On this day in history

30 BC: Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of Rome.
1498: Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.
1534: Jacques Cartier sights the mountains on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. He will claim Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the lands adjacent for France.
1774: British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element.
1824: John Galt proposes founding the Canada Land Company for settlement in western Upper Canada.
1834: Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force.
1837: Queen Victoria proclaimed Queen in Canada.
1885: Louis Riel found guilty of treason and sentenced to death.
1907: The first Scout camp starts on Brownsea Island, the origin of the worldwide Scouting movement.
1911: Harriet Quimby takes her pilot's test and becomes the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator's certificate.
1914: The German Empire declares war on the Russian Empire at the opening of World War I.
1936: The Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.
1944: Parliament passes Family Allowances Act, which provides monthly baby bonuses to parents of children under 18.
1957: The United States and Canada form the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
1981: MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles.