IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

— In 1429, Joan of Arc entered Orleans, France, to score her great victory in driving out the English. — In 1770, British Captain James Cook reached Botany Bay on the Australian east coast for the first time. — In 1792, English explorer George Vancouver reached Juan de Fuca Strait and later explored what are now Vancouver Island and the city of Vancouver. — In 1867, Queen Victoria gave royal assent to the British North America Act. — In 1880, royal assent was given to an act approving the formation of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada. — In 1913, Gideon Sandback of Hoboken, N.J., patented the zipper. — In 1916, the Easter Rising in Dublin collapsed as Irish nationalists surrendered to British authorities. — In 1939, Lou Gehrig got what would be his last hit in a Yankee uniform, a single against the Washington Senators. His career ended suddenly because of illness. Two years later, he died at age 37 from the disease that would later bear his name. — In 1949, the House of Commons approved the NATO treaty. — In 1954, India and China agreed to peaceful coexistence and non-aggression against Tibet. — In 1967, five-year-old Gino Lyons became the youngest painter to have his work exhibited at London’s Royal Academy of Art. He was three when he painted Trees and Monkeys. — In 1981, truck driver Peter Sutcliffe admitted in a London court to being the so-called Yorkshire Ripper. He killed 13 women in northern England during a five-year period. — In 1982, China’s population topped one billion. — In 1986, Queen’s University offensive tackle Mike Schad became the first Canadian selected in the first round of the NFL draft. He was taken by the Los Angeles Rams. — In 1992, Los Angeles saw the start of deadly rioting that claimed 55 lives and caused $1 billion in damage. The riots came after a jury in suburban Simi Valley acquitted four white Los Angeles police officers of almost all charges in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King. — In 2003, Mahmoud Abbas was endorsed by the Palestinian parliament as the first Palestinian prime minister. — In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI expressed "sorrow" to a delegation from Canada’s Assembly of First Nations over the abuse and “deplorable” treatment that aboriginal students suffered at residential schools run by the Roman Catholic Church.