becomes a British colony
- January 10 - Dutch in Cape Town surrender to the British
- January 19 - The United Kingdom occupies the Cape of Good Hope
- February 6 - Royal Navy victory off Santo Domingo - see:Action of 6 February 1806
- March 23 - After traveling through the Louisiana Purchase and reaching the Pacific Ocean, explorers Lewis and Clark and their "Corps of Discovery" begin their journey home.
- March 29 - Construction authorized of the Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becoming the first United States federal highway.
- April 8 - Marriage of Stephanie de Beauharnais to Prince Karl Ludwig Friedrich.
- July 4 - Battle of Maida between England and France in Calabria
- July 15 - Pike expedition: Near St. Louis, Missouri, United States Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike leads an expedition from Fort Belle Fountaine to explore the west.
- August 6 - Francis II, the last Holy Roman Emperor, abdicates, thus ending the Holy Roman Empire.
- October 14 - Battle of Jena-Auerstädt
- November - Napoleon declares a Continental Blockade against the British
- November 15 - Pike expedition: During his second exploratory expedition, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike sees a distant mountain peak while near the Colorado foothills of the Rocky Mountains (it was later named Pikes Peak in his honor).
- Noah Webster publishes his first American English dictionary.

Ongoing events

- Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815)-Fourth Coalition

Births

- January 27 - Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer (d. 1826)
- March 6 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English poet (d. 1861)
- March 12 - Jane Pierce, First Lady of the United States (d. 1863)
- March 21 - Benito Juárez, Mexican statesman and folk hero (d. 1872)
- April 9 - Isambard Kingdom Brunel, British engineer (d. 1859)
- May 20 - John Stuart Mill, British philosopher (d. 1873)
- June 28 - Napoleon Coste, French guitarist and composer (d. 1883)
- October 3 - Oliver Cowdery, American religious leader (d. 1850)
- December 11 - Otto Wilhelm Hermann von Abich, German geologist (d. 1886)

Deaths

- January 23 - William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
- February 2 - Rétif de la Bretonne, French writer (b. 1734)
- February 19 - Elizabeth Carter, English writer (b. 1717)
- February 20 - Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-born American military and political leader (b. 1725)
- April 9 - William V of Orange (b. 1748)
- April 22 - Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, French admiral (stabbed) (b. 1763)
- May 24 - John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, British field marshal (b. 1723)
- June 23 - Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French naturalist (b. 1723)
- July 10 - George Stubbs, English painter (b. 1724)
- July 11 - James Smith, American signer of the Declaration of Independence
- August 10 - Michael Haydn, Austrian composer (b. 1737)
- August 22 - Jean-Honoré Fragonard, French painter (b. 1742)
- August 23 - Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, French physicist (b. 1736)
- September 9 - William Paterson, Signer of the U.S. Constitution, Governor of New Jersey (b. 1745)
- October 9 - Benjamin Banneker, American astronomer and surveyor (b. 1731)
- December 22 - William Vernon, American merchant (b. 1719)
- Mungo Park, Scottish explorer (b. 1771) Category:1806 ko:1806년 ms:1806 simple:1806

Lieutenant governor

A Lieutenant Governor or Lieutenant-Governor is a government official who is the subordinate or deputy of a Governor or Governor-General. In India this position is slightly different.

Australia

In Australia, the Lieutenant Governor is the subordinate of the Governor of a state. The Lieutenant Governor serves as Administrator, or acting Governor, in case the Governor becomes ill or disabled. In many states, this role is played by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The state Lieutenant Governors have no powers but stand ready to take up the Governor's role. While Australia was a collection of colonies of Britain, lieutenant-governors ran Australian colonies that were initially subordinate to the colony of New South Wales, such as Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) or the Bay of Islands (New Zealand).

Canada

New Zealand and her spouse Jean-Daniel Lafond met with most of them on 28 September 2005.]] In Canada, the Lieutenant-Governor (typically with a hyphen) is the Queen's, or Crown, representative in a province, much as the Governor General is her representative at the national level. The lieutenant-governor is therefore the province's vice-regal representative, but has little or no executive role. Similar positions in Canada's three territories are termed Commissioners and are representatives of the federal government, however, not the Queen directly. Yukon and Nunavut have had Commissioners since they were founded, but in Northwest Territories the position dates to 1905, when the most populous part of the territory was split away to become the provinces Alberta and Saskatchewan. Before then, the Northwest Territories had a Lieutenant-Governor. Like similar officials, lieutenant-governors hold considerable reserve powers which are not normally used. One interesting constitutional question is the role of the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec in the hypothetical case of the Quebec National Assembly voting to unilaterally secede. Some have argued that in this situation, the lieutenant-governor not only could refuse Royal Assent, but would be duty bound to do so. Nominally, lieutenant-governors are appointed by the governor general for a usual term of five years. In practice, they are chosen by the Prime Minister of Canada, usually in consultation with their respective provincial Premiers. Lieutenant-governors are often retired "elder statesmen" from the Prime Minister's party. The salary of lieutenant-governors is paid by the federal government rather than by the provincial government. In the past, the lieutenant-governors were a direct representative of the governor general, however they now directly represent the Queen in their respective provinces. The difference in authority between the Australian state governors and the Canadian provincial lieutenant-governors is significant constitutionally. In Australia, governors are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the the appropriate state premier. Canadian lieutenant-governors are appointed by the governor general, rather than the Queen directly, on the advice of the prime minister. Canadian lieutenant-governorships have been observed to often be used to promote women and minorities into a prominent position. Five of Canada's ten current lieutenant-governors and one of the three territorial commissioners are women. There have been one black (Lincoln Alexander) and several Aboriginal lieutenant-governors. The current Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec uses a wheelchair. The current Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia is Jewish. The current Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta is a Chinese-Canadian, as was the Hon. David Lam in British Columbia (Lieutenant-Governor from 1988 to 1995). See lieutenant-governors:
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Nova Scotia
- Ontario
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
- Northwest Territories (formerly)

India

In India, a Lieutenant governor is in charge of a Union Territory. He is given almost the same powers chief ministers have over their states. However the rank is given just to the union territories of Chandigarh, Delhi, Pondicherry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Lt. Gov hold the same rank as a governor of a state in the list of precedence. The other territories have an administrator appointed, who is an IAS officer.

New Zealand

The only person to have held the rank of Lieutenant Governor of New Zealand was Captain William Hobson, RN from 1839 - 1841, during which time the New Zealand colony was a dependency of the colony of New South Wales, governed at that time by Sir George Gipps. When New Zealand was designated a crown colony in 1841, Hobson was raised to the rank of Governor, which he held until his death the following year.

Channel Islands and Isle of Man

In the British Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, the Lieutenant Governor is the Queen's representative, but the post is largely ceremonial, with executive power remaining with each Island's elected administration. In the Isle of Man, the Lieutenant Governor was until 1980 the presiding officer of the Legislative Council and of Tynwald Court (the Legislative Council and the House of Keys in joint session), but both roles have been transferred to the President of Tynwald. Now, the Lieutenant Governor only presides once a year on Tynwald Day. On the 19th October 2005 Tynwald approved proposals to change the title of the Lieutenant Governor to Crown Commissioner or Barrantagh y Chrooin as he/she will be known in Manx Gaelic. This Bill must now go before the Lord of Mann Elizabeth II for Royal Assent before it becomes law.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/isle_of_man/4324400.stm] See also List of Lieutenant Governors of the Isle of Man, List of Lieutenant Governors of Jersey, List of Lieutenant Governors of Guernsey

United States

In the United States, the office of Lieutenant Governor is the second-highest executive office in a state and is nominally subordinate to the Governor. The procedure for election of Lieutenant Governor varies from state to state with 24 states having the Governor and Lieutenant Governor elected as running mates on a joint ticket (for example in New York, Maryland and Kansas), while in 18 states, the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor run separately, sometimes in different election cycles. The latter can cause the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to be from different parties and bitter political rivals (such as is often the case in California and Virginia). In the U.S. the main duty of the Lieutenant Governor is to act as Governor should the Governor be temporarily absent from the office. In addition, the Lieutenant Governor generally succeeds a Governor who dies or resigns. In most states, the Lieutenant Governor then becomes Governor, with the title and its associated salary, office, and privileges. In a few states, like Massachusetts, the Lieutenant Governor instead becomes "Acting Governor" until the next election. Other than this primary constitutional duty, most state constitutions do not prescribe the duties of the Lieutenant Governor in detail.
- In a few states such as Hawaii and Utah, the position of Lieutenant Governor is equivalent to that of Secretary of State.
- In some states the Lieutenant Governor is the presiding officer of the upper house of the legislature. In the states of Mississippi and Texas, the Lieutenant Governor, elected separately from the Governor, presides over the State Senate, and by convention and legislative rule has a great deal more influence on legislation than the Governor. Thus, when a Lieutenant Governor of Texas becomes Governor, they assume a higher office, but lose some of their previous authority. In Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Tennessee and West Virginia the President of the state Senate assumes the office of Governor upon a vacancy. In November 2005, New Jersey voters approved a constitutional amendment to create the office of Lieutenant Governor. The office will be officially enacted following the 2009 general election. Even as the West Virginia Constitution establishes no such office, signage in the State Senate, the legislative guide, and the official website of the West Virginia Legislature style the Senate President as Lieutenant Governor. In Tennessee, the leader of the Senate's full title is the Lieutenant Governor- Speaker of the Senate. John S. Wilder was elected to that post in 1971, which he still holds. As of 2005, he is both the longest-serving and oldest Lieutenant Governor in the United States. Arizona, Oregon and Wyoming also do not have a Lieutenant Governor. In these three states and Puerto Rico the Secretary of State becomes Governor. American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands have the office of Lieutenant Governor. The office of Lieutenant Governor existed in all of the 17th- and 18th-century British colonies that later became the initial thirteen United States of America. The defining difference between the Lieutenant Governor and the Royal Governor was that the Lieutenant Governor would be required to live in the colony to which he was appointed. Also, the Royal Governor would be paid directly by the crown, where as the Lieutenant Governor would be paid by the colonial treasury.

External link

- [http://www.nlga.us/default.htm National Lieutenant Governors Association]

Notes

# In a Canadian context there are numerous, and not mutually agreeable, notions regarding hyphenation and capitalisation of the position title. The Canadian Style (an official federal government style guide), indicates Lieutenant-Governor (upper case with hyphen; p. 46) though lieutenant-governors (lower case and hyphenated) when pluralised (p. 70). However, The Oxford Guide to Canadian English Usage (p. 244) equivocates somewhat, indicating upper case only when used in and associated with a specific provincial L-G or name, not generally, and varied use. Moreover, a visitation of numerous provincial websites typically indicate Lieutenant Governor (of Province) (upper case and no hyphen), likely due to the primacy of those positions in their respective jurisdictions. ::For Wp consistency, the Oxford standard can be used when referring to Canadian lieutenant-governors. Governor Category:Titles

Upper Canada

Government

This territory passed into British hands with the Treaty of Paris (1763). It was incorporated into the Province of Quebec by the Quebec Act of 1774. Upper Canada became a political entity in 1791 with the passage, in 1790, of the Constitutional Act by the Parliament of Great Britain. The Act divided the Province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada. The division was effected so that Loyalist American settlers and British immigrants in Upper Canada could have British laws and institutions, and the French-speaking population of Lower Canada could maintain French civil law and the Catholic religion. The colony was administered by a lieutenant-governor, legislative council, and legislative assembly. The first lieutenant-governor was John Graves Simcoe. On February 1, 1796 the capital of Upper Canada was moved from Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) to York (now Toronto), which was judged to be less vulnerable to attack by the Americans. Local government in Upper Canada was based on districts. In 1788, four districts were created:
- Lunenburgh District, renamed to Eastern in 1792
- Mecklenburg District, later Midland
- Nassau District, later Home
- Hesse District, later Western Additional districts were created from the existing districts as the population grew until 1849, when local government mainly based on counties came into effect. At that time, there were 20 districts; legislation to create a new Kent District never completed. Up until 1841, the district officials were appointed by the lieutenant-governor, although usually with local input. A Court of Quarter Sessions was held four times a year in each district to oversee the administration of the district and deal with legal cases.

Land settlement

Land had been settled since the French regime, notably along the Detroit River and the Saint Lawrence River. However, impetus to land settlement came with the influx of Loyalist refugees and military personnel in 1784 after the American Revolution. As a result, prior to the creation of Upper Canada in 1791 as a separate colony, much land had been ceded by the First Nations to the Crown in accordance with the Royal Proclamation of 1763. This land was surveyed by the government of the Province of Quebec, particularly in eastern Ontario along the Saint Lawrence River, as the Western Townships, while the Eastern Townships were in Lower Canada. Rudimentary municipal administration began with the creation of districts, notably Western (including present day Brantford), Eastern, Gore (including present day Hamilton) and Home (including present day Toronto). The Act Against Slavery passed in Upper Canada on July 9, 1793. The British garrisons withdrew from Detroit, Upper Canada to Amherstburg, and from Michimillimackinac to Drummond Island, in 1796. The lower peninsula of Michigan thus became American, initially (through 1805) as part of Indiana Territory. The upper peninsula, although claimed by the United States, remained nominally part of Upper Canada until 1818. Drummond Island, which was also part of the American claim and was formally awarded to the United States by a joint border commission in 1818, was finally released by the Province of United Canada and incorporated into the State of Michigan in 1847. Meanwhile, during the War of 1812, following General Isaac Brock's capture of Detroit on August 16, 1812, then-Michigan Territory was again part of the Province of Upper Canada. British/Canadian troops found it necessary to withdraw from Detroit in 1813, however, as they were needed elsewhere. The British attempted to renegotiate the boundary at Michigan during the Congress of Vienna in 1815, but the Americans refused to consider any change and then Napoleon escaped. The first order of business was to recapture the resurrected French leader and defeat him once and for all. After that was accomplished at Waterloo, the British were too tired to worry whether Michigan was American or Canadian. Upper Canada ceased to be a political entity with the Act of Union (1840), when, by an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, it was merged with Lower Canada to form the Province of United Canada. This was principally in response to the Upper and Lower Canada rebellions of 1837 and 1837-38, respectively. At Confederation in 1867, the Province of Canada was re-divided along the former boundary as the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The name 'Upper Canada' lives on in a few fossilized forms, most notably the Law Society of Upper Canada, Upper Canada College and the Upper Canada Brewing Company. When the capital first moved to Toronto in 1796, the Parliament of Upper Canada was located at the corner of Parliament and Front Streets, in a building that was eventually abandoned. In 2001 the remains of the original Parliament building were found during preparations to build a car dealership on that site.

Population

(see Province of Canada for population after 1840)
Source: Statistics Canada website Censuses of Canada 1665 to 1871.

Bibliography

- Armstrong, Frederick H. Handbook of Upper Canadian Chronology. Toronto : Dundurn Press, 1985. ISBN 0-919670-92-X
- Craig, Gerald M. Upper Canada : the formative years 1784-1841. Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 1963.
- Dieterman, Frank. Government on fire : the history and archaelogy of Upper Canada's first Parliament Buildings. Toronto : Eastendbooks, 2001.
- Dunham, Eileen. Political unrest in Upper Canada 1815-1836. Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 1963.
- Errington, Jane. The lion, the eagle, and Upper Canada : a developing colonial ideology. Kingston, Ont. : McGill-Queen's University Press, 1987.
- Johnston, James Keith. Historical essays on Upper Canada. Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, 1975.
- Lewis, Frank and Urquhart, M.C. Growth and standard of living in a pioneer economy : Upper Canada 1826-1851. Kingston, Ont. : Institute for Economic Research, Queen's University, 1997.
- McCalla, Douglas. Planting the province : the economic history of Upper Canada 1784-1870. Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1993.
- McNairn, Jeffrey L. The capacity to judge : public opinion and deliberative democracy in Upper Canada 1791-1854. Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 2000.
- Winearls, Joan. Mapping Upper Canada 1780-1867 : an annotated bibliography of manuscript and printed maps. Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1991.

Ontario

:This article describes the Canadian province. For other usages, see Ontario (disambiguation). Ontario is the most populous and second-largest in area of Canada's ten provinces. It is found in east-central Canada. Its capital is Toronto. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is also located in Ontario. Ontario has a population (July 1, 2005) of 12,541,410, representing approximately 37.9% of the total Canadian population (Ontarians) and an area of 1,076,395km² (415,598 sq. mi.).

Geography

Ontario is bounded on the north by Hudson Bay and James Bay, on the east by Quebec, on the west by Manitoba, and on the south by the American states of Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. Ontario's long American border is formed almost entirely by lakes and rivers, starting in Lake of the Woods and continuing to the Saint Lawrence River near Cornwall; it passes through the four Great Lakes on which Ontario has coastline, namely Lakes Superior, Huron (which includes Georgian Bay), Erie, and Ontario (for which the province is named; Ontario itself is an Iroquois word meaning "beautiful lake" or "beautiful water"). There are approximately 250,000 lakes and over 100,000 kilometres of rivers in the province. The province consists of three main geographical regions:
- the thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and central portions, a mainly infertile area rich in minerals and studded with lakes and rivers; sub-regions are Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario.
- the mostly unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the extreme north and northeast, mainly swampy and sparsely forested; and
- the temperate, and therefore most populous region, the fertile Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Valley in the south where agriculture and industry are concentrated. Southern Ontario is further sub-divided into four regions; Western Ontario (sometimes called Southwestern Ontario), Golden Horseshore, Central Ontario and Eastern Ontario. The Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern section, its northern extent is parts of the Greater Toronto Area at the western end of Lake Ontario. The Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies 90 per cent of the surface area of the province; conversely Southern Ontario contains 94 per cent of the population (see article Geography of Canada). Point Pelee National Park is a peninsula in southwestern Ontario (near Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan) that extends into Lake Erie and is the part of Canada's mainland furthest south. Pelee Island in Lake Erie is even further south. Both are south of 42°N slighty further south than the northern border of California.

Demographics

The major racial/ethnic groups in Ontario are:
- European: 80.9% (Major groups: English, Irish, Scottish, French, German, Italian)
- South Asian: 4.9%
- Chinese: 3.7%
- Black: 3.6%
- Aboriginal: 1.7%
- Filipino: 1.3%
- Latin-American: 0.9%
- Other: 3.0% Increasing immigration from all parts of the world, especially to Toronto and its environs, is rapidly diversifying the province's ethnic makeup. About five per cent of the population of Ontario is Franco-Ontarian. 10 largest municipalities by population

Weather

Franco-Ontarian The weather in Ontario is very diverse. The south, including Greater Toronto Area receives very hot, humid weather in the summer, as the stronger the Bermuda high pressure over the Atlantic Ocean, the more warm, humid air is transported northward from the the Gulf of Mexico. Severe thunderstorms peak in frequency in June and July, most notably in Southwestern and Central Ontario. Northwestern Ontario also receives short periods of hot weather and severe storms. In the winter, lake effect snow squalls affect three primary areas in Ontario known as the "snow belts", the Algoma District in Northeastern Ontario on the east end of Lake Superior; much of the Georgian Bay shoreline including Killarney, Parry Sound District, Muskoka and Simcoe County; the Lake Huron shore from east of Sarnia northward to the Bruce Peninsula. Wind whipped snowsqualls or lake effect snow can affect areas much further inland, as far as 100km or greater from the shore but the heaviest snows usually occur within 20km from the shoreline. At other times, all regions of the province may encounter snow squalls.

Economy

Ontario's rivers, particularly its share of the Niagara River, make it rich in hydroelectric energy. This competitive advantage, as well as excellent transportation links to the American heartland, has contributed to making manufacturing the principal industry, found mainly in the Golden Horseshoe region, the most industrialized area in Canada. Important products include motor vehicles, iron, steel, food, electrical appliances, machinery, chemicals, and paper. Ontario surpassed the American state of Michigan in car production, assembling 2.696 million vehicles in 2004 (see Canada-United States Automotive Agreement). Some economists believe that the North American Free Trade Agreement has led to a decline in manufacturing in part of North America's manufacturing "Rust Belt" that includes a portion of Southern Ontario from roughly Windsor through to St. Catharines (south of Toronto). This area and the Greater Toronto region contain the bulk of the auto sector in the province. As a result of steeply delcining sales, on November 21, 2005 General Motors announced massive layoffs at production facilities across North America including two large GM plants in Oshawa and a drive train facility in St. Catharines by 2008 resulting in 8,000 job losses in Ontario alone. Uncertainty also looms for money losing Ford Motor Co. and an announcement on cutbacks is likely in the coming weeks. Toronto is the centre of Canada's financial services and banking industry. Surburban cities Brampton and Mississauga are large product distribution centres, in addition to having automobile related industries. The information technology sector is also important, especially around Markham, Waterloo and Ottawa. Mining and the forest products industry, notably pulp and paper, are important to the economy of the Canadian Shield of Northern Ontario. Nominal Gross Domestic Product in 2003 was an estimated C$494.229 billion (40.6% of the Canadian total), larger than the GDP of Austria, Belgium or Sweden. Broken down by sector, the primary sector is 1.8% of total GDP, secondary sector 28.5%, and service sector 69.7%. Further economic information on provincial GDP etc. at [http://www.2ontario.com/welcome/oo_000.asp Ontario Facts]

Agriculture

Gross Domestic Product] Once the dominant industry, agriculture occupies a small percentage of the population. The number of farms has decreased from 68,633 in 1991 to 59,728 in 2001, but farms have increased in average size. Cattle, small grains and dairy were the common types of farms in the 2001 census. The fruit, grape and vegetable growing industry is located primarily on the Niagara Peninsula and along Lake Erie. The Ontario origins of Massey-Ferguson Ltd., once one of the largest farm implement manufacturers in the world, indicate the importance agriculture once had to the Ontario economy (see Geography of Canada for more detail).

History

Pre-1867

Before the arrival of the Europeans, the region was inhabited both by Algonquian (Ojibwa<