Lighthouse at Louisbourg

PHOTO: CAPE BRETON UNIVERSITY

APRIL 1, 1734
On Cape Breton Island, the lighthouse at Louisbourg is officially lit; the only other on the entire eastern coast of North America is in Boston, Mass.

APRIL 2, 1871
Canada’s population is 3,689,257, according to the first census of the Dominion of Canada.

APRIL 3, 1669
The roots of the Canadian militia are planted when King Louis XIV orders men to be organized into companies for military training so they can defend the colony of New France.

APRIL 4, 1968
American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King is assassinated in Memphis, Tenn.

Sikorsky helicopter

PHOTO: NATIONAL DEFENCE

APRIL 5, 1947
The first of seven Sikorsky helicopters, to be used for search and rescue, is received by the Royal Canadian Air Force.

APRIL 6, 1955
The last Canadian infantry battalion to serve in Korea, the Queen’s Own Rifles, leaves for home. Canadian military involvement in the Korean War began in 1950, not long after North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel on June 25th.

One of the craters at St. Eloi.

PHOTO: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA004394

APRIL 7, 1916
The mud is like porridge during the fighting for the St. Eloi Craters in France. Canadian losses from late March to mid-April are nearly 1,400.

APRIL 8, 1954
A Trans-Canada Air Lines passenger plane and an RCAF Harvard trainer collide over Moose Jaw, Sask., killing 37, including one person on the ground whose house was destroyed.

Guns blast away at Vimy Ridge.

PHOTO: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA001182

APRIL 9-12, 1917
The Canadian Corps suffers more than 10,500 casualties, including 3,598 dead, in the attack on Vimy Ridge. For the first time all four divisions of the Canadian Corps attack together. The ridge is taken and this success leads to the promotion of Arthur Currie as commander of the Canadian Corps—and the forging of a national identity.

APRIL 13, 2004
In Afghanistan, a senior member of a militant group suspected of a mine explosion that killed two Canadian soldiers is seized from a compound outside Kabul in a raid by Canadian and Afghan authorities.

Arnhem, Holland

PHOTO: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA174220

APRIL 14, 1945
The Dutch city of Arnhem is cleared of German troops, and the First Canadian Army moves on to Apeldoorn, which is liberated three days later.

APRIL 15-16, 1912
The liner Carpathia rescues 705 survivors of the Titanic, which hit an iceberg and sank in the Atlantic during its maiden voyage.

APRIL 17-19, 1961
A botched invasion at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba by exiled Cubans with United States air and sea support causes a faceoff between the Soviet Union and the U.S. which results in the Cuban missile crisis 18 months later, and the threat of nuclear war.

Great Toronto Fire

PHOTO: CITY OF TORONTO ARCHIVES, FONDS 1548, SERIES 402, FILE 8

APRIL 19-20, 1904
Fed by high winds, the Great Toronto Fire rips through 14 acres downtown, destroying  more than 100 buildings, causing $12 million in damages (about $308 million in 2013 dollars) and costing 5,000 jobs–but no lives.

APRIL 21, 1945
A day after Adolf Hitler celebrates his birthday in an underground bunker in Berlin, Germany, Russian troops enter the city. Hitler commits suicide nine days later.

APRIL 22, 1915
The Germans target the French in the first chlorine gas attack of the First World War, creating a breach in Allied lines at Gravenstafel during the Second Battle of Ypres. The 1st Canadian Division is sent in from Kitcheners Wood to close the gap, improvising ways to protect themselves.

APRIL 23-24, 1951
The Battle of Kapyong begins in Korea with a Chinese attack on the 3rd Royal Australian Regiment on Hill 504. The 2nd Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, which is dug in on nearby Hill 677, is soon exposed to the powerful attack. Casualties mount, but the Patricias’ hold their ground and repel repeated counterattacks.

Major-General Sir Frederick D. Middleton

PHOTO: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA025509

APRIL 24, 1885
Major-General Frederick Middleton’s 800 militia are ambushed by Gabriel Dumont’s 150 Métis and native warriors, suffering 55 casualties, including 10 dead, in the Battle of Fish Creek. Dumont’s forces suffer four dead and one wounded.

APRIL 25, 1945
In a 482-aircraft Bomber Command raid aimed at knocking out German coastal batteries controlling the approaches to the ports of Bremen and Wilhelmshaven, six aircraft are lost to collision; 28 Canadian and 13 British are killed.

APRIL 26, 1945
Canada’s last cruiser, His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Ontario, is commissioned.

APRIL 27, 1813
The U.S. Army occupies York, capital of Upper Canada, burning the Parliament building and the shipyards. The British retaliate in 1814 during their occupation of Washington, D.C., burning military and naval establishments, the legislative buildings and the presidential mansion.

APRIL 28, 1919
Canada is one of 41 countries to accept the Covenant of the League of Nations, which comes into effect in January 1920. Members agree to mutual protection against aggression and to tackle global problems.

APRIL 29, 1903
In the Crowsnest Pass 90 million tons of limestone slides off Turtle Mountain at 4 a.m., obliterating the town of Frank. At least 70 people are killed.

APRIL 30, 1941
S.S. Nerissa is sunk by a German U-boat 320 kilometres from Liverpool. HMS Veteran picked up dozens of survivors the next morning, but 83 are lost.

FOR MAY EVENTS, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.legionmagazine.com. The items will appear May 1. Here’s a taste of what to expect.