1580: Sir Francis Drake finishes his circumnavigation of the Earth.
1613: Samuel de Champlain publishes an account of his recent journey up the Ottawa River, as well as a map of New France.
1777: British troops occupy Philadelphia during the American Revolution.
1789: Thomas Jefferson is appointed the first United States Secretary of State.
1826: Founding of Bytown (City of Ottawa 1855). A letter authorized Colonel John By of the Royal Engineers to divide up the town into lots.
1827: Colonel By is commissioned by the Imperial Government to superintend the construction of the Rideau Canal.
1904: Earl Grey appointed Governor General of Canada.
1905: Albert Einstein publishes his first paper on the special theory of relativity.
1909: Earl Grey donates the Grey Cup to the champion team in Canadian rugby football.
1933: As gangster Machine Gun Kelly surrenders to the FBI, he shouts out, "Don't shoot, G-Men!", which becomes a nickname for FBI agents.
1960: In Chicago, the first televised debate takes place between presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy.
1963: FLQ terrorists hold up a branch of the Royal Bank in Montréal.
1969: Abbey Road, the last recorded album by The Beatles, is released.
1970: Anne Murray's hit song Snowbird peaks at #8 on the Billboard pop singles chart.
1972: Canadian NHL All Stars fight back to tie the Summit Series, eventually winning on Paul Henderson’s historic goal two days later.
1973: The Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time.
1984: The UK and China agree to a transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, to take place in 1997.
1988: Track athlete Ben Johnson is stripped of his 100m sprint Olympic gold medal and world record following a positive drug test.
1993: Daredevil Dave Munday from of Caistor Centre, ON, takes his second plunge over Niagara Falls in a barrel; the first time was in 1985.
2008: The Commission into David Milgaard case concludes the criminal justice system failed Milgaard, since Saskatoon Police got a tip while he was in jail that could have led to the real killer if followed up.