Timeline
7 November 1900
Canadian Life
Wilfrid Laurier begins his second term as Prime Minister of Canada.
1901
Science & Technology Milestones
Aluminum production begins in Shawinigan, Quebec.
1901
Canadian Life
Population of Canada: 5 418 663.
22 January 1901
Canadian Life
The death of Queen Victoria signals the end of the Victorian Age.
12 December 1901
Science & Technology Milestones
Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio transmission using Morse code, in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
1902 - The Automobile
Science & Technology Milestones
Canada built its first production gasoline-powered automobile, the LeRoy, in 1902.
The automobile manufacturing industry had gradually become established in Western Europe and the United States as the nineteenth century came to a close. But at that time it was unclear whether models powered by steam, electricity or gasoline would prove most popular with wealthy families buying new cars.
In Canada, the numerous small companies that set out to manufacture automobiles faced formidable competition from the Ford Motor Company of Canada, with its U.S.-designed Model T. With the introduction of the moving assembly line (just before the First World War) leading to 15 million Model Ts being produced in less than two decades, Henry Ford guaranteed that the gasoline-powered car would dominate over its rivals. A new age of mobility was under way for countless people living in urban and rural areas of North America and beyond.
1902
Canadian Aviation Events
In New Brunswick, engineer W.R. Turnbull constructs the first wind tunnel.
1902
Canadian Life
Beatrix Potter publishes the Tale of Peter Rabbit.
1903
Science & Technology Milestones
Chemist and physicist Marie Curie shares the Nobel Prize in Physics, following her research on radiation.
1903
Canadian Life
The first long-distance, high-voltage hydro line goes into service between Montreal and Shawinigan, Quebec.
1903
Canadian Life
Canada Cycle and Motor (CCM) of Weston, Ontario, begins producing motorcycles.
February 1903
Canadian Life
Teddy Bears and Crayola coloured crayons become available: it’s a good year for children of all ages.
17 December 1903
Science & Technology Milestones
Americans Wilbur and Orville Wright make the first controlled and sustained flight aboard a powered airplane.
1904
Canadian Life
The Ford Motor Company of Canada is founded.
1904
Canadian Life
Western Canada’s first skyscraper, the 11-storey Union Bank Tower, is built in Winnipeg.
1905
Science & Technology Milestones
German physicist Albert Einstein publishes four groundbreaking papers that change the world’s ideas on physics forever.
1905
Canadian Life
Canada Cycle and Motor (CCM) launches its Russell line of automobiles.
1905
Science & Technology Milestones
Léon Levavasseur designs the Antoinette V-8 engine for use in boats and airplanes.
1 September 1905
Canadian Life
Saskatchewan and Alberta become provinces.
5 October 1905
Science & Technology Milestones
Wilbur Wright stays aloft for a record 38 minutes, covering a distance of 39 km (24 mi) in 30 circuits.
1906 - Technology in the Home
Science & Technology Milestones
In Canada, washing machines were first made commercially available in 1906, and they heralded great “advances” on the domestic front. Since 1900, kitchens in the average Canadian home have changed significantly.
The campaign to introduce electricity to the home, which spread from urban to rural areas across the country, played a crucial role in developments. Large and small companies, among them American giants with subsidiaries, such as the Canadian Westinghouse Company Limited and the Canadian General Electric Company Limited, produced numerous items that were advertised as labour-saving devices the modern housewife could not live without. Electric irons, vacuum cleaners and toasters were all on the market by 1909. Before the outset of the First World War, the first electric dishwashers, refrigerators and washing machines designed for domestic use were also made available.
Unfortunately, the cost of many of these devices meant that only affluent families could afford to buy them.
1906
Canadian Life
The first edition of the National Atlas of Canada (one of the world’s earliest atlases) is published.
30 September 1906
Canadian Life
James Gordon Bennett sponsors the first international balloon race in Paris.
23 October 1906
Science & Technology Milestones
Brazilian Alberto Santos-Dumont makes the first airplane flight in Paris.
24 December 1906
Science & Technology Milestones
Canadian Reginald Fessenden makes the first audio radio broadcasts of music and entertainment in the United States.
1907
Canadian Life
France, the United Kingdom and Russia sign the Triple Entente in a move to foil Germany’s plans to dominate Europe.
23 January 1907
Science & Technology Milestones
On a motorcycle of his own design, American Glenn Curtiss becomes the fastest human on Earth, reaching a speed of 219 km/h (136.3 mph).
1 October 1907 - The Aerial Experiment Association
Canadian Aviation Events
On 1 October 1907, Americans Alexander Graham Bell, T.E. Selfridge and G.H. Curtiss, and Canadians J.A.D. McCurdy and F.W. “Casey” Baldwin formed the Aerial Experiment Association (A.E.A.). Much of the A.E.A.’s work took place in 1908 at Hammondsport, New York, where it tested increasingly sophisticated airplanes: the Red Wing, White Wing, June Bug and Silver Dart.
On 23 February 1909, McCurdy lifted off a frozen lake at Baddeck in Nova Scotia aboard the Silver Dart. This was the first controlled and sustained flight of a powered airplane in Canada.
Although the A.E.A. was dissolved on 31 March 1909, its legacy lived on. McCurdy and Baldwin established Canada’s first aircraft production company, the Canadian Aerodrome Company at Baddeck, while Curtiss became one of the most famous aircraft manufacturers of his day.
1908
Science & Technology Milestones
France’s Seguin Brothers launch production of a powerful, light and reliable rotary engine that provides an alternative to the heavier, water-cooled engines available to date.
1908
Canadian Life
L.M. Montgomery publishes the Canadian classic Anne of Green Gables.
1908
Science & Technology Milestones
America’s Ford Motor Company produces the first Ford Model T.
1908
Canadian Life
The 300th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain’s founding of Quebec City.
12 March 1908
Canadian Aviation Events
The A.E.A.’s Red Wing makes its first flight in the United States, covering a distance of 97 m (319 ft), with F.W. "Casey" Baldwin as pilot.
18 May 1908
Canadian Aviation Events
The A.E.A.’s White Wing makes its first flight in the United States, covering a distance of 85 m (279 ft), with F.W. "Casey" Baldwin as pilot.
21 June 1908
Canadian Aviation Events
The A.E.A.’s June Bug makes its first flight in the United States, covering a distance of 139 m (456 ft), with Glenn Curtiss as pilot.
4 July 1908
Canadian Aviation Events
The A.E.A.’s June Bug, piloted by Glenn Curtiss, wins the Scientific American Trophy for making the first flight of 1 km (3821 ft) in a straight line.
6 December 1908
Canadian Aviation Events
The A.E.A.’s Silver Dart makes its first flight in the United States, covering a distance of about 180 m (600 ft), with J.A.D. McCurdy as pilot.
1909
Canadian Life
The first airplane flights are made in Austria, Sweden, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Portugal and Canada.
1909
Canadian Life
Canada’s Easter Automobile Company produces the short-lived (1908–1909) Comet car.
1909
Canadian Life
The toaster is introduced in North America.
23 February 1909
Canadian Aviation Events
The Silver Dart makes its first flight in Canada, with J.A.D. McCurdy as pilot.
31 March 1909
Canadian Aviation Events
The A.E.A. is dissolved.
April 1909
Canadian Aviation Events
A.E.A. members J.A.D. McCurdy and F.W. "Casey" Baldwin form the first Canadian aviation manufacturing firm: the Canadian Aerodrome Company.
Spring 1909
Science & Technology Milestones
In a move that leads to Canada becoming a major wheat exporter, the Marquis (an early-maturing grain cultivated in Canada) is distributed to prairie farmers.
25 July 1909 - Louis Blériot and the Channel Flight
Science & Technology Milestones
On 25 July 1909, Louis Blériot made headline news worldwide when he became the first to fly across the English Channel. Before the First World War, London’s Daily Mail newspaper offered numerous prizes to aviators who could meet different flying challenges. One such challenge was crossing the English Channel by airplane.
On 19 July 1909, a young and affluent Frenchman named Hubert Latham lifted off from a field near Calais, France. He flew no more than a few kilometres from shore before crash-landing but, fortunately, was rescued unharmed. News of his efforts convinced Blériot, a successful French businessman, whose company produced ethylene lamps for automobiles, to enter the competition. Despite the fact that Blériot had suffered a bad burn on his left foot only a few days earlier, he took off from Calais on 25 July and managed to land his Blériot XI in a field near Dover, England. His propeller and undercarriage did undergo some damage, but the crossing was deemed a success. Reports of Blériot’s feat made him a national hero. Better still, some armed forces and many individuals bought—or produced versions of—his Blériot XI, making it the most popular aircraft of its day.
2 August 1909
Canadian Aviation Events
The first airplane flight in Ontario takes place.
12 August 1909
Canadian Aviation Events
The Canadian Aerodrome Company’s Baddeck I makes its first flight.
22 August 1909
Science & Technology Milestones
The world’s first international air meet begins in Reims, France.
4 December 1909
Canadian Life
Le Club de Hockey Canadien (more commonly known as the Montreal Canadiens) is formed.
7 December 1909
Science & Technology Milestones
Belgian chemist Dr Leo Baekeland patents the world’s first true plastic: Bakelite™.
1910
Canadian Life
The Canadian Commercial Motor Car Company “starts up” in Windsor, making commercial vehicles/trucks.
25 March 1910
Canadian Aviation Events
The first airplane flight in British Columbia takes place.
25 June 1910
Canadian Aviation Events
The first airplane flight in Quebec takes place.
25 June 1910 - The Montreal Aviation Meet
Canadian Aviation Events
On 25 June 1910, Canada’s first aviation meet (and the largest one to date in North America) was held near Montreal, Quebec. The event was prompted by the first ever international aviation meet, which had drawn huge crowds between 22 and 29 August of the previous year in Reims, France.
At the Montreal meet, nine pilots and ten airplanes were on hand to thrill the crowds. Over a period of eleven days, four American pilots working for the Wright brothers and France’s Jacques de Lesseps completed seventy-two sustained flights (without accidents), including a 50-kilometre journey from the airfield where the meeting took place to Montreal downtown and back by de Lesseps. Unfortunately, the Canadian pilots who took part, among them J.A.D. McCurdy, were unable to stay aloft for more than brief stints. The five visiting pilots also attended a much smaller aviation meet, held near Toronto, Ontario in early July.
15 July 1910
Canadian Aviation Events
The first airplane flight in Manitoba takes place.
8 September 1910
Canadian Aviation Events
The first trials are made of a Canadian-made aero engine designed by William Wallace Gibson of British Columbia.
1911
Science & Technology Milestones
New Zealand’s Ernest Rutherford develops the theory of the atomic nucleus structure.
1911
Canadian Life
Population of Canada: 7 221 662.
1911
Science & Technology Milestones
Physicist and chemist Marie Curie receives the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of radium, becoming the first person to win or share two Nobel Prizes.
January 1911
Science & Technology Milestones
French Captain A. Étevé invents and tests the first practical airspeed indicator.
28 April 1911
Canadian Aviation Events
The first airplane flight in Alberta takes place.
1 June 1911
Canadian Aviation Events
The first airplane flight in Saskatchewan takes place.
10 October 1911
Canadian Life
Robert Borden becomes Prime Minister of Canada.
15 April 1912 - RMS Titanic
Science & Technology Milestones
The RMS Titanic, the world’s largest passenger steamship, sank off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada on 15 April 1912.
The late nineteenth century saw fierce competition among shipping lines from different countries, all trying to satisfy wealthy travellers seeking luxury on board and to meet the demand of millions of less affluent Europeans eager to immigrate to North America. Many companies ordered ever larger passenger liners to meet these challenges.
One such ship, the Titanic, was delivered to the White Star Line in early April 1912. Days later, with about 2 450 passengers and crew on board, the giant ship left Southampton, England, for New York City, New York. But long before reaching its destination, the Titanic struck an iceberg: the ship sank on the night of 15 April. On a ship believed by many to be unsinkable, the small number of lifeboats onboard, coupled with inadequate evacuation procedures and the absence of radio operation guidelines, led to the death of more than 1 500 people, many of them prominent individuals. The outcry following the sinking led to measures being taken soon after to minimize chances of a similar disaster. Almost a century later, the story of the Titanic continues to fascinate millions around the world.
27 August 1912
Canadian Life
Tom Wilby and Jack Haney set off in a Reo Special at the start of the first cross-Canada automobile trip.
2 September 1912
Canadian Aviation Events
The first airplane flight in New Brunswick takes place.
25 September 1912
Canadian Aviation Events
The first airplane flight in Prince Edward Island takes place.
1913
Science & Technology Milestones
French physicists Charles Fabry and Henri Buisson discover the ozone layer, a vital component of the Earth’s atmosphere.
1913
Canadian Life
The first electric refrigerators suitable for home use in North America are produced.
1913
Canadian Life
The first moving assembly line for automobiles in North America is developed.
1913
Canadian Life
An Act of Parliament incorporates the National Gallery of Canada.
10 September 1913
Canadian Aviation Events
In Manitoba, a Curtiss-type pusher biplane makes the first flight in Canada to exceed 100 mi (161 km).
End of year 1913
Canadian Life
At the end of the year, data shows that 400 870 immigrants arrived in Canada during 1913, marking a record high in the history of the country.
1914
Canadian Life
French novelist Louis Hémon publishes Maria Chapdelaine, a story of pioneer life in Quebec.
12 June 1914
Canadian Life
An Act of Parliament incorporates the Canadian General Council of the Boy Scout Association.
18 June 1914
Science & Technology Milestones
In Paris, American Lawrence Sperry demonstrates the first practical autopilot.
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