On this date:

In 1751, some 1,000 immigrants from Wurtemberg, Germany, arrived in Halifax, N.S.

In 1774, American pioneer environmentalist Jonathan Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, was born. Chapman, whose theology taught an empathy with the natural world, distributed apple seeds and religious tracts from the Alleghenies to the Ohio Valley in the U.S.

In 1819, Sir William Edward Parry of Britain’s Royal Navy anchored his ships off Melville Island, N.W.T, becoming the first explorer to winter in the Arctic by choice. He’d been put in charge of two ships in an expedition aimed at finding the Northwest Passage.

In 1904, Earl Grey was appointed governor general of Canada. He had been a member of the British House of Commons and then administrator of Rhodesia. Born in St. James’ Palace in London, Grey was an ardent imperialist, and in speeches in Canada he tried to promote imperial pride. Grey served as governor general from 1904-11. In 1909, he donated the Grey Cup for the Canadian football championship.

In 1907, New Zealand was constituted a Dominion.

In 1909, Prince Ito of Japan was assassinated by a Korean revolutionary.

In 1947, Hugh Lofting, who wrote “The Story of Dr. Dolittle,” died. He was born in Maidenhead, England, in 1886 and settled in the United States in 1912.