490 BC: The conventionally accepted date for the Battle of Marathon. The Athenians defeat the first Persian invasion force of Greece.
1609: Henry Hudson begins his exploration of the Hudson River.
1621: Samuel de Champlain issues the first ordinances in New France, Québec.
1672: Count Frontenac named Governor of Canada for the first time.
1683: At the Battle of Vienna, several European armies join forces to defeat the Ottoman Empire.
1812: British fleet starts bombarding Fort McHenry, the last American defense before Baltimore. Lawyer Francis Scott Key approached the British attackers seeking the release of a friend who was being held. Key himself was detained overnight and witnessed the bombardment of the Fort from a British ship. As the sun rose, Key was amazed to see the American flag still flying over the battered fort. This experience inspired Key to write the lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner and adapt them to the tune of a well-known British drinking song. The Star-Spangled Banner was officially recognized as the U.S. national anthem in 1931.
1918: Government sets up Department of Public Instruction to give the public war information.
1919: Parliament ratifies Canada's signing of the Treaty of Versailles, ending World War 1.
1929: First legal forward pass in Canadian football is completed.
1933: Leó Szilárd, waiting for a red light on Southampton Row in Bloomsbury, conceives the idea of the nuclear chain reaction.
1944: At Chateau Frontenac, Mackenzie King hosts Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. The men agree to occupational zones in defeated Germany.
1953: U.S. Senator and future President John F. Kennedy marries Jacqueline Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island.
1957: Canada and US form North American Air Defence Command (NORAD).
1992: NASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-47 which marked the 50th shuttle mission.
2011: The 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City opens to the public.