Quirky Facts about St. John’s

January 8, 2008 · Filed Under St. John's General 

St. John’s is the oldest city in North America

St. John’s is the most easterly city in North America

Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless message on Signal Hill in St. John’s

It was in St. John’s that the first nonstop transatlantic flight was made in 1919 by Alcock and Brown.

St. John’s has a junior hockey team in the QMJHL, called the St. John’s Fog Devils.

St. John’s hosts the oldest continuous sporting event in North America - the St. John’s Regatta, held on the first Wednesday of August (weather permitting)

St. John’s is the eastern terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway. (Victoria, British Columbia is the western terminus.)

Tradition declares that the city earned its name when explorer John Cabot became the first European to sail into its harbour, on June 24, 1497 — the feast day of Saint John the Baptist.

The majority of the population in St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador descends from both Ireland and England.

During the Second World War, the harbour was used by Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy ships used for protecting convoys. It was also the site of a large US Army base called “Fort Pepperrell.”

The worst disaster to befall St. John’s was on July 8, 1892 and is commonly called The Great Fire of 1892.

St. John’s is a small city of 170,000 with all the benefits of a large urban centre.

St. John’s is goes by Newfoundland Standard Time which is 1/2 hour ahead of Atlantic Standard Time, and 1 ½ hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

St. John’s is 1,842 km from New York City and 3,774 km from London, England.

St. John’s is on the seventh largest island in the world - Newfoundland.

St. John’s is the foggiest major city in Canada.

St. John’s population is 181,113 (2006)

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