Conn Smythe, Canadian businessman (d. 1980)
Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe, MC (; February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1927 to 1961 and as the builder of Maple Leaf Gardens. As owner of the Leafs during numerous championship years, his name appears on the Stanley Cup eight times: 1932, 1942, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951 and 1962.
Smythe is also known for having served in both World Wars, organizing his own artillery battery in the Second World War. The horses of Smythe's racing stable won the Queen's Plate three times among 145 stakes race wins during his lifetime. Smythe started and ran a sand and gravel business.
1895Feb, 1
Conn Smythe
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Events on 1895
- 24Feb
Cuban War of Independence
Revolution breaks out in Baire, a town near Santiago de Cuba, beginning the Cuban War of Independence, that ends with the Spanish-American War in 1898. - 3Apr
Oscar Wilde
The trial in the libel case brought by Oscar Wilde begins, eventually resulting in his imprisonment on charges of homosexuality. - 6Apr
John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry
Oscar Wilde is arrested in the Cadogan Hotel, London, after losing a libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry. - 7May
Alexander Stepanovich Popov
In Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention, the Popov lightning detector — a primitive radio receiver. In some parts of the former Soviet Union the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day. - 28Jun
Greater Republic of Central America
El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua form the Greater Republic of Central America.