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>
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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>
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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>
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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>
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