A LOOK BACK AT LIFE ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

— In 1682, French explorer Robert de La Salle claimed the Mississippi River Basin for France. — In 1799, British scientist Sir Humphrey Davy discovered the anaesthetic properties of nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas. — In 1865, the American Civil War ended when Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered at the Appotomatox Court House in Virginia to Union commander Ulysses S. Grant. — In 1870, German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann began excavations in Turkey, where he found the ruins of the ancient city of Troy. — In 1917, four Canadian divisions began an assault on Vimy Ridge in northeast France. British and French troops had been unsuccessful in earlier attempts to capture the ridge, a key German defensive position. By April 14, the Canadians had won the battle. Almost 3,600 Canadians were killed in the fighting. — In 1940, German forces invaded Denmark and Norway during the Second World War. — In 1942, during the Second World War, American and Philippine defenders on the Bataan peninsula capitulated to Japanese forces. The surrender was followed by the infamous “Bataan Death March,” which claimed nearly 10,000 lives. — In 1945, German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged by the Gestapo, after discovering his plot to kill Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Bonhoeffer’s last recorded words were, “This is the end — for me, the beginning of life.” — In 1945, Canadian troops cut off all land escape routes for Nazi soldiers trapped in the Netherlands. — In 1959, NASA named the seven astronauts for the Mercury space missions — Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton. — In 1963, Sir Winston Churchill, at the age of 88, became the first honorary American citizen. — In 1965, the Houston Astrodome, the world’s first domed stadium, opened. — In 1969, the British-French supersonic aircraft Concorde made its first test flight. The flight lasted 22 minutes. — In 1983, the space shuttle Challenger ended its first mission with a safe landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. — In 1984, the House of Commons passed the Canada Health Act, which prohibits user fees and extra-billing. — In 1987, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the constitution does not guarantee the right to strike. — In 2002, an estimated one million people lined the streets of London to bid farewell to the Queen Mother, who died 10 days earlier at age 101.