For centuries, the Canadian shores of Lake Ontario were home to the Seneca, Mohawk and Cayuga. In 1750, French settlers established a trading fort nearby called Fort Rouillé. When the American Revolution succeeded, hordes of American loyalists fled north to a neighboring village known as York. The influx of immigrants made York large enough to be named the capital of the new English colony of Upper Canada.

On this date in 1834, York, with a population of 10,000, was founded as a city. But the name York sounded too much like the U.S. city of New York. So the city was christened “Toronto,” the English pronunciation of the Seneca word “giyando,” meaning the other side. Others claim that the name comes from the Mohawk “tkaranto” which means “where there are trees standing in the water,” a reference to a location in present day Lake Simcoe which has some pretty tall trees.

The first mayor of Toronto was one William Lyon MacKenzie, a gentleman who served just one term. In 1837, MacKenzie led an armed revolt against the government, never a good career move unless the revolt proves successful. MacKenzie’s didn’t and he had to flee to the U.S. where he remained a thorn in the side of the Canadian government as a leader of a movement for the Liberation of Upper Canadians. In 1849, MacKenzie was pardoned, returned to Canada and served in the assembly until 1857.

Toronto overcame its politically inauspicious beginnings and by the middle of the 20th century surpassed Montreal as Canada’s largest and most economically powerful city. In 1992, Toronto became the first Canadian city to win a World Series when the Blue Jays defeated the Atlanta Braves. The Jays followed up the next year by taking the World Series in 6 games. The Series ended dramatically when Blue Jay DH Joe Carter belted a game winning three-run homer off the Phillies’ Mitch Williams in what remains one of the most memorable moments in baseball history.

The bad news is that Toronto is home to a hockey team known as the Maple Leafs. One of the NHL’s original six franchises, the Leafs are second only to the Montreal Canadians in hockey lore. But they haven’t won a Stanley Cup—or even appeared in a Cup final—since 1967.

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