VICTORY AT YORK: Today is the anniversary of the day on which American troops captured York, Ontario — now, present day Toronto — during the War of 1812.

On April 27, 1813 almost three thousand Americans stormed Fort York, defeating the approximately 750 British soldiers and Ojibwa Indians who were defending the Canadian capital. The British and Ojibwa found themselves vastly outnumbered and overwhelmed by land and by water — the only answer was death or surrender.

As the British men fled Fort York, they reportedly lit their abandoned supplies on fire to keep valuable gunpowder out of the hands of the invading Americans.

Although the Americans had won possession of the fort, their casualties grew exponentially after the fighting had ceased; when fire met a magazine containing hundreds of barrels of gunpowder, it set off a devastating explosion. The explosion sent debris hurling through the air, wounding or killing over 200 Americans; including their General, Pike.

The total estimated casualties of this battle were 795; with 475 deceased British and Indian soldiers and 320 dead Americans — which would have only been about 120, had it not been for the explosion.

The ironic thing about this battle is that it did very little to advance either side’s dominant control of Canadian waters, but the easy victory boosted American morale, fueling the fire for continued attempts at expansion into Canada.

However, American expansion and control in Canada—never came to fruition.

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ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS DAY: On April 27, we also celebrate and recognize Administrative Professionals nationally. You may even remember this holiday’s very own episode on the popular TV sitcom, The Office.

Although secretaries and administrative professionals have had a special day/week of recognition since 1952, it wasn’t until 1955 when the last Wednesday in April was designated as Administrative Professionals Day.