1 MAY 1888
The Earl of Derby, Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley, is appointed Governor General of Canada. The silver rose bowl he originally donated to the top-ranking amateur hockey club becomes an iconic trophy.
2 MAY 1945
The Royal Canadian Army Service Corps begins transporting relief supplies by truck convoy to the hungry people of the western Netherlands.
3 MAY 1915
Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae writes “In Flanders Fields.”
4-5 MAY 1971
A clay landslide destroys 40 homes and kills 31 residents of Saint-Jean-Vianney, Que.; three CAF members are awarded medals for daring rescues.
6 MAY 1944
HMCS Valleyfield is hit by a homing torpedo from U-548 and sinks southeast of Cape Race, N.L.; 125 die.
8 MAY 1945
Millions take to the streets in Europe to celebrate after the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany.
9 MAY 1813
British Major-General Henry Procter and Shawnee warrior and chief Tecumseh are forced to end a 10-day siege at Fort Meigs in Ohio.
10 MAY 1940
Germany invades Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. The German blitzkrieg (lightning war) sweeps into France.
11 MAY 1957
Equipped with the CF-100 interceptor/fighter, 440 Squadron moves to West Germany to serve with NATO.
13 MAY 1915
The six-day Battle of Frezenberg ends. The Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Originals suffer 400 casualties.
14 MAY 2003
The first modernized CF-18 fighters are accepted into service.
17 MAY 1929
Test pilot Jack Caldwell becomes the first Canadian to save his own life by parachute when his Canadian Vickers Vedette suffers engine failure and he is forced to jump.
18 MAY 1785
The communities of Parrtown and Carleton amalgamate to form Saint John, N.B., Canada’s first incorporated city.
20 MAY 1971
Francis Simard receives a life sentence for the murder of Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte, kidnapped by the Front de Libération du Quebec.
22 MAY 1918
Billy Bishop resumes his active flying career intent on adding to his victories. He was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1917.
23 MAY 1873
Parliament creates the North West Mounted Police, a force of 300 policemen.
24 MAY 1819
Queen Victoria is born at Kensington Palace.
30 MAY 2007
Combat cameraman Master Corporal Darrell Jason Priede of Burlington, Ont., is among seven NATO soldiers killed when their Chinook helicopter is reportedly brought down by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
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