IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

— In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River. — In 1620, Samuel de Champlain sailed for Canada, accompanied by his wife. — In 1794, Antoine Lavoisier, the father of modern chemistry, was executed on the guillotine during France's Reign of Terror. — In 1882, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Assiniboia and Athabaska were formed as districts of the Northwest Territories. — In 1886, Coca-Cola was served for the first time, at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta. — In 1902, a volcanic eruption on the Caribbean island of Martinique destroyed the city of St-Pierre within minutes. Only two of the 30,000 inhabitants survived. — In 1906, American desperado Bill Miner held up a CPR train in Kamloops. But Canada's first train robbery netted Miner only $15, and he was captured a few days later. — In 1945 — V.E. (Victory in Europe) Day. The Second World War ended in Europe with the unconditional surrender of all German land, sea and air forces. — In 1950, 10,000 people were forced out of the Red River Valley south of Winnipeg. An approaching flood caused $25 million in damage before the crisis ended on May 25. — In 1973, militant natives who had held the South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee for 10 weeks surrendered. — In 1974, the Conservatives and NDP defeated Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's minority Liberal government in a no-confidence motion brought against the budget in the House of Commons. The Liberals won a majority in the ensuing election. — In 1978, David R. Berkowitz pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courtroom to murder, attempted murder and assault in connection with the Son of Sam shootings that had terrified New Yorkers. — In 1982, Canadian Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve died in a racing accident in Belgium. — In 1984, Canadian Forces Cpl. Dennis Lortie sprayed the Quebec National Assembly with machine-gun fire, killing three and wounding 13 before surrendering several hours later. He was sentenced to life in prison, but was paroled in 1995. — In 1987, Ottawa unveiled the $1 coin. Made of nickel, copper and recycled tin, it was dubbed the loonie because of the loon engraved on its flip side. — In 1990, the Estonian parliament declared the birth of the Estonian Republic and dropped the words Soviet Socialist from its name. — In 1994, in Zurich, Canada beat Finland 2-1 in a shootout to win its first world hockey championship in 33 years. — In 1996, South Africa’s Constitutional Assembly voted 420-2 to approve a new constitution, completing the country’s evolution from apartheid to democracy.