We are now moving into the last half of the first decade of the 1900s and all in all, it was a pretty quiet year.
On Jan. 1, the Ouimetoscope opened in Montreal at the corner of Saint Catherine and Montcalm Streets. It was a 500-seat theatre with a small screen and it holds the distinction of being the first theatre in Canada dedicated completely to showing movies.
It was opened by Leo-Ernest Ouimet, who used his life savings to covert the former cabaret theatre into a movie theatre. Upon opening, the theatre was instantly successful, filling 500 seats every showing as people clamored to see the new technology.
The theatre was later demolished to build a 1,200 seat movie palace that featured air conditioning. But its place in history was secure.
On Jan. 22, the SS Valencia sank off the coast of Vancouver Island. A large wave hit the ship immediately after she ran aground on the reef, lifting her off the reef and into the water. A gash was cut into the side, and her captain ordered the ship to be run aground to prevent it sinking. She was run aground on the reef again, this time on purpose.
Despite the captain’s orders not to lower lifeboats due to the rough waters, six were lowered. All were improperly operated, and three flipped into the ocean.
Only 12 men made it to shore, and waves immediately washed away three. A distress call went out from the telegraph station on the beach, and rescue efforts began.
Three ships were sent out from Victoria to rescue passengers, but none were able to reach the wreck due to rough seas.
As the waves battered the SS Valencia, people hung onto her rigging as the ship sank off the reef. The ship’s funnel collapsed, which was the last bit of protection people had from the waves. The storm continued to batter the ship, and rescuers could only watch as the seas were too rough to rescue the passengers.
Within an hour, a large wave hit the ship and knocked it deeper into the ocean, where it sank. The remaining passengers on the ship all died.
The sinking killed at least 100 people, including every woman and child.
On Jan. 29, Joe Primeau was born in Lindsay, Ontario. In his NHL career from 1927 to 1936, he won the Stanley Cup and the Lady Byng Trophy. He also had 243 points in 310 games and spent much of his career playing on the Kid Line with Charlie Conacher and Busher Jackson with the Maple Leafs. Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, he also won a Memorial Cup, Allan Cup. Another Stanley Cup came during his time coaching the Maple Leafs in 1950-51. He died on May 14, 1989.
On Feb. 23, Tommy Burns became the first Canadian heavyweight boxing champion. Born in Hanover in 1881, he was also the first Canadian boxer to travel the globe defending his title.
Going into the fight he was a two-to-one underdog and the betting was ten-to-seven he would not last ten rounds. In the end, he won a 20-round decision.
He defended his title 13 times against 11 different boxers in three years, including twice in one night. At the end of his career, he had 61 fights, of which he won 47, lost five and had a draw in nine. He lost the title against Jack Johnson in December 1908.
On March 3, Frank McGee scored eight goals in a single game. He scored the goals against the Montreal Hockey Club, and it remains the highest single-game goal total in history outside the 14 goals he scored in a Stanley Cup game in 1905.
On March 27, the Alpine Club of Canada was founded by Arthur Oliver Wheeler and Elizabeth Parker. Wheeler, who served as the first president, was a land surveyor in western Canada, while Parker was a journalist with the Manitoba Free Press.
Byron Harmon, who took 6,500 photographs of the Canadian Rockies in the early-20th century, became the official photographer.
The club has become the leading organization in Canada devoted to mountain culture, ecology and climbing. Today, there are 24 regional sections in the country with 10,000 members.
On March 29, Archibald Belaney left England on SS Beaver for Canada. He landed in Halifax, then moved to Toronto where he worked to raise money for a trip north. A few months later, after saving money, he went up the Ottawa River to Lake Temagami north of Sudbury.
It was there he stayed at the local Ojibwa community and began to build the persona for himself that became world famous, Grey Owl.
On May 7, Ontario Hydro was formed as the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario. The first commissioners were Adam Beck, Cecil Smith and John Hendrie. The organization was created as a unique hybrid between a government department, Crown Corporation and municipal cooperative. It became one of the largest, fully integrated electricity corporations in North America before it was broken up in 2015.
On May 16, Alfred Pellan was born in Quebec City. In 1920, he enrolled at the School of Fine Arts of Quebec and at the age of 17, sold his first painting to the National Gallery of Canada.
He emerged through his life as one of the most important painters of the 20th century in Canada. His work has been displayed at galleries across Canada.
He died on Oct. 31, 1988.
Multiple streets, a federal electoral district and a lake are all named for him in Quebec.
On May 19, Gabriel Dumont died. A leader of the Metis people, he was well known for his skill in the bison hunt. As hunt chief of the Saskatchewan Metis, he was a very important figure and leader of his people.
He participated in the North-West Resistance of 1885 and had a large role in the Battle of Duck Lake and the Battles of Fish Creek and Batoche.
Exiled from Canada for his role in the Resistance, he was given amnesty and returned a few years later. He settled down into a quiet life as a farmer for the rest of his life. In 1889, he dictated his memoirs.
The following events have no date.
Newfoundland put into place its own version of the Chinese Head Tax. The tax was $300 on any immigrant to China coming to Newfoundland, of which there were few. This tax remained in place until 1949 when Newfoundland joined Canada.
Lastly, Tom Longboat won his first race, the Around the Bay Road Race. He won the race by over three minutes. This began his legendary running career that would see him win the Boston Marathon the following year.
He later served in the First World War as a dispatch runner and died on Jan. 9, 1949.
