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Queen Victoria dies, and is succeeded by her son, Edward VII.
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Enrico Caruso's first gramophone recording.
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Wright brothers fly first heavier than air plane
Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, fly first powered, controlled, heavier-than-air plane at Kitty Hawk, N.C. -
Henry Ford organizes Ford Motor Company.
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Victoria’s first pumping station was built at Quadra and Reynolds
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The provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan are created
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North Pole reportedly reached by American explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew Henson.
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Boy Scouts of America incorporated.
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Henry Ford develops first moving assembly line.
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Period: to
World War 1
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Komagata Maru in Vancouver
South Asian migrants aboard the Komagata Maru in Vancouver harbour in May are refused entry to Canada and the ship is sent back to India in June. A landmark in the history of BC race relations. -
The Sooke reservoir was completed and delivered water to Fountain Squares was then distributed in the town through smaller pipes
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Women win the vote in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta
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"Big Snow" occurred in Victoria, 31 inches of snow fell in 24 hours, crippled the city
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BC Women won right to vote
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Period: to
Alcohol Prohibition in BC
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The Winnipeg General Strike
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Period: to
Worldwide influenza epidemic strikes; by 1920, nearly 20 million are dead.
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First commercial radio broadcast
KDKA, a Pittsburgh Westinghouse station, transmits the first commercial radio broadcast. -
Mine explosion in Cumberland BC
Cumberland mine explosion killed 33; Chinese Immigration Act passed, ended all Chinese immigration to Canada -
Victoria Cougars win the Stanley Cup
The Victoria Cougars defeated Montreal to win the Stanley Cup, the last time a team from BC won the Cup. -
First solo flight across the Atlantic
Charles A. Lindbergh flies first successful solo nonstop flight from New York to Paris. -
The first part-talking motion picture is released
"The Jazz Singer", with Al Jolson, is released and is the first part-talking motion picture. -
Emily Carr art exhibition in Ottawa
The paintings of Emily Carr achieve national recognition at a major show in Ottawa through November and December. -
The first television is sold - a Daven for $75
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Period: to
The Great Depression in the United States
In the U.S. in 1929, stock market prices collapse, with U.S. securities losing $26 billion—first phase of Depression and world economic crisis. The Depression ended in 1939 with the start of WWII -
Pluto discovered by astronomers.
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The tallest building in the world was the Empire State Building in NYC 1250 feet, 102 stories
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There are nearly 40,000 television sets in the United States; 9,000 of them are in New York City alone.
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Amelia Earhart is first woman to fly Atlantic solo.
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Dionne sisters, first quintuplets to survive beyond infancy, born in Canada.
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Striking relief camp workers descend on Vancouver in May to protest conditions in the camps, leading to the notorious On-to-Ottawa Trek.
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The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) debuts the world's first television service with three hours of programming a day.
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"War of the Worlds" radio broadcast causes nationwide panic
Orson Welles broadcasts his adaptation of H.G. Wells's "War of the Worlds" on October 30, creating a nationwide panic as listeners believe that aliens have landed in New Jersey. -
Period: to
WWII
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CBS demonstrates colour television in New York
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The first Bugs Bunny cartoon.
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Japanese from move to internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
All persons "of the Japanese race" being relocated from the BC coast to camps and communities in the Interior and to other provinces after bombing of Pearl Harbor, fall of Hong Kong. This is one of the worst violations of human rights in Canadian history. -
Allies invade Normandy on D-Day
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Period: to
Cold War
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Germany surrenders
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U.S. drops atomic bombs on Japan.
U.S. drops atomic bombs on Japanese cities of Hiroshima (Aug. 6) and Nagasaki (Aug. 9). -
Japan signs official surrender on V-J Day
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7.3 earthquake struck Courtenay on Vancouver Island
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Newfoundland joins Canada
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South Africa institutionalizes apartheid
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Communist People's Republic of China formally proclaimed by Chairman Mao Zedong
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German Democratic Republic (East Germany) established under Soviet rule
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Saturday morning children's TV programming begins.
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Korean War begins when North Korean Communist forces invade South Korea
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Colour television introduced in the US
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Mungo Martin is hired as chief carver at the provincial museum's Thunderbird Park; the appointment is symbolic of an explosive renaissance of aboriginal culture in BC.
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King George VI of England dies; his daughter becomes Quen Elizabeth II
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Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal reach top of Mt. Everest
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Dr. Jonas Salk starts inoculating children against polio.
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World's tallest free-standing totem pole erected at Victoria
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The Wizard of Oz has its first airing on TV
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Russians launch Sputnik I, first Earth-orbiting satellite—the Space Age begins
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BC celebrates its centennial.
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The St. Lawrence Seaway officially opens
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Period: to
Vietnam War
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Quebec’s Quiet Revoluton begins
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Native Canadians given the vote
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The Food and Drug Administration approves birth control pills.
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Typhoon Freda struck Vancouver, $C55 million in damages, 7 killed, hundreds injured
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The provincial government creates BC Hydro to undertake massive hydroelectric projects on the Columbia and Peace rivers.
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Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr., is first American to orbit Earth—three times in 4 hr 55
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Martin Luther King delivers “I have a dream” speech
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President Kennedy shot and killed by sniper in Dallas, Tex.
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Colour television makes its way into US homes
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The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show.
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The first Star Trek episode is broadcast
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Canada celebrates its 100th anniversary
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First successful heart transplant
Dr. Christiaan N. Barnard and team of South African surgeons perform world's first successful human heart transplant —patient dies 18 days later. -
Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader, is slain in Memphis
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Sen. Robert F. Kennedy is shot and critically wounded in Los Angeles hotel after winning California primary —dies June 6
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Sesame Street debuts.
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Internet (ARPA) goes online.
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Apollo 11 astronauts take man's first walk on the moon
Apollo 11 astronauts—Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins—take man's first walk on the moon. -
The tallest building in the world was the World Trade Centre in NYC at 1368 feet, 110 stories.
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Iranian militants seize U.S. embassy in Tehran and hold hostages
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Smallpox eradicated
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Six U.S. embassy aides escape from Iran with Canadian help
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Terry Fox began cross-country Marathon of Hope
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The Canadian constitution is repatriated with a Charter of Rights and Freedoms
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British Columbia Place Stadium opened - World's largest air-support dome
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Pacific Salmon Treaty signed by Canada, U.S. established equitable division of fishing catches, conservation
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Space shuttle Challenger explodes after launch at Cape Canaveral, Fla., killing all seven aboard
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Expo 86 held in Vancouver
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98% of US households have at least one TV
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Free Trade Agreement signed by Canada, U.S. removed trade restrictions, increased cross-border trade
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Voyager 2 spacecraft speeds by Neptune
Voyager 2 spacecraft speeds by Neptune after making startling discoveries about the planet and its moons -
Tiananmen Square rally for democracy in China
Tens of thousands of Chinese students take over Beijing's Tiananmen Square in rally for democracy (April 19 et seq.). More than one million in Beijing demonstrate for democracy; chaos spreads across nation (mid-May et seq.). Thousands killed in Tiananmen Square as Chinese leaders take hard line toward demonstrators (June 4 et seq.). -
After 28 years, Berlin Wall is open to
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World Wide Web debuts, popularizes Internet.
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South Africa frees Nelson Mandela, imprisoned 27 and a half years.
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Period: to
Gulf War
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Soviet Union breaks up after President Gorbachev's resignation; constituent republics form Commonwealth of Independent States
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There are 900 million television sets in use around the world.
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Rwandan genocide of Tutsis by Hutus begins; estimated 800,000 slaughtered in c. 100 days
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South Africa holds first interracial national election; Nelson Mandela elected president.
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Commonwealth Games held in Victoria
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Tougher emissions standards for new vehicles passed - most stringent in Canada
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U.S. shuttle docks with Russian space station
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Blizzard dumped 59 inches of snow in B.C.
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The tallest building in the world was the Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at 1483 feet, 88 stories
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Europeans agree on single currency, the euro
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The new Arctic territory of Nunavut is created
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The World Trade Centre is struck down by 2 planes.
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Period: to
Iraq War
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The tallest building in the world was the Burj Khalifa, United Arab Emirates 2716 feet/828 metres, 160 stories
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Vancouver hosts the Winter Olympics
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Margaret Jenkins Elementary School celebrates its centennial
