Berlin, Ontario, changed its name to Kitchener by referendum in May and June 1916. Named in 1833 after the capital of Prussia and later the German Empire, Berlin was heavily German-Canadian, and its residents enjoyed a blend of British and German culture. The name Berlin became unsavoury for residents after Great Britain and Canada's entry into the First World War, as German Canadians experienced increasing anti-German sentiment. In a vote characterized by intimidation and high voter turnout, the 19 May 1916 referendum on changing the name narrowly passed; a second vote to choose the new name saw low turnout. The vote settled on Kitchener, named for British field marshal War Secretary Lord Kitchener. The city was officially renamed on 1 September 1916. After the war, the city experienced a decline in its German culture with German Canadians being culturally assimilated into the broader Canadian identity.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_to_Kitchener_name_change

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1776:

The first privateer battle of the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet, was fought near Cape May, New Jersey. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Turtle_Gut_Inlet

1864:

A passenger train fell through an open swing bridge into the Richelieu River near present-day Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, killing as many as 99 people and injuring 100 others in Canada's worst railway accident. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St-Hilaire_train_disaster

1914:

During the second day of anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo (aftermath pictured), numerous buildings owned by ethnic Serbs were vandalized and looted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Serb_riots_in_Sarajevo

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

citerior: (literary) Chiefly in place names: situated on the nearer side. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/citerior

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

No man can draw a free breath who does not share with other men a common and disinterested ideal. Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction. There is no comradeship except through union in the same high effort.   --Antoine de Saint Exupéry https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint_Exup%C3%A9ry