Known for: Cobbler; gold speculator; freelance journalist; politician; Indian Agent
Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 18, 1850; date of death: Oct. 5, 1934; arrived in Kamloops in 1872. He was the Kamloops Indian Agent from 1912-1923.
Notable facts: On Oct. 7, 2017, the gala's theme was “The Protection of Civil Liberties: Before There is No One Left to Speak.” CABL was formed in Mar. 1996; it is a national network of Black Canadian law professionals and individuals committed to reinvesting in the community.
Known for: Track and field athlete; railway porter
Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 8, 1948; member of the Canadian Olympic team in 1932; won silver in 1934 British Empire Games; Ray Lewis Elementary School in Hamilton, Ontario is named after him.
Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 11, 1882; date of death: Oct. 2, 1943; his compositions continue to be performed, most notably by the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, a professional chamber choir devoted to performing Afro-centric music.
Notable facts: On Oct. 14, 2016, she performed at the Kailash Mital Theatre; wrote and composed an original theme song for TheGayle King Show on the Oprah Winfrey Network in 2011.
Notable facts: On Oct. 17, 2014, Gervan Fearon was sworn in as president of Brandon University; recipient of African Canadian Achievement Award for Excellence in Education in 2013.
Known for: Human rights activist; social worker; author; senator
Notable facts: Date of birth: Sept. 4, 1925; date of death: Oct. 19, 2004; Ruck worked in various jobs including a sleeping car porter, a social worker and a human rights officer. He wrote a book documenting the history of the No. 2 Construction Battalion, the all-Black segregated unit of the Canadian military in the First World War. Ruck was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1998. He was named to the Order of Canada in in 1994.
Notable facts: Oct. 21, 2003 was the opening night of the play, The Adventures of Black Girl in Search of God, at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre. It was directed by playwright Djanet Sears. The play is set in the historic Negro Creek Road Black settlement in Holland Township, settled by Black War of 1812 veterans where the town council has changed the name. This production received six Dora Award nominations. The book of the play was shortlisted for a 2004 Trillium Book Award.
Notable facts: On Oct. 21-22, 2016, there was an event to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the No. 2 Construction Battalion and its chaplain Rev. William A. White. Descendants and members of the battalion brought letters, medals and other historical items pertaining to the their ancestors' WWI service to be scanned and/or photographed at the on-site pop-up museum, to add to a new digital archive to be shared between the Nova Scotia Black Cultural Centre and Acadia University.
Known for: Rapper; singer; songwriter; record producer; actor
Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 24, 1986; four songs certified platinum; Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 2013; received two MTV Video Music Awards.
Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 27, 1936; date of death: Oct. 4, 2015; Peter worked as a city planner with the City of Toronto for 30 years. In 1967, Peter became one of the founders of the Caribbean Cultural Committee (CCC) that organized the first Caribana parade.
Notable facts: Date of birth: Oct. 30, 1935; date of death: Aug. 31, 2016; Howard managed his wife, acclaimed singer Salome Bey. In the 1950s, Matthews co-founded The First Floor Club and became the co-owner of The Underground Railroad Restaurant. Matthews was one of the co-founders of CAN: BAIA (Canadian Artists Network: Black Artists in Action).
