July 22, 1793 Dean Inlet, BC - (http://www1.sympatico.ca/news/otd/images/otd.98.07.22.a.lg.gif) Alexander Mackenzie 1764-1820 reaches the Pacific Ocean down the Bella Coola River into Dean Channel; mixes some vermilion in melted grease and inscribes and paints on a large rock: 'Alex Mackenzie from Canada by land 22d July 1793.'; first to cross the Great Divide and North America north of Mexico; his party set out in May, and traveled much of the way on foot; when they reached the Bella Coola River, they traded goods for canoes and paddled to the sea; hostile natives made them beat a hasty retreat upriver; back in Montreal, the North West Company can see no practical use for Mackenzie's route, but he will be knighted for his exploit. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- July 22, 1629 Quebec Quebec - David, Louis and Thomas Kirke raise the English flag over Quebec and take possession of Fort St-Louis and Champlain's Habitation; a year earlier, the Kirke brothers demanded the surrender of the fort, but Champlain drove them off; French will leave Quebec on Sept. 14; some habitants stay behind; four years later, the colony will revert to France. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- July 22,1629 Quebec Quebec - Olivier le Noir the first black man to arrive at Quebec, with the Kirkes. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------