May 21st in Toronto
I was looking for a change of pace for The Toronto Traveler, since I’ve been posting a lot of long descriptions of various excellent restaurants, nightclubs and other establishments in the city as of late. Since those posts have been received so well, I’ve decided to try and branch out a bit to see what else can be blogged about in Toronto and I’ve come up with an idea that might be good.
May 21st is a day that has seen a lot of history in the City of Toronto, so let me acquaint you with just a few of the things that have happened in and around the city on this day.
May 21, 1821: William Allan, a member of the colonial elite, was given a charter for the Bank of Upper Canada and a decade-long monopoly on the production of currency. The Bank of Upper Canada Building is one of the oldest buildings in Toronto and still exists today, having been declared a national historic site.
May 21, 1871: Alexander Muir’s crowning achievement, The Maple Leaf Forever, has its first public recital. It has since become one of the most famous songs celebrating Canada ever created, arguably second to the national anthem in popularity.
May 21, 1965: Ontario’s current flag becomes the official flag of Ontario and is displayed in the Toronto parliament buildings for the first time.
May 21, 1986: Keith Alexander, the President of Jetco Manufacturing Limited, is convicted of the crime of dumping toxic materials into the sewers of the city. His conviction represents the first time that a corporate executive was sent to jail in Canada for endangering the general public.
May 21, 2008: The Toronto Traveler blogs about this day in history 
So, there you have it. Five different May 21s in history…well okay four, I’ll stop tooting my own horn for now. Four different May 21s in history, each one bearing witness to an important event in the history of Toronto.
What do you think? Would this enhance your understand and appreciation for the city, or is it something that is better left up to other blogs about Toronto? Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts – I welcome all feedback and since I try to tailor what I write to the interests of the people reading, I invite everyone to leave at least a short comment in order to state their thoughts.
Photo Credit: Flickr
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