The Canadian Pacific Railway is a Canadian Class I railway operated by
Canadian Pacific Railway Limited. Its rail network stretches from
Vancouver to Montreal, and also serves major cities in the United
States, such as Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City. Its
headquarters are in Calgary, Alberta. The railway was originally built
between eastern Canada and British Columbia between 1881 and 1885,
fulfilling a promise extended to British Columbia when it entered
Confederation in 1871. It was Canada's first transcontinental railway.
Now primarily a freight railway, the CPR was for many decades the only
practical means of long distance passenger transportation in many
regions of Canada, and was instrumental in the settlement and
development of western Canada. Its primary passenger services were
eliminated in 1978 after being assumed by VIA Rail Canada. The
railway's logo, a beaver, was chosen because it is one of the national
symbols of Canada and represents the hardworking character of the
company. The object of both praise and damnation for over 120 years,
the CPR remains an indisputable icon of Canadian nationalism.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Railway
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1014:
Irish forces defeated Viking invaders in the Battle of Clontarf.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Clontarf)
1597:
The Merry Wives of Windsor, a comedy by William Shakespeare, was first
performed, with Queen Elizabeth I of England in attendance.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Merry_Wives_of_Windsor)
1827:
Irish mathematician, physicist, and astronomer William Rowan Hamilton
presented his Theory of systems of rays.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Rowan_Hamilton)
1954:
Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hit the first of his 755 home runs
in Major League Baseball.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Aaron)
1982:
The Conch Republic "declared" independence from the United States.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conch_Republic)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is
rounded with a sleep." -- "Prospero" in The Tempest by William
Shakespeare
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Tempest)