History of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1721 - France built fur post at Toronto

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1834 - York is renamed Toronto. William Lyon Mackenzie becomes the first mayor of Toronto.
The city of Toronto started off as York, the capital of Upper Canada in 1793. York was incorporated and renamed Toronto in 1834.
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1848 - St. Michael’s Cathedral dedicated at Toronto

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1856 - Grand Trunk
The Grand Trunk Railway opens its Toronto-Montréal line.

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1867 - Emily Stowe, the first woman doctor in Canada, begins to practice medicine in Toronto.

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1869 - Toronto
Toronto. - The chief city of the Province of Ontario, is situated in latitude 43' 39' 24" north, and longitude 79° 2? 30" west, on the north-west shore of Lake Ontario, and facing the Bay, a beautiful and spacious sheet of water, oval in form, and accessible to craft of all kinds. It was founded by Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe, who, having formed extensive plans for the improvement of the colony, resolved upon the foundation of a Provincial capital, and caused the first survey of the site to be made in 1793, by Bouchette, of the Royal Engineers. The place was called York until 1834, when it was incorporated, and the name changed to Toronto. In 1813 York was captured by the Americans, under General Pike, who was killed at the storming of the fort, but was held only for a few days, while in the meantime the Government House, public buildings, and all stores that could not be carried away, were burned. The site of the city is nearly level, sloping gently from the water's edge. The form is... Read MORE...

1872 - October 1 - First case reports in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, of the Great Epizootic of 1872 (equine influenza, or the "horse flu") which will substantially disrupt life in North America by mid-December.

wikipedia.org
October 1, 1872

1872 - WRECK OF THE ROBERT LOWE
CONFIRMATION OF THE SAD RUMOR — EIGHTEEN LIVES LOST.

TORONTO, Nov. 23 — The following particulars have been received regarding the Anglo-American cable steamer Robert Lowe from the surviving officers: After connecting Lamanche and Placentiatown by cable, the steamer left the latter port at 4 P. M., on the 19th, bound for St. Johns. At 4 A. M., on the 20th the weather thick and the wind h igh, the ship struck heavily near St. Shotts, and in a very few minutes filled and settled down so fast that it was impossible to get the life-boats afloat. Three other boats, containing twenty-three people, succeeded in getting clear of the wreck, and remained by it till daylight. Capt. Tidmarsh was on the bridge at the time of the disaster, perfectly cool, and took in the whole situation at a glance. He ordered the boats to be cleared away, and proved by sticking to his vessel to the last.

Five minutes after striking the sloop's poop was underwater. Mr. McKenden, of the Heart's Content... Read MORE...

1873
TORONTO, formerly YORK, capital of Ontario, an 1 one of the most flourishing cities in the Dominion, is situated on a beautiful circular bay, on the N.W. shore of Lake Ontario, in York co., 333 miles W.S.W. of Montreal, 161 miles from Kingston, 39 miles N. by E. of Hamilton, and 500 miles N.W. of Washington. Lat. 43° 49' 4" N., Ion. 79° 71' 5" W. Mean temperature of the year 44°4; winter 26°4; summer 63°8 Fahrenheit.

The bay is entered by a narrow opening, and is separated from the lake by a low peninsula about 6 miles long, enclosing a beautiful basin miles in diameter, forming a safe and well sheltered harbor, capable of containing a large number of vessels. The peninsula is called Pleasure Island or Gibraltar Point, and is a favorite resort during the summer months.

The site of the town is low but rises gently from the waters' edge, the observatory being 108 feet above the Lake. The streets generally cross each other at right angles, some almost running parallel with the bay, ... Read MORE...

1876 - The Toronto Women's Literary Club is founded as a front for the suffrage movement.

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1880 - Emily Stowe is finally granted a license to practice medicine in Toronto.

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1883 - Augusta Stowe, daughter of Emily, is the first woman to graduate from the Toronto Medical School. The Toronto Women's Suffrage Association replaces the Literary Club of 1876.

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1885 - The city of Toronto, Canada, had a million-dollar conflagration Sunday night. The entire city was seriously threatened.

St Joseph Herald
Saint Joseph, Michigan
August 8, 1885

1888 - Miss Bryan, a young woman of Winnipeg, was robbed on Monday night by a man who undertook to show her the way from the depot to a hotel.
TORONTO, Oct 10 - Instead of taking her to her destination he led her along Front street, and at a dark corner snatched her satchel containg fifty dollars, some jewellery and a ticke for Seaforth. A purse containg twenty dollars, which dropped fromt he satchel, was afterwards found where she struggled with the theif for the possesion of her property.
The Brandon Mail
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
October 18, 1888

1890 - TORONTO UNIVERSITY DESTROYED.
THE CARELESS HANDLING OF LAMPS CAUSES A HEAVY LOSS.

Toronto, February, 14. - Toronto university was totally destroyed by fire tonight. The loss is $500,000. Preparations had been made for the annual conversazione, at which 2,000 persons were expected to be present and it was just before the guests commenced to arrive at 7 o'clock, that the fire broke out. The building was not supplied with enough gas jets so that on any special occasion it was necessary to light up with lamps. Two men were engaged in carrying up stairs six lighted lamps to be put in chandeliers, when the man on the lower end, fearing the lamps might fall let go his hold. The lamps fell and broke and the oil spread all over the stairs and down on the already heavily oiled floor. All the buildings were destroyed. The library worth $100,000, the museum with its valuable specimens and curiosities, mathematical instruments and furniture were all destroyed. One domestic was severely burned. The property including all the ... Read MORE...

1903 - The Ivanhoe, a popular electric car, is made by Canada Cycle and Motor Co. of Toronto.

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April 19, 1904: Great fire in Toronto started
The Great Toronto Fire destroys much of that city's downtown, but there are no fatalities.
The Old Farmer's Almanac www.almanac.com
April 19, 1904

1904 - Pledge to Not Drink Liquor
It is announced from Toronto that seven hundred children have recently taken the pledge not to drink liquor. It is a nice ethical question whether such pledges should be put to children. We do not hold a child responsible for a business engagement until it has reached years of discretion. And yet if it is not old enough to do a few dollars' worth of business, it is not old enough to say whether or not it will ever want to take a glass of wine. Still if a pledge be exacted from it after an appeal to its emotions, it must face the dilemma in after years of either accepting a restraint upon its liberty in one direction or of breaking its promise. Surely a great moral movement does not require to so take advantage of a child's trust and inexperience.
The Argus
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
October 8, 1904

1909 - The first Grey Cup game; the University of Toronto football team defeats Toronto Parkdale. A trophy has been donated by the governor general, Earl Grey.

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1921 - July 27 – Researchers at the University of Toronto led by biochemist Frederick Banting announce the discovery of the hormone insulin.

wikipedia.org
July 27, 1921

1949 - 200 DIE ON FIERY SHIP. GREAT LAKES QUEEN BURNS. HOLOCAUST SINKS PLEASURE CRUISER AT TORONTO DOCK.
400 HOLIDAYERS ESCAPE FLAMING DEATH AMID SCENES OF HORROR.

Toronto, Ont., Sept. 17. (AP) - Nearly 200 ship-board holiday-makers, most of them Americans, died in a racing night-time fire that swept flames and panic through the Canadian pleasure cruiser Noronic in a few scant minutes early today.

Awakened by screams and smoke, more than 400 others scrambled or jumped to safety through the flames that turned the 36-year-old Great Lakes queen into a blackened sunken hulk at her dock here.

Mayor HIRAM McCALLUM estimated the death toll at "close to 200" but an exact count was unlikely for days. Many of the survivors scattered after the tragedy. Some of the victims were believed trapped in the twisted ship that sank onto the harbor bottom in 28 feet of water.

117 Bodies In Emergency Morgue.
At midafternoon police said 190 bodies had been recovered but only 117 had been gathered in an emergency morgue tonight and authorities withdrew the earlier estimate.

The Canadian press -... Read MORE...

1950 - SIX MEET DEATH IN FIRE TRAP.
Toronto, Jan. 21. - (CP) - Refugees from Europe's barbed wire and prison bars died behind bars yesterday in their land of promise.

They died amidst flames in a prison-like basement workshop in west-central Toronto, clawing at heavy bars that covered windows with thick, wire meshed glass.

Six persons - four men and two women - were suffocated or fatally burned in the fire, Toronto's worst since last Sept. 17 when the Great Lakes steamship Noronic went up in flames at her pier with the loss of 119 lives. Three other workers in the dingy cellar were burned so severely they may die.

No Chance.
Said Chief Coroner Smirle Lawson:
"They were caught like rats in a trap. They didn't have a chance."

The four head-high windows in the Phillips Garments Company basement plant were barred as protection against burglars. The one door opening to an outside hallway was blocked by leaping flames, feeding on plywood partitions. A rear door, it was reported, had been locked in contravention ... Read MORE...

March 30, 1954: Official opening of Canada's first subway (Toronto)

The Old Farmer's Almanac www.almanac.com
March 30, 1954

1954 - Hurricane Hazel
Hazel was first spotted east of the Windward Islands on October 5. It moved through the islands later that day as a hurricane, then it moved westward over the southern Caribbean Sea through October 8. A slow turn to the north-northeast occurred from October 9-12, with Hazel crossing western Haiti as a hurricane on the 12th. The hurricane turned northward and crossed the southeastern Bahamas on the 13th, followed by a northwestward turn on the 14th. Hazel turned north and accelerated on October 15, making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane near the North Carolina-South Carolina border. Subsequent rapid motion over the next 12 hours took the storm from the coast across the eastern United States into southeastern Canada as it became extratropical.

High winds occurred over large portions of the eastern United States. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina reported a peak wind gust of 106 mph, and winds were estimated at 130 to 150 mph along the coast between Myrtle Beach and Cape Fear, North... Read MORE...

1975 - Toronto's CN Tower becomes the world's tallest free-standing structure (Apr. 2).

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Here's a list of places to go and things to do in the wonderful city of Toronto:
CN Tower: Start your Toronto adventure by visiting the iconic CN Tower. You can take a glass elevator to the top and enjoy breathtaking panoramic views of the city and Lake Ontario. Don't miss the EdgeWalk, where you can walk along the outside of the tower's main pod.

Royal Ontario Museum (ROM): Explore art, culture, and history at the ROM. This museum houses an impressive collection of artifacts, including ancient Egyptian mummies, dinosaur fossils, and stunning art pieces from around the world.

Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO): If you're an art lover, AGO is a must-visit. It features an extensive collection of Canadian and international art, including works by the Group of Seven and European masters.

Distillery Historic District: Wander through the cobblestone streets of the Distillery District, filled with art galleries, boutiques, and restaurants. It's a charming place to explore and often hosts festivals and events.

Harbourfront Centre: Located along the shores of Lake... Read MORE...