St. John's, the capitol of Newfoundland and Labrador - 1

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St. John's as viewed from across the harbour at Signal Hill.

In 1497, John Cabot, sailing for the British, was the first modern European to set foot on Newfoundland. In 1534, Jacques Cartier, sailing for the French, landed at Cow Head. Some people consider the true British Empire began in 1583 when Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland as the first British colony. In the 16th century, St. John's became commercially prominent because of its harbour and proximity to the Grand Banks fishery. Fishermen came from Basque, France, Spain, Portugal, and England. Eight days before Gary was born, Newfoundland changed the status of being Britain's oldest colony to become Canada's youngest province.

St. John's, the commercial and political capital of Newfoundland, was ravaged by three fires in 1816, 1846 and 1892. Each time the town recovered and rebuilt.

The first proposal to become a municipality occurred in 1832. In 1888, it finally achieved municipal government status and elected the first town council of five councilors and two government appointees. In 1921, the Newfoundland government finally approved city status with the passage of the City of St. John's Act.

The provincial capital of St. John's, with a population of 174,051, is located on the east coast of the island and is the only community larger than 20,000.