C. D. Howe (1886–1960) was a powerful Canadian Cabinet minister of the Liberal Party. He is credited with transforming the Canadian economy from agriculture-based to industrial. Born in Massachusetts, Howe moved to Nova Scotia as a young adult to take up a professorship at Dalhousie University. After working for the Canadian government as an engineer, he began his own firm, and became a wealthy man. In 1935, he was recruited as a Liberal candidate for the Canadian House of Commons by then Opposition leader Mackenzie King. The Liberals won the election in a landslide, and Howe won his seat. Mackenzie King appointed him to the Cabinet. There, he took major parts in many new enterprises, including the founding of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Trans-Canada Air Lines. When World War II began in 1939, Howe played a crucial role in Canada's war effort, and recruited many corporate executives to serve in wartime enterprises. Howe's impatience with the necessity for parliamentary debate of his proposals won him few friends, and he was often accused of dictatorial conduct by the Opposition. In the 1957 election, Howe's actions and policies were made an issue by Opposition leader John Diefenbaker. He lost his seat in the election, and Diefenbaker became Prime Minister, ending almost 22 years of Liberal rule.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._D._Howe

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1217:

In the last land battle of the First Barons' War, William the Marshal drove Prince Louis of France out of England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lincoln_(1217)

1609:

Thomas Thorpe published the first copies of Shakespeare's sonnets, possibly without William Shakespeare's consent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare%27s_sonnets

1873:

Clothing manufacturer Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis were granted a patent for using copper rivets to strengthen the pockets of denim overalls, allowing their company to start manufacturing their first line of blue jeans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Strauss

1983:

A team of researchers led by French virologist Luc Montagnier published their discovery of HIV, although they did not know yet if it caused AIDS. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc_Montagnier

2002:

East Timor gained independence from Indonesia, becoming the first new sovereign state of the 21st century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Timor

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

much of a muchness: (idiomatic) Of two or more things, having little difference of any significance between them. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/much_of_a_muchness

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

To saunter is to enjoy life; it is to indulge the flight of fancy; it is to enjoy the sublime pictures of misery, of love, of joy, of gracious or grotesque physiognomies; it is to pierce with a glance the abysses of a thousand existences; for the young it is to desire all, and to possess all; for the old it is to live the life of the youthful, and to share their passions. --Honoré de Balzac https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_de_Balzac