Author: Martin D'Anjou

Financier Bernard Madoff sentenced to 150 years in prison, US maximum, for conducting massive Ponzi scheme.

Apple Inc. releases its first mobile phone, the iPhone.

Soviet ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defects from Soviet Union while on tour in Canada with the Bolshoi Ballet.

Beatles’ 1st song “From Me to You” hits UK charts.

Joseph-Armand Bombardier patents his Bombardier B-7 Snow Tractor.

Pope Pius XI canonizes Jean de Brébeuf and 7 other Jesuits martyred in the 1600s; the first North American saints.

France grants 1 km² at Vimy Ridge “freely, and for all time, to the Government of Canada, the free use of the land exempt from all taxes ».

Jacques Cartier discovers Prince Edward Islands Canada.

Christine Lagarde becomes the 1st women to be elected head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”, directed by Gore Verbinski, starring Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, premieres at Disneyland.

Canadian Parliament passes law banning tobacco advertising.

Terry Fox dies at age 22; one-legged runner of Marathon of Hope loses battle to lung cancer in a Vancouver hospital;

Malcolm X founded the Organization for Afro American Unity to seek independence for blacks in the Western Hemisphere.

Mercedes-Benz is formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging their two companies.

The Treaty of Versailles was signed ending World War I exactly five years after it began. The treaty also established the League of Nations.

Facebook has reached 2 billion monthly users.

Oilers’ Wayne Gretzky wins the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the 7th consecutive year.

“Live & Let Die”, 8th James Bond Film, 1st to star Roger Moore, 1st released in the US.

Bobby Hull signed a 10-year hockey contract for $2,500,000. He became a player and coach of the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association.

The world’s first cash dispenser was installed at Barclays Bank in Enfield, England.

The Lumière Brothers from Paris hold the first cinema projection in Montreal at the Palace Theatre, on Boulevard St-Laurent.

General James Wolfe begins the siege of Quebec.

NHL Draft: Erie Otters (OHL) center Connor McDavid first pick by the Edmonton Oilers.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, 1st book in J. K. Rowling’s best-selling series, is published.

Muhammad Ali, at 37 years old, announced that he was retiring as world heavyweight boxing champion.

Elvis Presley sings in Indianapolis, the last performance of his career.

The CN (Canadian National) Tower in Toronto, Canada, opened.

Queen Elizabeth II officially opens 318 km long St. Lawrence Seaway with US President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

“The Gold Rush”, directed, starring and written by Charlie Chaplin, is released,

French Grand Prix, the first Grand Prix motor racing event held.

The bicycle was patented by W.K. Clarkson, Jr.

Kim Campbell took office as Canada’s first woman prime minister. She assumed power upon the resignation of Brian Mulroney.

Prince releases his “Purple Rain” album

“Blade Runner”, directed by Ridley Scott, starring Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer, is released.

The rainbow flag representing gay pride is flown for the first time in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.

North Korea invaded South Korea initiating the Korean War.

World War II: France officially surrenders to Germany at 01:35.

First horses arrive in Quebec City, Canada; gift from the King of France to Governor Montmagny; origin of Canadian breed.

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price wins the 2014-15 Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP.

“Rugby World Cup final”: South Africa defeats New Zealand, Nelson Mandela presents Francois Pienaar with the Webb-Ellis trophy in an iconic post-apartheid moment.

NBA Draft: LSU center Shaquille O’Neal first pick by Orlando Magic.

Nina Simone releases her debut jazz album “Little Girl Blue”.

John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier announced their engagement.

1st exhibition by Pablo Picasso, 19, opens in Paris.

First performance of O Canada, the song that would become the national anthem of Canada, at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français.

The saxophone is patented by Adolphe Sax in Paris, France.

Jacques Cartier discovers Prince Edward Island.

Movie “Batman” premieres directed by Tim Burton, starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson.

“David Letterman Show” debuts on NBC-TV daytime.

CN Tower in Toronto, tallest free-standing structure (555 m) opens.

Walt Disney’s “Lady & the Tramp” released.

Canadian army goes into action for the first time in Normandie, France, as a separate unit, not under Montgomery’s British command.

Start of conscription for Second World War home service, in Canada only.

After conquering France, Adolf Hitler visits Paris and views the Eiffel Tower and the grave of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The International Olympic Committee is founded at the Sorbonne, Paris, at the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin.

The Rocky Mountains Park Act becomes law in Canada creating the nation’s first national park, Banff National Park.

Founding of the Bank of Montreal; Canada’s oldest chartered bank.

The French residents of Acadia are given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia, Canada.

NHL owners meeting unanimously approves the Las Vegas expansion bid to start play in the 2017-18 season.

Eastman Kodak Company announces that it will discontinue sales of the Kodachrome Color Film, concluding its 74-year run as a photography icon.

NHL Draft: Oshawa Generals center Eric Lindros first pick by Quebec Nordiques.

“Little” Stevie Wonder aged 13 releases his first single “Fingertips”.

Jean Lesage and his Liberal Party defeat Maurice Duplessis’ Union Nationale Party to win their first election in 16 years; beginning of the ‘Quiet Revolution.’

Joe Louis KOs James J Braddock in 8 for his first heavyweight boxing title in significant moment in African American sporting history.

Diving operations start to sunken Empress of Ireland to recover bodies and valuables from the wreck.

King George V crowned King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and all his realms and territories beyond the sea.

Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated a second time.

Samuel de Champlain lands at site of Quebec; no sign of Jacques Cartier’s Iroquois village of Stadacona.

“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” was published by J.K. Rowling. The book set sales records around the world with an estimated 5 million copies were sold on the first day.

FIFA World Cup Final, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City: Brazil and Pelé become first team and player to win World Cup 3 times, beating Italy, 4-1 in front of 107,412.

Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini) succeeds John XXIII.

Louis St. Laurent resigns as Prime Minister of Canada, ending the longest uninterrupted run at the federal level in Canadian history.

Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album in a public demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, New York.

Lou Gehrig quit baseball due to illness. He was stricken with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disorder now commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease in North America

First of 24 companies of the Le Régiment de Carignan-Salières start arriving in New France; the first duty of the 1300 soldiers is to invade the Iroquois territories; 400 will stay to colonize New France after their three year service.

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, the first Chinese president to visit North Korea in 14 years

The Wikimedia Foundation is founded in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Premier René Lévesque announces he will resign as leader of the Parti Quebecois

The United States and Soviet Union signed an agreement to set up a hot line communication link between the two countries.

Queen Victoria succeeds to the British throne.

The University of Oxford, England, receives its charter.