The steamer RMS Atlantic wrecked off Prospect. It was one of the most disastrous shipwrecks that ever occurred on the North American coast — 546 persons of the 957 onboard died. (Image: The Wreck of the RMS Atlantic, Currier & Ives, 1873. E.A. Bollinger. N.S. Archives).

The first issue of The Atlantic Advocate appeared. Its masthead read, “Devoted to the interests of colored people.” It was published by Wilfred and Miriam DeCosta, and Dr. Clement Courtenay Ligoure. The last issue was published in May 1917. (Image:  The Atlantic Advocate (1915–1917). N.S. Archives).

Atlantic Insight Magazine was launched in Halifax by publisher William ‘Bill’ Belliveau, and editor Harry Bruce.

The Angus L. Macdonald Bridge opened. An informative YouTube video on the bridge’s construction and subsequent changes can be viewed at: youtube.com/watch?v=358TuJ09S7U (Halifax Dartmouth Bridge Commission, April 6, 2013). The lives of six men were lost during the bridge’s initial construction: Jean Marie Belanger, Rudolphe LaRocque (21), Louis Benoit Pelletier (26), Arthur McKinley (54), and Yvon Moreau (19). Supervisor, L. J. McMahon, died of a heart attack. (Source: 'Crossings Fifty Years of...

The Floral Emblem Act was assented to, making the mayflower the provincial flower. Early American settlers called it mayflower when they found it growing along the East Coast, because they saw it as the first flower of spring. (Painting:  The Nova Scotia official flower — the mayflower. (Painting by Maria Morris. N.S. Archives).

Queen Victoria wrote in her personal journal: “There will be a great deal to do with the Confederation of N. America which is likely now to be accomplished & which will be a great safeguard against America.” (Image: An 1883 painting of Queen Victoria (1819 – 1901), taken from an 1882 photograph by Alexander Bassano. Hulton Archive/Getty Images).

Charles Macdonald was born and raised in Steam Mill (near Centreville, NS). After his years at sea and some time at home in the Annapolis Valley, his travels took him to the mountains of British Columbia, where he worked on the railroad, explored the terrain and painted a number of watercolours. It was during a period in Vancouver that he joined the Socialist Party of Canada. His interest in architecture was honed during his travels abroad at...

New England colonial forces, under the command of William Pepperrell (1696–1759) and Commodore Peter Warren (1703–1752), arrived at Canso en route to Louisbourg. They began their attack on May 11. Louisbourg surrendered six weeks later on June 28. One hundred and one New Englanders were killed and over 1,200 would later die of disease and the cold through the winter occupation of 1745–46. The English governor put in charge of the Fort after its surrender, Charles Knowles, wrote, “I...

Mi’kmaw Elder Noel Knockwood died at age eighty-one (b. 1932). Born in Shubenacadie, he was a Korean War veteran and a respected spiritual leader of the Mi’kmaq people. He also served as the first Aboriginal sergeant-at-arms for the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2000 to 2005, and served on the Mi’kmaq Grand Council (from 1975). In 2002 he was awarded the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for his efforts to strengthen Mi’kmaq heritage and spirituality. (Photo: Mi'kmaq Elder Noel Knockwood. Nova Scotia House...

Paul MacEwan was born in Charlottetown, PEI (d. 2017). He became an MLA for Cape Breton Nova (1970–2003) and later was the Speaker of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly (1993–1996) and an author. He was first elected as an NDP member under the leadership of Jeremy Akerman in 1970. They were the first two NDP MLAs elected in the history of Nova Scotia. MacEwan was expelled from the NDP in 1980 for criticizing a party executive member. He established the Cape Breton...

The First World War Battle of Vimy Ridge began on Easter Monday. By April 12, the 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders) of the 4th Canadian Division had control of the ridge, capturing Hill 145 in their first battle. The battle had cost the four Canadian divisions 10,602 casualties (3,598 killed and 7,004 wounded). Four members of the Canadian Corps received Victoria Crosses for their actions during the battle. On April 9, 2017, the hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge was remembered at...

The cornerstone of St. George’s (Anglican) Round Church was laid by Sir John Wentworth — a cylindrical wooden church designed in the Georgian style with Palladian elements. The design was a concept from Edward, the Duke of Kent, who was commander of the British forces in Nova Scotia at the time. He was a son of King George III, and played an active role in the planning of the new building. Though the first service would be held in July 1801, the building...

The Maritime Music Awards (later called the East Coast Music Awards — ECMAs, in 1991) were first staged at the Flamingo Café and Lounge in Halifax. There were nine award categories. Musician John Gracie was the inaugural winner for Male Artist of the Year in 1989. Gracie commented of the first ECMA event in 1991; “I remember...the first year the (ECMAs) awards were held at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. Andree (Gracie’s wife) and I...

The Halifax Provisional Battalion left Halifax to fight in the North-West Rebellion against a force of Métis under Gabriel Dumont. Under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel James J. Bremner, the battalion would be gone for three months. The wrought-iron gates at the Halifax Public Gardens were made in the battalion’s honour. (Photo: The Halifax Provisional Battalion in Medicine Hat, District of Assiniboia (1885). Library and Archives Canada).

Birth of Robert L. Stanfield (d. 2003). He was the seventeenth premier of Nova Scotia (1956–1967) and later the leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. A graduate of Dalhousie University and Harvard Law School in the 1930s, Stanfield became the leader of the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party in 1948 and, after a rebuilding period, led the party to government in 1956, going on to win three straight elections. (Also see 'G.I....

Provo William Parry Wallis was born in Halifax (d. 1892). He became a notable Royal Navy officer who took part in the capture of the USS Chesapeake by the frigate HMS Shannon. After many exploits at sea and in battle, he became Admiral of the British Fleet in 1875 and died at the age of one hundred. (Also see The victorious Royal Navy, June 6, 1813.). (Painting: Sir Provo William Parry Wallis (1791–1892), painted by Robert Field, c 1813. National...

The Moose River Gold Mine disaster occurred. “The roof of the mine collapsed, trapping three men, Herman Magill, Dr. David Robertson and Alfred Scadding, 150 feet down for 11 days. The men were reached by drilling a borehole on the sixth day to send food, water and a telephone till the rescue was completed. Robertson and Scadding survived and Magill died on the seventh day. The event was broadcast by J. Frank Willis of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting...

Robert William Chambers was born in Wolfville. He loved drawing as a child. He later became a well-loved, award-winning editorial cartoonist whose work spanned a fifty-three-year career, appearing regularly in the Chronicle Herald. In the early 1920s, he studied art in New York, returning to Nova Scotia in 1932 to work as an editorial cartoonist. He died in 1996, two weeks before his ninety-first birthday. A range of his work can be viewed online at bobchamberscartoons.blogspot.ca. (Photo:  Bob Chambers, 1941. N.S. Archives).

Premier Angus L. Macdonald died while in office (b. 1890). A First World War veteran, “He served as the Liberal premier of Nova Scotia from 1933 to 1940, when he became the federal minister of defence for naval services. He oversaw the creation of an effective Canadian navy and Allied convoy service during World War II.” After the Second World War, he returned to Nova Scotia from Ottawa and was elected premier once again in 1945. (Photo: Angus L. Macdonald (centre) with his...

The largest passenger steamship in the world, Titanic, collided with an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The vessel sank at 2:20am on the morning of the 15th. Of 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died in the sinking (including 132 Canadians), making it one of the deadliest commercial peacetime maritime disasters in modern history. One hundred and fifty Titanic victims were buried in Halifax in the Fairview Lawn, Mount Olivet and Baron de...

Rita MacNeil died (b. in Big Pond, Cape Breton, in 1944). Starting in 1975, she released twenty-six albums and won dozens of awards over her musical career. She was also a Member of the Order of Canada (1992) and the Order of Nova Scotia (2005). (Photo credit: SOCAN.ca).

Jerry Lonecloud died. Also known as Germain (or Jeremiah) Bartlett Alexis, Jerry Bartlett or in Mi’kmaq as Slme’n Laksi (Haselmah Luxcey), he was born in Belfast, Maine, in 1854 and became a well-known Mi’kmaw guide, herbalist and folklorist. Both his parents were from Nova Scotia and he later settled for a time in Bear River. He passed on many oral histories and folk tales to Harry Piers, curator of the Provincial Museum (see January 24, 1940), and to Clarissa Archibald Dennis (see February 26,...

The minesweeper HMCS Esquimalt was sunk by U-190, a German U-boat, a few miles off Chebucto Head. It sank in five minutes with the loss of thirty-nine men. It was the last Canadian warship to suffer that fate during the Second World War. (Photo: HMCS Esquimalt. N.S. Museum).

Award-winning artist Joseph Purcell (b. 1927) was honoured in a ceremony organized by the Saint Patrick’s Church Restoration Society, held at Saint Patrick’s Church in Halifax. In 1951, Purcell painted a series of murals high above the high altar at the church. Joseph and his wife, Tela, were married in the church, as were his parents and grandparents. From age fifteen, Purcell developed an early interest in painting and exhibiting his work. (Painting:  Oldham, by Joseph Purcell. 1986).

First World War prisoners began to arrive at the Amherst Prisoner-of-War (POW) Internment Camp from Halifax aboard armed trains. The camp was the largest POW camp in Canada during the war — holding a maximum of 854 prisoners. Besides Amherst, there were also internment camps at Melville Island on the Northwest Arm of Halifax, and at Citadel Hill (Fort George). There were twenty-four camps across the country. The Amherst camp closed on September 27, 1919. One notable prisoner at the camp was Russian leader...

The 4th ESTATE newspaper began publishing. It was created when father and son team Frank and Nick Fillmore left a still less-than-a-year-old paper called The People to form their own paper. At the time, it was considered a “radical” newspaper, providing a feisty and combative tone to many stories that impacted people across Nova Scotia. It published till 1977. (Photo: The 4th ESTATE  newspaper. Halifax Examiner).

The Chronicle Herald confirmed that well-known Halifax property developer and philanthropist George Henry Wright (b. 1849) had died on the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic, age sixty-three. His body was not recovered. His will left his residence on the corner of Inglis and Young Street (number 689) to the Council of Women of Halifax to further the cause of women’s suffrage (their right to vote), and the rest to relatives. (Photo: The Local Council of Women...

David Joseph Manners (born Rauff de Ryther Duan Acklom) was born in Halifax. He moved with his family to New York City as a young boy and later became a well-known actor in Hollywood during the beginning of the talking film era. One of his most notable roles was that of Jonathan Harker in the 1931 film Dracula, which also starred Bela Lugosi in the title role. He retired from screen acting in 1936, performing occasionally on stage, and writing. He died in...

Agnes Dennis died (b. 1859). A former president of the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON), from 1901 to 1946, and the Red Cross, she mobilized nurses and relief efforts during the First World War. She also helped in coordinating assistance after the Halifax Explosion in 1917. She was considered part of a growing cadre of affluent, educated and experienced Nova Scotian women who sought social change for women. She was the mother of ten children. One of her daughters was Clarissa (Clara) Archibald Dennis,...

The Nova Scotia–based Canadian mockumentary television series Trailer Park Boys premiered on Showcase. Directed by Mike Clattenburg, the series follows the shady exploits of Ricky (Robb Wells), Julian (John Paul Tremblay) and “Bubbles” (Mike Smith). The series ran on Showcase till 2007, and was later revived on Netflix in 2014. Three feature films were also released. In November 2016, it was announced that the Canadian licensed producer of medical cannabis, OrganiGram, based in Moncton, New Brunswick, had officially partnered with TPS productions, a company owned...

Nova Scotian award-winning visual artist, curator, poet, playwright, arts founder/organizer, director and writer David Woods received the 2016 Harry Jerome Award for entertainment by the Black Business and Professional Association of Canada. Born in Trinidad in 1959, Woods immigrated with his parents and four siblings to Dartmouth in 1972. “As a teenager, Woods was a gifted student and initially planned a career in law, but after working with Black youth in Preston he turned his attention to creating drama and performance, literature and painting as a...

Joshua Mauger (1725–1788) was appointed Nova Scotia Agent in London. By December 1763 he was no longer the agent, though “he remained the colony’s unofficial spokesman, with more apparent influence than a succession of governors.” Besides being active in the Halifax liquor trade, Mauger was also involved in the slave trade. (Image: Just imported and to be sold by Joshua Mauger. N.S. Archives).

Canada’s first official stamp, the Three-Pence Beaver, was issued — designed by Sandford Fleming (age twenty-four). (Also see Sandford Fleming, July 22, 1915.). (Image: The Three-Pence Beaver stamp. © Canada Post).

Mount Hanley, Annapolis County, native Joshua Slocum (b. 1844) set out from Boston in the Spray on his voyage around the world. He would arrive back at Newport, Rhode Island, on June 27, 1898, after a voyage of 46,000 miles. He published a best-selling memoir on his journey in 1900 — Sailing Alone Around the World. (Photo: Joshua Slocum. He protected himself from pirates by spreading carpet tacks on his deck every night before going to sleep. SailMeOM.com).

Annie Isabella Hamilton (1866–1941) became the first woman to graduate from Dalhousie Medical School. She worked closely with Dr. Maria Louisa Angwin (1849–1898), a Newfoundland-born, US-trained doctor, who became the first woman licensed to practice medicine in Nova Scotia, and a dedicated feminist. Annie practised medicine in the North End of Halifax for about a decade before deciding to emigrate to China as a medical missionary in 1903 (she had learned Chinese while studying at Dalhousie and had been a...

William Hall was born (d. 1904.) (Also see William Hall, November 16, 1857.) He was the son of Jacob and Lucy Hall, former slaves who fled the US and landed in Halifax as refugees of the War of 1812. The Halls eventually moved to Horton Bluff, on the Minas Basin in Nova Scotia, where William and six other children were born. Hall joined the British Navy in 1852, obtaining the Victoria Cross in 1857, and served till...