Arthur Sifton (1858–1921) was the second Premier of Alberta from 1910
to 1917 and a minister in the Government of Canada thereafter. When
Alberta was created out of a portion of the Northwest Territories in
1905, Sifton became its first chief justice. In 1910 the Alberta
government of Premier Alexander Cameron Rutherford was embroiled in the
Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal; Rutherford resigned, and
the position was offered to Sifton. As premier, he failed to gain
provincial control over natural resources, but succeeded in implementing
some direct democracy measures, leading to prohibition and the extension
of the vote to women. During the conscription crisis of 1917, Sifton
supported the Conservative Prime Minister, Robert Borden, in his attempt
to impose conscription to help win the First World War. He backed the
creation of a Union government composed of Conservatives and pro-
conscription Liberals. In 1917 he left provincial politics and became a
minister in this government. Over the next three and a half years he
served briefly in four ministries and was a delegate to the Paris Peace
Conference of 1919.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Sifton>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1708:
The final stone of St Paul's Cathedral, rebuilt after the
original burned down in the 1666 Great Fire of London, was laid by the
son of its architect, Christopher Wren.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Paul%27s_Cathedral>
1881:
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, one of the most famous
gunfights in the history of the American Old West, took place in
Tombstone, Arizona, between the faction of Wyatt Earp and Ike Clanton's
gang.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunfight_at_the_O.K._Corral>
1955:
Ngo Dinh Diem proclaimed himself president of the newly created
Republic of Vietnam after defeating former Emperor Bao Dai in a
fraudulent referendum supervised by his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Vietnam_referendum,_1955>
1985:
The Australian government returned ownership of Uluru, also
known as Ayers Rock, to the local Pitjantjatjara people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uluru>
2000:
Laurent Gbagbo became the first President of Côte d'Ivoire
since Robert Guéï was thrown out of power during the 1999 Ivorian coup
d'état.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurent_Gbagbo>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
specter:
A ghostly apparition.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/specter>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
There is one tradition in America I am proud to inherit. It is our
first freedom and the truest expression of our Americanism: the ability
to dissent without fear. It is our right to utter the words, "I
disagree."
--Natalie Merchant
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Natalie_Merchant>