1782: Guy Carleton, Baron Dorchester, named Commander in Chief of British North America.
1815: Sir George Prevost, commanding British forces in Canada, submits a progress report to the British government on the Lachine Canal project. This project, drafted on the heels of the recent war with the United States, will be the first in a system of defensive canals meant to circumvent the St. Lawrence should it be captured by the Americans in a future war.
1838: American republican sympathizers occupy Fighting Island in the Detroit River to back Canadian rebels.
1858: At Sultanpore in India, Lieutenant Innes of the Bengal Engineers rode ahead of the advancing British troops to drive the enemy away from an artillery piece. He then charged a second gun, which was being more resolutely manned and was well placed to maul the advancing troops. Innes killed a gunner and captured the gun, which he then defended until reinforcements arrived. He received the Victoria Cross, as did Major Gough, decorated for a series of actions over the previous months, culminating in a skirmish on 23 February when he saved the life of a fellow officer.
1900: During the Boer War, a British colonel fell wounded in the open. Boer snipers kept his body under close watch, and drove back any attempts to reach him. The colonel himself sustained a further eight wounds. Private Curtis of the East Surrey Regiment nevertheless was determined to rescue him. After several aborted attempts, Curtis managed to reach the colonel, and proceeded to dress his wounds, all the time under constant fire. The colonel insisted that he be left, since the risks of carrying him were so high. Curtis ignored him, and managed to carry him back to the British lines, helped by another man who succeeded in coming to his aid. Curtis was awarded the Victoria Cross.
1909: J. A. D. McCurdy flies the Bell designed Silver Dart at an altitude of about 10 metres for nearly one kilometre across Baddeck Bay; first airplane flight in Canada by a Canadian; first powered flight in British Empire.
1917: As British forces once more advanced up the Tigris towards Kut in Mesopotamia, Major Wheeler led a small party of nine Gurkhas across the river and stormed an enemy position. The Turks reacted swiftly to this incursion, and dispatched a force well armed with grenades to retake the trench. The Gurkhas met them with a bayonet charge, during which Wheeler received a severe bayonet wound to the head. Nevertheless, he remained in command and consolidated his defences, having established through his initiative a valuable bridge-head on the enemy bank. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.
1943: Naval Radio Station (NRS) Massett opens, one of 5 west coast relay stations for ship communications.
1945: US Marines take Japanese island of Iwo Jima 1200 km south of Tokyo after severe fighting.
1945: Captain Swales, South African Air Force, serving with 582 Squadron RAF, was appointed the Master Bomber to lead a raid on Pforzheim. As he circled the target, controlling the bombing runs, his Lancaster was twice attacked by German fighters. Swales chose not to take evasive action, since this would have interfered with his control of the raid. Two of the Lancaster's engines were knocked out, as well as the rear turret. Swales nevertheless continued to direct the bombing with great accuracy, and only turned for home once the raid was complete. On the way back, the badly damaged aircraft hit turbulent cloud over Belgium, and became uncontrollable. Swales ordered his crew to bail out, whilst he struggled to hold the aircraft steady. They all parachuted safely, but Swales had no opportunity to escape before the Lancaster crashed. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross, Bomber Command's last such decoration.
1951: Canadian troops with 27th British Commonwealth Infantry Brigade make first contact with enemy.
1959: Royal Canadian Air Force personnel build a flight-worthy reproduction of the "Silver Dart" aircraft in recognition of the fiftieth anniversary of powered flight in Canada.
1994: Bosnia's government and separatist Bosnian Croat forces agree to comprehensive cease-fire under UN auspices.
BORN TODAY: Marc Garneau 1949-
engineer, soldier, astronaut, space scientist, born on this day at Quebec City in 1949. Garneau got his bachelor of science degree in engineering physics from the Royal Military College of Kingston in 1970, and a PhD in electrical engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, England, in 1973. He was a combat systems engineer on HMCS Algonquin, 1974-76, then taught naval weapon systems at the Canadian Forces Fleet School in Halifax, 1976-77, where he designed a simulator for use in training weapons officers in the use of missile systems aboard Tribal class destroyers. He was promoted to Commander and attended the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College of Toronto in 1982-83. Garneau was one of the first six Canadian astronauts selected in December 1983, and was the first Canadian to go into space, as a payload specialist on Shuttle Missions STS-41G Challenger (October 5-13, 1984) and STS-77 Endeavour (May 19-29, 1996), logging over 437 hours in space. Garneau has since served as spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) in Mission Control during Shuttle flights.
