How well do you really know London, Ontario? This city has had a vibrant history with many surprises along the way! Looking back through the years there are plenty of fun facts that make up this beautiful city that we call home. Check out these interesting facts about London.

109 Facts:

About the People

• The first female London police officers were hired in 1961. Only unmarried women in their 20s were considered for the job. While only two women were hired at the time, the female officers now make up 20% of the London Police Service!
• In 2015 London was ranked as the 6th happiest city in Canada by Jetpac City Guides.
• Approximately one in six Londoners have attended Fanshawe College, making up about 17% of the population!
• Ryan Gosling was born in St. Joseph’s hospital in London, Ontario on November 4th in 1980.
• London was home to Dr. Earl Plunkett, who was prominent in the development of the first birth control pill back in 1960.
• London was home to Sir Frederick Banting, who discovered the therapeutic properties of Insulin in 1921.

• The average age of the population of London is 40.9!
• Emma Donoghue is a famous author who lives in London. Her international best-seller, Room was adopted into an academy-winning movie!
• During the 2017/2018 season of the NHL, 10 of its players were born in London.
• London’s first mayor was Murray Anderson.
• The popular movie The Notebook stars two London-born actors: Ryan Gosling (who later lived in Burlington) and Rachel McAdams (who was then raised in St. Thomas).
• One of the creators of Warner Bros Pictures was born in London. Jack Warner was born in London in 1892. He and his brothers Harry, Albert, and Sam founded the Warner Brothers Pictures Inc in 1923.
• Collectively, Londoners speak around 100 different languages. The top non-official languages are Spanish, Arabic, Polish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Korean, Dutch, Chinese, and Greek.
• London native Paul Haggis wrote both Million Dollar Baby and Crash, both of which won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. He is one of very few to win that Oscar in consecutive years.
• Jolene Van Vugt was born in London. She holds multiple world records in Motocross, including First Female Backflip on a Dirt Bike, Longest Female Backflip, and Fastest Land Speed Record on a Motorized Toilet.
• London’s first police force was made up of 8 officers. For the first two years, they didn’t have uniforms but were given a badge with a number.
• Jack Chambers was a Londoner and is the namesake for Jack Chambers Elementary School. He is well known for his perceptual realism paintings, many of which have landed in Museums. He also created 6 films in the last decade of his life.
• Sir Adam Beck was a former mayor of London and founded Ontario Hydro. He was instrumental in setting up the grid to deliver hydro-electric power from Niagara Falls to the rest of Ontario.
• George Georgallidis (known as HotshotGG) is a pro-gamer. He was born in London and is the founder of Counter Logic Gaming, which has had major success in multiple eSports, including League of Legends, Halo, and Super Smash Bros.

About the Places

• The Western Fair wasn’t always located at Queen’s Park. It was originally located in the Park Hotel. In 1887 the fair moved to its current location because the larger size allowed more people to attend. It could fit 75,000 people at the newer, larger location.

• The spot that hosts the Western Fair Farmers Market wasn’t always used for farm-fresh food, artisan wares, handmade items, and delicious baked goods. It used to be a cemetery for St. Paul’s Cathedral. The land was a gravesite for the church. From 1880-1886 every grave was moved to the Woodland Cemetery instead. The Fair began using the location one year after and today is one of the most beloved weekend activities in the city.
• The Victoria Tavern (now the Soho Pub & Grill) was a busy establishment that has been part of London’s history since the Great Depression. This cornerstone neighbourhood pub was affectionately given a gruesome nickname: Bucket of Blood, likely because the surgical staff of the nearby Victoria Hospital frequently dropped in for a pint or two. 
• In 1881 phone poles were installed on London streets. This caused a strange and strong public outcry. Some businesses were so disgruntled by the phone poles that they threatened to chop them down with axes!
• The London Infantry School was the first military building to have a museum room! Since then, the London Infantry School has become a museum in its entirety: the Royal Canadian Regiment Museum.
• In 1961 the head groundskeeper of Kent State University in Ohio took 10 black squirrels from London, Ontario and imported them to the area. Unfortunately, the black squirrels have since then driven the native squirrels of the area out and have taken over. Each year in September the school holds a festival to celebrate the Black Squirrel.
• London’s largest employer is the London Health Sciences Centre. It employs 10,555 people.
• Eldon House is the oldest building in London. It was built in 1834. It’s almost 100 years older than the Kingsmills building.
• London Central was the highest-ranked academic high school in London and Ontario!

• Labatt Park is the oldest operating baseball ground still in its original location in the entire world. It opened in 1877.
• Brescia University College is Canada’s Only Women’s University College!
• London’s oldest bar is the Richmond Tavern. It was established in 1852!
• London has a sister city in China. Sister cities are forms of either legal or social agreements between two places to promote cultural and commercial ties. It encourages trade and tourism between the two places. London’s sister city is Nanjing, China.
• The very first concert in the Budweiser Gardens (although back then it was known as the John Labatt Center) was Our Lady Peace. Just two days after the grand opening on October 13th, 2002, the band performed there.
• The London Fire Department operates 14 different fire stations across London and Middlesex County.
• The Palace Theatre is the oldest movie theatre in London. It opened in 1929 and was a silent movie theatre back then.
• Western University has more students than Fanshawe College with Western having 28,386 and Fanshawe sitting at 21,000.
• Budweiser Gardens used to be the home of the historical Talbot Inn. You can still see a tribute to the Inn painted on the northeastern corner.
• Kingsmills was one of Canada’s last independently owned department stores. It was founded in 1865 and was open for 148 years before it finally sold in 2014.
• Delmar Restaurant is the oldest restaurant in London. It was opened in 1953 and has been a classic 50’s diner ever since.
• Western University was founded in 1878.
• The Thames River is 273kms long and goes from Tavistock to Lighthouse Cove.
• Wellington and Commissioners is the intersection in the city that sees the most car accidents every year. It averages 76 car accidents annually.
• Masonville mall was ranked as the 13th highest performing mall in all of Canada and is the highest in Southwestern Ontario!
• One London Place is the tallest building in the city and it takes 472 steps to get to the top
• There are 68 hotels in London.
• There are 148 retail stores in Masonville Mall.
• Victoria Park was originally where British Garrison Troops were stationed during the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837, The Second Boer War, World War 1 and World War II.
• The tallest residential building in London is the Azure Tower. It’s a 29-story building created by The Tricar Group.
• Western University’s operating revenue is around $743.5 million. It operates 12 separate schools, including Brescia and Ivey Businesses School.
• London’s largest park is Springbank Park. It has over 30kms of trails and is home to Storybook Gardens.
• There are 16 different branches of the London Public Library and over 3.8 million items to borrow between them!
• London is divided into 14 wards
• The British general, John Graves Simcoe, is the one who chose the original site of London. He also found the city of York, which is now known as Toronto.
• London, Ontario was founded before Canada was. It was founded as a village in 1826 and became a city officially in 1855. Canada was founded as a country in 1867.
• In 1845 a large fire broke out which destroyed one building out of the village’s five buildings. That building was St. Paul Cathedral. It was rebuilt one year later.
• The marshland in London, including Sifton’s Bog, was created by an ancient natural phenomenon. The growth and retreat of glaciers created spaces in the landscape where water and aquatic life could flourish.
• London was home to the first-ever Canadian location of Zellers. In 1926 Zellers opened in Dundas Street (the building is now home to London Music Hall).
• Blackfriar Bridge is the longest working bridge of its type in North America. It’s 65.8 meters and is the longest “bowstring arch through truss” bridge that you can still use today.
• Delaware Speedway, which is just west of London, is the oldest paved automobile track in Canada. It’s been open since 1952.

• The Tree Trunk Tour has over 20 carved tree trunks and was created by the Woodfield Community Association. It’s been supported by the City of London, London Tourism, STIHL Canada, and the Hamilton Road Business Association.
• Fanshawe Pioneer Village recreates Canadian lifestyles from 1820-1920, which is a 100-year span.
• There are 159 schools in the Thames Valley District School Board. The breakdown of that number shows 132 elementary schools and 27 secondary schools spanning over 7000 square kilometres.
• In the 1860s, industrialists that were drilling for oil at the Forks of the Thames found a Sulphur Spring. Charles Dunnett capitalized on this to create a destination for wealthy Ontarians and created a bathing house called Ontario White Sulphur Springs.
• Clovermead Adventure Farm began as Clovermead Apiaries, which is a honey farm.
• In 1977, Labatt brewery introduced Light Beer to Canada, which had 10% fewer calories than a normal beer. Their first light beer was called Cool Spring.
• East Park was originally a Horse Training Farm. In the 1960s the Branton family turned their barns into a motel and added fun amenities like a pool. Eventually, it evolved into the park we know and love today.
• The student to faculty ratio at Brescia University College is 14 to 1. These smaller class sizes allow 3 for more connection between students and professors.
• There are five bowling alleys in London: Palasad South, Palasad Social Bowl, Fleetway Fun, Bowlerama Royal, and Fairmont Lanes.
• The Coves, a neighbourhood in London, is home to both the Black Walnut Forest and the Hackberry Forest. Both of those forests are rare in Ontario.
• In 1961 London annexed many of the surrounding communities, which increased the city’s population by 60,000 and more than doubled the area of the city.
• You could fit two NFL football fields into Heeman’s Garden Centre and have room to spare! The garden centre is 120,000 square feet!

• London was proposed as the capital of Ontario (known then as Upper Canada) because it was located on the Forks of the Thames.
• London was rejected as being the capital of Upper Canada because Guy Carelton believed that the thick hardwood forests would limit access to the city by hot air balloon.

Food & Beverage

• According to Tim Horton’s website, there are 78 Timmies in London. That’s a lot of Double-Doubles!
• London was the first city in the Eastern half of Canada to get a Mcdonald’s! In 1968, Mcdonald’s opened its doors in Oxford Street West!
• Because of London’s size and varied demographics (age, employment, nationality, etc.), it’s the perfect testing ground for new products. Because of that London was one of the first cities in North America to have Mcdonald’s pizza. It has also been said that Tim Horton’s Iced Capp first appeared in London as well.
• Sam Panopoulous is known for inventing the incredibly controversial pizza, Hawaiian Pizza. While the pizza was invented in Chatham at the Satellite Restaurant when Sam put canned pineapples on a pizza, he later moved to London and lived here for over 30 years. He opened the Family Circle Restaurant on Wellington Road.

• Four of London’s restaurants have been featured on the popular Food Network show, “You Gotta Eat Here”: The Early Bird, The Bungalow, Prince Albert’s Diner, and Relish Burgers (Relish has since closed, unfortunately).
• London’s Rib Fest is the second largest in all of North America, but the largest RibFest in Canada!
• In the year 2017, the Middlesex-London Health Unit performed 3449 food premise inspections. London has a 99.2% passing rate for food institution inspections!

Miscellaneous

• The cultural sector of London (which includes museums, heritage sites, and more) is a $540 million industry! For every $60 invested by the City of London, they see a financial return of $1475, which is an incredible investment.
• The London Knights started out as the London Nationals and were a farm team for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Their jersey colours were blue and white with a maple leaf, looking very similar to Toronto’s jersey. In 1968, under new ownership, the London Nationals were rebranded as the London Knights and their colours changed to green and gold.
• The average paid parking spot in London earns around $1320 per year. With only 847 paid parking spots per 100,000 residents, it’s no wonder that they’re so coveted!
• In 2018 London’s University Hospital performed a groundbreaking procedure: a robot was used for heart surgery. The team of surgeons and the da Vinci robot performed an aortic valve replacement.
• The biggest event that London has ever hosted was the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships. There were 190 athletes from 50 different countries all competing. Over 62,000 tickets were scanned for the event and it resulted in $23.2 million in economic activity in London.
• The average household size in London is 2.4 people.
• Maple trees account for over 30% of the trees in London, making them the city’s most populous tree.

• There are 63,348 copies of the London Free Press that get distributed every Saturday.
• The London Lightings were founded in 2011.
• There are only 5705 Londoners who speak French as their official first language, making up a small 1.4% of the city’s population.
• The London Free Press was founded in 1849. It began printing as a weekly newspaper on January second of that year.
• Western University’s Social Science program has the highest enrollment out of all facilities. In 2017 it had 6,520 students!
• The LTC has 195 buses in its fleet. There are 42 different transit routes.
• On average, there are 3,869,642 items borrowed from the London Public Library every year.
• Every Year, around 24.1 million passengers ride the LTC. That works out to over 60 bus fares per Londoner!
• There are over 50 metal trees in downtown London. They were created by a local metal artist Bill Hodgson and are meant to pay homage to the city’s nickname: the Forest City.
• There are around 90 different species of fish in the Thames River, 13 of which are considered to be “species at risk”.
• There are 5 airlines that fly out of the London International Airport: Air Canada, Celebrity Cruises, Air Transat, Sunwing, and WestJet.
• The London Police Force’s motto is Facta non Verba, which is a Latin phrase that translates to “deeds, not words”.

• There are 1350 kilometres of overhead power lines across London. If you were to line them all up in a straight line they would reach from London to Jacksonville, Florida.
• The first-ever train to come into London came from Hamilton. It chugged in on December 15th, 1853 on the Great Western Railway.
• London’s most severe floods were caused by prolonged rainfall and happened in 1883, 1937, and 1977.
• In 1978 the London Free Press pulled a prank on Londoners by writing a report about plans to encase the city in a giant dome.
• London falls in the middle of Tornado Alley, an ecological danger zone that is prone to category F2-F5 tornadoes.
• The first mode of transportation in London was the electric streetcar which was introduced by the London Street Railway Company in 1895. They were discontinued in 1940.
• The Book of Remembrance is a two-volume memorial to those from the London area who lost their lives fighting in World War II. The first volume of the book was created by Memorial Cross Mothers who lost sons in the war. The second volume is an expanded list by Vimy Branch 145, Royal Canadian Legion.
• London International Airport’s International Air Transport Association location identifier is YXU.
• London is the unofficial Cardinal Capitol in Ontario.
• In 1965 the Nihilist Spasm Band was formed in London. It was a pioneer in the music genre of noise. Since none of the band members knew how to play traditional instruments, they all either made or bought noisemakers.