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Today in History 12/31 (Ottawa Named Capital)

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Houses of Parliament in Ottawa, Ontario, pre-1940 (© The Print Collector/Getty Images)(1857) Britain’s Queen Victoria makes Ottawa the capital of Canada
Queen Victoria follows the advice of her advisors and selects a lumber town, called Bytown, to be Canada’s capital. She chooses the outpost that will become Ottawa because its backcountry location will make it easier to defend against an American invasion and because it stands midway between Toronto and Quebec.
The History of Ottawa, capital of Canada, was shaped by events such as the construction of the Rideau Canal, the lumber industry, the choice of Ottawa as the location of Canada’s capital, as well as American and European influences and interactions. By 1914, Ottawa’s population had surpassed 100,000 and today it is the capital of a G7 country whose metropolitan population exceeds one million.
A view of Ottawa, some of Hull and of the Ottawa River circa 1859, including views of the Chaudière Falls and of Parliament Hill (formerly Barrack Hill) prior to the construction of the Parliament Buildings. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Lithograph, hand-coloured, some discolouration, water mark at top left. Crack in paper, upper centre
View of Parliament Hill and Chaudière Falls, Ottawa, ca. 1859. The hill is the second high landmass jutting into the Ottawa River on the right. It still contains barracks here, its last year with them, for construction of the Parliament Builds is about to begin. The Union Bridge is in the foreground, but its main span has been replaced, after many years of ferry service only, with a steel suspension bridge.
wiki/History_of_Ottawa
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(1857) Britain’s Queen Victoria makes Ottawa the capital of Canada.
Also on this day,

1879 | Thomas Edison lights a street with his incandescent bulbs
On New Year’s Eve, American inventor Thomas Edison demonstrates his incandescent light bulbs in Menlo Park, New Jersey, by lighting a street in front of about 3,000 spectators. Edison isn’t the first to design such a light bulb, though his is the first to burn steadily for hours.
1946 | US President Truman officially ends hostilities in World War II
Truman signs the Presidential Proclamation 2714 to officially cease all hostilities in World War II, more than a year after combat ended in Europe and the Pacific. But the state of war against Germany and Japan will continue until 1951 so that Allies can keep troops in these countries.
1985 | Singer Ricky Nelson dies in plane crash
Traveling to Dallas, Texas, to perform in New Year’s Eve concert, the 45-year-old singer, actor, ex-teen idol, and son of Ozzie and Harriet, is on a chartered DC-3 when the cockpit fills with smoke. All seven passengers will die in the emergency landing, though the pilots will survive.

Today in History 12/31/17

President Harry S. Truman in 1946 (© Toronto Star Archives/Toronto Star via Getty Images)(1946) US President Truman officially ends hostilities in World War II
Truman signs the Presidential Proclamation 2714 to officially cease all hostilities in World War II, more than a year after combat ended in Europe and the Pacific. But the state of war against Germany and Japan will continue until 1951 so that Allies can keep troops in these countries.

Presidential Proclamation 2714 was signed by President Harry S. Truman on December 31, 1946, to officially declare the cessation of all hostilities in World War II. Even though the actual combat of the war ended May 8, 1945, in Europe and September 2, 1945, in the Pacific, the state of war was not lifted off of Japan and Germany in order to give a reason for the necessity of occupation troops in these countries. Once the War Crimes Trials were over, the hostilities were seen as over. The signing of Proclamation 2714 is the reason why the U.S. recognizes its World War II veterans as anyone who has served between the dates of December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946.

The declarations of war against Japan and Germany in 1941 were officially lifted as follows:

  • September 8, 1951: Forty-nine nations sign the Japanese Peace Treaty in San Francisco, officially ending World War II and re-establishing Japanese sovereignty.

  • October 19, 1951: President Truman signs an act formally ending World War II, after having Congress abolish the state of war with Germany (Pub.L. 82–181).


    • wiki/Proclamation_2714
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    Today in History 12/19 (Sino-British Joint Declaration)

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    British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang in Beijing during the signing ceremony agreement over the Hong Kong handover (© Pierre-Antoine Donnet/AFP/Getty Images))(1984) Britain agrees to give Hong Kong back to China
    British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang sign an agreement that will end 155 years of British rule over Hong Kong. The agreement stipulates that the island will remain a capitalist economy and residents will enjoy existing freedoms for 50 years.
    The Sino–British Joint Declaration is an international bilateral treaty signed between the People’s Republic of China and the United Kingdom on 19 December 1984 in Beijing. The Declaration stipulates the sovereign and administrative arrangement over Hong Kong after 1 July 1997, when the lease of the New Territories was set to expire according to the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory.
    Sino–British Joint Declaration (中英联合声明)
    Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong (中华人民共和国政府和大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国政府关于香港问题的联合声明)

    Hong Kong Skyline
    Hong Kong Skyline
    wiki/Sino-British_Joint_Declaration
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    (1984) Britain agrees to give Hong Kong back to China.
    Also on this day,

    1777 | Troops go to Valley Forge as General George Washington leads
    The Continental Army commander takes his 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to rest for the winter. However, the beleaguered troops will not get the recuperation they need. Basic supplies, such as food and clothing, will run low. Starvation and exposure will kill about 2,500 soldiers.
    1843 | ‘A Christmas Carol’ is published in Britain
    The novella by British writer Charles Dickens tells the story of miser Ebenezer Scrooge’s transformation to a kinder soul following visits from the ghost of his old business partner and the ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come. The story is an immediate success, and will remain one of Dickens’ most beloved works.
    1998 | US President Bill Clinton is impeached
    The House of Representatives votes to remove President Clinton from office over charges relating to his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Clinton is just the second US president to be impeached, following Andrew Johnson in 1868. The Senate, however, will vote to acquit Clinton, and he will finish out his second term in office.

    Today in History 12/19/17

    President Clinton addresses Democratic lawmakers after the House of Representatives voted to impeach him, December 19, 1998 (© Doug Mills/AP)(1998) US President Bill Clinton is impeached
    The House of Representatives votes to remove President Clinton from office over charges relating to his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Clinton is just the second US president to be impeached, following Andrew Johnson in 1868. The Senate, however, will vote to acquit Clinton, and he will finish out his second term in office.
    The impeachment process of Bill Clinton was initiated by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998, against Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, on two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice. These charges stemmed from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Clinton by Paula Jones. Clinton was subsequently acquitted of these charges by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Two other impeachment articles – a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of power – failed in the House.
    Start date: Dec 19, 1998
    End date: Feb 12, 1999

    Congressional Record
    Congressional Record from February 12, 1999, showing the end of Clinton's impeachment trial

    wiki/Impeachment_of_Bill_Clinton
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