Fact of the Day: Canada Day Canada considers July 1 its anniversary. It was first called Dominion Day and it commemorates the confederation of Upper and Lower Canada and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick into the Dominion of Canada in 1867. Ontario and Quebec were divided into provinces and this act served as Canada's constitution until 1982. In 1982, Canada became a fully independent country and the name of the holiday changed to Canada Day. It is celebrated with parades, displays of the flag, the singing of the national anthem, "O Canada," and fireworks. Holidays Canada: Canada Day / Dominion Day / Independence Day. Feast day of St Gall of Clermont, Saints Aaron and Julius, St Eparchius or Cybard, St Oliver Plunket, St Carilephus or Calais, St Thierry or Theodoric of Mont d'Or, St Servanus or Serf, St Simeon Salus, and St Shenute. Burundi: Independence Day. Rwanda: Independence Day. Botswana: Sir Seretse Khama Day. China: Half-Year Day. Ghana: Republic Day. Suriname: Liberation Day. Events 1751 - The first volume of Diderot's Encyclopédie was published in Paris. 1838 - Charles Darwin presented a paper on his theory of evolution to the Linnean Society in London. 1847 - The United States Post Office issued its first stamps, a five-cent stamp honoring Benjamin Franklin and a ten-cent stamp for George Washington. 1859 - The first intercollegiate baseball game was played, between Amherst and Williams College. 1862 - The Bureau of Internal Revenue was established by an act of Congress. 1863 - In the Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg began. 1873 - The province of Prince Edward Island joined the confederation of Canada. 1874 - The first zoo in the United States opened, in Philadelphia, PA. 1898 - In the Spanish-American War, Teddy Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders" waged a victorious assault on San Juan Hill and El Caney in Cuba. 1916 - In World War I, the British launched a massive offensive against German forces in the Somme River region of France. 1934 - The Federal Communications Commission, as mandated in the "Communications Act of 1934", replaced the Federal Radio Commission as the regulator of broadcasting in the United States. 1941 - Mammoth Cave National Park was established in Kentucky. 1943 - "Pay as you go" income-tax withholding started. 1963 - The US Post Office began using the 5-digit ZIP Code system. 1966 - Medicare went into effect. 1968 - The United States, Britain, Soviet Union, and 58 other nations signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. 1969 - Britain's Prince Charles was dubbed the Prince of Wales. 1971 - The US Post Office became the US Postal Service. 1979 - The Sony Walkman was introduced. 1980 - 'O Canada' was proclaimed the national anthem of Canada. 1991 - Court TV debuted. 1991 - The Warsaw Pact, the last vestige of the Cold War-era Soviet bloc, was formally disbanded. 1994 - PLO chairman Yasser Arafat drove from Egypt into Gaza, returning to Palestinian land after 27 years in exile. 1997 - Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule after 156 years as a British colony. 2000 - Vermont's civil unions law, which granted gay couples most of the rights, benefits and responsibilities of marriage, went into effect. Births 1649 - Gottfried Von Leibniz, German philosopher and mathematician. 1804 - George Sand (Amandine-Aurore Lucille Dupin), French novelist. 1872 - Louis Bleriot, aviation pioneer. 1902 - Myron Cohen, comedian, entertainer, actor. 1908 - Estee Lauder, cosmetics entrepreneur. 1934 - Sydney Pollack, director. 1961 - Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales.