Some selective historical occurrences on this day in history.
1949, Newfoundland officially joins the
Dominion of Canada and becomes the country’s 10th province. After several years
of debate as to whether Newfoundland should enter Canada, become an independent
country, or form an association with the United States, a 1948 runoff
referendum goes for the Canadian option by a margin of 52.3 to 47.7 percent.
(The first referendum had independent responsible government ahead of Canadian
province hood by 44.6 to 41.1.) Not everyone knows this – well most
Canadians have caught on by now – but Newfoundlanders have been screwing
with our heads ever since becoming one of us. The off- by-a-half-hour time
zone, that flag (what is going on there?), its domination of the CBC show This
Hour Has 22 Minutes (which, with that time zone, suggests the show ends
eight minutes before it starts), and the official addition to its name of “and
Labrador,” which was done just to make Canadians stutter (“Newfoundland-and
Labrador”) ... no wonder the Vikings cleared out.
For information here are the years each province joined the Canadian Confederation:
1867 Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
1870 Manitoba, Northwest Territories
1871 British Columbia
1873 Prince Edward Island
1898 Yukon
1905 Saskatchewan, Alberta
1949 Newfoundland
1999 Nunavut
1889 - The Eiffel Tower, or the Tour Eiffel, was opened on March 31st, 1889, and was the work of Gustave Eiffel, who was a bridge engineer. It was made for the centenary of the French Revolution and was chosen instead of over one hundred other plans that were given.
1943: The musical "Oklahoma!" debuts on Broadway. This play, written by the famed duo Rodgers and Hammerstein, was originally titled "Away We Go" and continues to be produced by theatres across the country.
