Here’s a look at the travel history books for July 17

TORONTO — Throughout the years July 17 has seen some major milestones for the travel industry – some joyous, others tragic.

Here’s a look at the travel history books for July 17:

In 1674, the second census of Canada showed a population of 6,705.
In 1821, Spain ceded Florida to the U.S.
In 1897, the world officially learned of the Yukon’s Klondike gold strike when miners arrived by ship in San Francisco with suitcases and boxes full of gold. Thousands began to book passages north after the miners spread tales of fortunes waiting to be made.
In 1938, pilot Douglas Corrigan took off from New York for a flight to California. He landed in Dublin and earned the nickname ‘Wrong-way Corrigan.’
In 1955, Disneyland opened in Anaheim, CA.
In 1976, Canada’s first Olympic Games opened in Montreal. The opening ceremony was attended by Queen Elizabeth, Princess Anne and her then-husband, Capt. Mark Phillips. The city had won the right to host the Games, beating Moscow and Los Angeles with its bid.
In 1996, a TWA jumbo jet exploded and crashed shortly after takeoff from JFK Airport in New York.
In 2006, a 7.7-magnitude undersea earthquake triggered a tsunami on Indonesia’s Java island.
In 2009, Walter Cronkite, the former CBS anchor known as the ‘Most Trusted Man in America’’ died at age 92. Hailed as the ‘gold standard’ for a career that spanned seven decades, Cronkite conveyed to Americans historic events including the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the landing of the first man on the moon.
In 2013, Britain legalized gay marriage after Queen Elizabeth gave her royal assent, clearing the way for the first same-sex weddings in the summer of 2014.
In 2014, passengers and crew aboard Malaysia Airlines flight 17 were killed when the Boeing 777 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile over a rebel-held area in eastern Ukraine (in 2018 an international team of investigators determined the missile belonged to a Russia-based military unit).