On this day in history
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1429: Joan of Arc lifts the Siege of Orléans, turning the tide of the Hundred Years' War.
1604: Pierre de Monts arrives in Acadia with Samuel de Champlain to find a spot for a trading company
1620: Samuel de Champlain sails for Canada to administer New France
1813: U.S. troops depart to Fort Niagara after burning the Upper Canada Parliament Buildings. British retaliate a year later by burning the American capital.
1882: An Order-in-Council divides the North West Territory, acquired from the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1870, into Athabasca, Assiniboia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
1886: Pharmacist John Pemberton first sells a carbonated beverage named "Coca-Cola" as a medicine.
1945: End of the war at sea with Germany. Mackenzie King delivers VE Day Speech.
1980: The World Health Organization confirms the eradication of smallpox.
1982: Gilles Villeneuve, from Berthierville, Québec, dies in an accident while qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix.
1987: Royal Canadian Mint unveils one-dollar coin to replace the paper dollar. The Loony is born.
1997: Bre-X Minerals files for bankruptcy after analysts found its Indonesian gold find was a fraud.
2005: Steve Nash of the NBA Phoenix Suns the 1st Canadian player to win the NBA's MVP Award.
