- 1184 BC Troy is sacked and burned during the Trojan War, according to calculations by Eratosthenes
- 631 Emperor Taizong of Tang sends envoys to the Xueyantuo bearing gold and silk for the release of Chinese prisoners captured on the northern frontier during the transition from the Sui to Tang dynasty and succeeds in freeing 80,000
- 738 Smoke Monkey ascends to the throne of the Maya city of Copán, after the capture and killing of his predecessor 18 Rabbit by rival city Quirigua
- 758 Diplomatic dispute at Tang Chinese capital Chang'an when Abbasid Arabs and Uyghur Turks both arrive to offer tribute. Settlement reached when both enter at same time through two different gates.
- 1144 Basilica of St Denis is dedicated near Paris, the first fully Gothic church
- 1231 Harderwijk (Netherlands) becomes a city
Battle of Campaldino
1289 Battle of Campaldino: Guelph and Ghibelline forces clash in Tuscany, including Italian poet Dante Alighieri; the Guelphs win
- 1345 Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire, is lynched by political prisoners
- 1429 Hundred Years' War: the start of the Battle of Jargeau (France)
- 1488 Battle of Sauchieburn, rebellion against the Scottish crown results in death of King James III
- 1517 British admiral Sir Thomas Pert reaches Hudson Bay
- 1572 Spanish co-land guardian Duke of Medinaceli arrives in Lock
- 1578 England grants Sir Humphrey Gilbert a patent to explore and colonize North America
The Principalía
1594 Philip II recognizes the rights and privileges of local nobles and chieftains in the Philippines, creating a ruling class of native nobility known as the Principalía
- 1644 Florentine scientist Evangelista Torricelli describes his invention of the mercury barometer in 1643 in a letter to Michelangelo Ricci
- 1666 Four Days Battle - naval battle in the southern North Seas during Second Anglo-Dutch War: Dutch victory with ten English ships destroyed [OS 1-4 June]
- 1726 Cardinal Fleury succeeds Duke of Bourbon as French premier
Franklin Stove
1742 Benjamin Franklin invents the Franklin stove, a metal-lined fireplace insert that improves indoor heating and uses less wood than an open hearth
- 1774 Jews of Algiers escape attacking Spanish Army
1776 Continental Congress appoints a committee to draft the Declaration of Independence, with Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston as members
- 1788 Construction of the first British ship on the Pacific coast begins at Nootka Sound, British Columbia
- 1788 Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches Alaska
- 1793 1st American stove patent is granted to Robert Haeterick
- 1797 Spanish Mission San José founded by Franciscan Padre Fermin Francisco de Lasuen at the Ohlone Village of Oroysom in Alta California (now Freemont, California)
- 1816 Gas Light Co. of Baltimore founded
- 1825 The first cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City
- 1837 The Broad Street Riot occurs in Boston, fueled by ethnic tensions between English-Americans and Irish-Americans
- 1861 Battle of Laurel Hill, West Virginia - Confederate General Robert S. Garnett is the first general killed during the Civil War
- 1864 300 feet (90 m) of Meiggs Wharf in San Francisco is washed away in a storm
- 1864 Battle at Cynthiana Kentucky: General Hobsons unit caught
- 1864 Battle of Trevilian Station, the bloodiest and largest all-cavalry battle of the American Civil War, begins in Louisa County, Virginia
- 1864 CSS Alabama, a Confederate screw sloop-of-war, arrives in port at Cherbourg, France
- 1866 The Agra High Court (now the Allahabad High Court) is established in India
- 1870 First stone Amstel Brewery opens in Amsterdam
- 1878 DC is given a new government by Congress, 3 commissioners appointed by president (change in 1974)
- 1891 Puerto Rican flag adopted
- 1892 The Limelight Department, one of the world's first film studios, is officially established in Melbourne, Australia
- 1895 Charles Duryea patents a gas-driven automobile
- 1896 US Assay Office in Deadwood South Dakota authorized
1898 1st US Marines (600) land at Guantanamo, Cuba during the Spanish–American War
- 1898 Emperor De Zong proclaims reforms in Peking
- 1900 -12] Battle at Diamond Hill: British troops chase General Botha
Boxer Rebellion
1900 David Beatty and 150 men from HMS Barfleur land as part of a force of 2,400 defending Tientsin from 15,000 Chinese troops plus Boxers
- 1901 Cook Islands annexed and proclaimed part of New Zealand
- 1903 King Alexander I and his wife Queen Draga Mašin of Serbia are assassinated in the royal palace in Belgrade by a group of army officers led by Captain Dragutin Dimitrijević, as part of a military coup
- 1904 Chicago Cubs pitcher Bob Wicker no-hits NY Giants, wins in 12th on 1 hitter, 1-0
- 1904 German Lt. General Lothar von Trotha lands in Swapokmund, German South West Africa
- 1905 Pennsylvania Railroad debuts the fastest train in the world, capable of traveling from NY to Chicago in 18 hours
- 1907 George Dennett, aided by Gilbert Jessop, dismisses Northamptonshire for 12 runs, the lowest total in first-class cricket
- 1907 Northants all out for 12 v Gloucestershire
- 1911 The Greek national assembly adopts a more liberal constitution
Universal Negro Improvement Association
1911 Universal Negro Improvement Association founded by Marcus Garvey
- 1913 Grand Vizir Mahmud Shevket Pasha is assassinated, resulting in continuing Young Turk terrorism until WWI
Alexander of Greece
1917 King Alexander assumes the throne of Greece after his father Constantine I abdicates under pressure by allied armies occupying Athens
- 1921 Brazil adopts women's suffrage
- 1924 Bene Brak Palestine founded
- 1924 Koos Vorrink elected President of Arbeiders Jeugd Organisatie (AJC) Socialist Youth Movement
- 1927 Future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth hits 19th & 20th homers of MLB season record 60 HRs in New York's 6-4 win over Cleveland Indians at Yankees Stadium
Case Of Jonathan Drew
1928 Alfred Hitchcock's silent film "Case Of Jonathan Drew" (or "The Lodger") is released
- 1934 Disarmament conference in Geneva fails
- 1935 Inventor Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in the United States, at Alpine, New Jersey
- 1936 International Surrealist Exhibition opens in London, England
- 1936 Presbyterian Church of America founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1937 Marx Brothers' "A Day At The Races", directed by Sam Wood, is released in the US
- 1938 5.0 Earthquake in Belgium kills 2, strongest in 45 years
- 1938 Compton scores 1st Test Cricket ton (102 v Aust) aged 20 yrs 19 days
- 1938 England cricket team declare at 8 for 658 v Australia at Trent Bridge
- 1938 MLB Cincinnati Reds pitcher Johnny Vander Meer no-hits Boston Braves, 3-0
Royals Try Hot Dogs
1939 British ruler King George VI and Queen Elizabeth taste their first "hot dogs" at a party at FDR's Hyde Park residence during their US visit [1]
- 1940 British Premier Winston Churchill flies to Orleans
- 1940 Italy declares war on Allies
- 1940 World War II: British forces bomb Genoa and Turin in Italy
- 1940 World War II: First attack of the Italian Air force on the island of Malta
- 1941 2nd great raid on Jews of Amsterdam
- 1941 Vichy-French planes bomb Tel Aviv, killing 20 Jews
- 1942 US and USSR sign Lend-Lease agreement during WW II
- 1943 WWII: British invades Pantelleria, a tiny island south of Sicily
- 1944 15 US aircraft carriers attack Japanese bases on Marianas
- 1944 The first Serbian Orthodox cathedral in the US, the Cathedral of St. Sava, opens in NYC
Miracle on 34th Street
1947 Perennial Christmas film "Miracle on 34th Street" is released, starring John Payne and Maureen O'Hara and directed by George Seaton
- 1947 WW II sugar rationing finally ends in US (began May 28, 1942)
- 1949 Emile Zatopek runs world record 10,000m (29:28.2)
- 1951 Mozambique becomes an oversea province of Portugal
- 1951 NY Times reports the NYC subway will auction off unclaimed items left behind on the trains
1952 Opening batsman Len Hutton becomes the first professional cricketer to captain England in Test cricket
- 1953 "Amos 'n Andy" TV Comedy, also radio from '29; last aired on CBS
- 1953 Test Cricket debut of Alan Davidson at Trent Bridge
- 1955 1st magnesium jet airplane flies
- 1957 12 die in a train crash in Vroman, Colorado
- 1958 UN Security council sends observers to Lebanon
- 1959 Postmaster General bans D. H. Lawrence's book 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' as obscene; overruled by US Court of Appeals in March of 1960
- 1959 Saunders-Roe SR.N1, the first practical hovercraft, performs its first public flight
- 1960 House packed with wedding celebrants collapses killing 30 (Pakistan)
- 1961 "Winston Churchill" last airs on ABC-TV
- 1961 New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris hits his 19th and 20th home runs on his way to 61
- 1961 Norm Cash becomes 1st Detroit Tiger to hit a ball out of Tiger Stadium
Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall
1962 "Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall," a musical comedy and variety television special starring Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett, premieres on CBS
- 1962 Brothers John and Clarence Anglin and fellow inmate Frank Morris escape from Alcatraz Island prison, the only ones to do so
1963 Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức immolates himself at a Saigon intersection, creating one of the Vietnam War's most iconic images
- 1963 Gov Wallace tries to prevent blacks registering at University of Alabama
- 1963 Greek government of Karamanlis resigns
- 1963 US President John F. Kennedy says segregation is morally wrong and that it is "time to act"
- 1964 Chicago police break up Rolling Stones press conference on a traffic island in the middle of Michigan Avenue
- 1964 Manfred Mann record Do Wah Diddy Diddy Dum Diddy Do
- 1964 West Germany seeks talks with Czechoslovakia
- 1966 "I Am A Rock" by Simon & Garfunkel peaks at #3
- 1966 "Sloop John B" by The Beach Boys hits #1 in UK
- 1966 French and German media mistakenly report death of Roger Daltry
- 1967 Chicago Cubs (7) & NY Mets (4) tie record of 11 HRs in a game
- 1967 Mexico becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty
- 1967 Race riot in Tampa, Florida; National Guard mobilizes
The Ballad Of John & Yoko Hits #1
1969 "The Ballad Of John & Yoko" by The Beatles hits #1 in UK; recording involved only John (guitars, vocals, percussion) and Paul (bass, drums, piano, backing voice)
- 1970 US leaves Wheelus AFB Libya
- 1971 US & Japan sign accord to return Okinawa to Japan
- 1971 US ends ban on China trade
- 1972 31°F lowest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland, Ohio in June
- 1972 Gun battle between Loyalist and Republican paramilitaries break out in the Oldpark area of Belfast
- 1972 KPAT-AM in Berkeley, California returns to original call letters KRE, marking 50 years since first on-air broadcxast
- 1973 Libya nationalizes Bunker Hunt concession; Nigeria acquires 35 percent participation in Shell-BP concession
- 1974 Bundy victim Georgann Hawkins disappears from the University of Washington in Seattle
- 1974 Mel Stottlemyre sets an American League record by making his 272nd consecutive start without pitching a game in relief
- 1975 1st oil pumped from North Sea oilfield
- 1975 Greece adopts constitution
Nashville
1975 Musical comedy-drama film "Nashville" is released, starring Ned Beatty and Ronee Blakley, and directed by Robert Altman
- 1975 One-day international cricket debut of Javed Miandad at age 17 years and 364 days
- 1976 "Magnificent Marble Machine" last airs on NBC-TV
- 1976 Anti-apartheid advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza arrested in South Africa
- 1976 Australian band AC/DC begin their 1st headline tour of Britain
- 1976 Beatles "Rock & Roll Music" compilation LP is released in USA
- 1977 "I'm Your Boogie Man" by KC and the Sunshine Band peaks at #1
- 1977 Dutch marines rescued hostages from a Moluccan held train in Holland
- 1977 Main Street Electrical Parade premieres in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World
- 1978 Christa Tybus of London sets record of 24½ hrs of hula-hoop
- 1978 Joseph Freeman Jr is 1st black priest in Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
- 1979 Chuck Berry pleads guilty to income tax evasion, sentenced to 4 months
- 1980 K-Ingleside streetcar converts to METRO service (San Francisco)
- 1981 Cannibal Issei Sagawa kills Dutch student
- 1981 Mariners beat Orioles 8-2 at Kingdome, then players go on strike
- 1981 Richter Scale 6.9 magnitude Golbaf earthquake in Iran, kills at least 2,000
Holmes vs. Cooney
1982 Defending champion Larry Holmes TKOs Gerry Cooney in 13 for WBC and The Ring heavyweight boxing titles at Caesars Palace, LV, Nevada
- 1982 Israel and Syria stop fighting in Lebanon
1st Papal Visit to Argentina
1982 Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to visit Argentina, drawing huge crowds to public Masses and meetings with national leaders
- 1983 "Always Something There To Remind Me" by Naked Eyes peaks at #8
- 1983 "My Love" by Lionel Richie peaks at #5
- 1983 Zhu Jianhua of China set a new world record in high jump at 7-9 14
- 1984 Funeral for S Nakagawa & burial of half of his ashes
- 1984 Michael Larson shown winning record $110,237 on American TV game show "Press Your Luck" by memorizing patterns
- 1984 US Supreme Court declares illegally obtained evidence may be admitted at trial if it could be proved that it would have been discovered legally
- 1985 Russian space probe Vega 1 lands on Venus
- 1985 Von Hayes becomes 21st to hit 2 HRs in an inning (Phils-26, Mets-7)
- 1985 WJW-AM/TV in Cleveland Ohio change call letters to WRMR
- 1986 "Blacke's Magic" last airs on NBC-TV
- 1987 George Galloway is elected as the MP for Glasgow Hillhead in the general election
Thatcher Wins Third Term
1987 Margaret Thatcher is the first British Prime Minister in 160 years to win a third consecutive term
- 1988 "Everything Your Heart Desires" by Daryl Hall and John Oates peaks at #3
- 1988 Galina Chistyakova of USSR sets long jump woman's record (24"8½")
- 1988 NY Yankees Rick Rhoden becomes first pitcher since AL's adoption of the rule in 1973 to DH (0 for 1 with an RBI) in an 8–6 victory over Baltimore Orioles
- 1990 Federal judge sentenced former national security adviser John M Poindexter to 6 months for making false statements to Congress
- 1990 MLB Texas Rangers Nolan Ryan pitches his 6th no-hitter beating Oakland, in the 9th inning, he retires Ken Phelps, Rickey Henderson and Willie Randolph
- 1990 Supreme Court says law prohibiting desecration of US flag unconstitutional
- 1990 UN appoints British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John as environmental ambassador
- 1991 Microsoft releases MS DOS 5.0
Unforgettable...with Love
1991 Natalie Cole releases "Unforgettable...with Love", covering her father's standards including a "virtual duet" of title track; wins 6 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, 1992
- 1992 Owners approve sale of Seattle Mariners to a Japanese group
Austin Makes Tennis History
1992 Tracy Austin becomes the youngest inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame at age 29
- 1992 US Olympic baseball team plays 1st exhibition game, beat Venezuela 20-0
- 1993 "Jurassic Park," adapted from best-selling novel by Michael Crichton, directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum, opens and sets a box office weekend record of $502 million
- 1993 "Scattergories" game show last airs on NBC-TV
- 1993 "Scrabble," second run," TV Game Show; last airs on NBC-TV
- 1994 "Meet The Flintstones" by The B-52's (stylized for this release as The B.C. 52's) from the 1994 film The Flintstones peaks at #33
- 1994 Cbox is 39'115 long, 20'85 wide, & 8' high in Jacksonville, Florida - largest popcorn container is 6,619.76 cubic feet full of popped corn
- 1994 Drunken police officer shoots 7 people dead in Falun, Sweden
- 1994 Moshood Abiola becomes President of Nigeria
- 1995 Rondell White has six hits and hits for the cycle in 13 innings
- 1996 Exxon states that it will begin work on its $15-billion Sakhalin I oil and natural gas development in Russia's Far East
Dole Runs for President
1996 Republican Senator Bob Dole of Kansas resigns from the US Senate to run for president
- 1998 Compaq Computer pays $9.6 billion for Digital Equipment Corporation; largest high-tech acquisition at the time
- 2001 Saudi Arabia seizes ownership, effective June 7, of the 1.6-million-barrels-per-day IPSA pipeline that had carried Iraqi crude oil to the Saudi Red Sea port of Mu'jiz prior to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait
- 2002 Antonio Meucci is acknowledged as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress
- 2004 Cassini-Huygens makes its closest flyby of Phoebe
Funeral of Ronald Reagan
2004 Ronald Reagan's funeral is held at Washington National Cathedral
- 2006 60th Tony Awards: "Jersey Boys" (musical) and "The History Boys" (play) win
Indian Residential School Apology
2008 Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made an official historic apology to Canada's First Nations in regard to a residential school abuse in which children were isolated from their homes, families and cultures for a century
- 2009 Bulgarian authorities declare the country is officially in recession after dropping 1.6% in the last quarter of 2008
- 2009 Texas mother hit by lightning while standing in her kitchen in her Texas home. Witnesses say lightning came through a light fixture, struck her chest and exited her foot. Survived after three days in hospital.
2009 The World Health Organization declares H1N1 swine flu to be a global pandemic, the first such incident in over forty years
- 2012 23 people are killed after two villages are attacked in northern Nigeria
- 2012 Five people are killed after an ambulance hits a roadside bomb in Afghanistan
- 2012 Stanley Cup Final, Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA : LA Kings defeat New Jersey Devils, 6-1 for 4-2 series win; first SC title in Kings' 45-year history
- 2012 The Nobel Prize is reduced by 20% to prevent any future undermining of capital
- 2012 Two earthquakes in Afghanistan trigger landslides that kill more than 80 people
- 2012 US territory Puerto Rico votes to become a US State
- 2014 Islamic State of Iraq forces seize control of government offices and other important buildings in the northern city of Mosul
- 2017 71st Tony Awards: "Dear Evan Hansen" (musical) & "Oslo" (play) win
2017 French Open Men's Tennis: Spaniard Rafael Nadal beats Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 6–2, 6–3, 6–1; becomes first man to win French title 10 times
- 2017 Jailbreak by militants in Beni, DR Congo kills 11 and frees 900 prisoners
Akihito Abdication Permitted
2017 Japan passes law allowing Emperor Akihito to abdicate
- 2017 Puerto Rico votes overwhelming in favor of statehood in a status referendum with 97% in favor despite a low turnout of 23%
- 2017 Stanley Cup Final, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN: Pittsburgh Penguins defeat Nashville Predators, 2-0 for 4-2 series win; Penguins back-to-back champions
- 2018 72nd Tony Awards: "The Band's Visit" best musical; "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" best play
Sessions Limits Asylum
2018 In landmark ruling, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions rejects El Salvador woman's asylum request based on domestic abuse
- 2018 More than 100 people arrested in Vietnam, after protests against special economic zones at the People's Committee Headquarters in Binh Thuan province and elsewhere
- 2018 Net neutrality is officially repealed by The Federal Communications Commission in the US
Aquarius Migrants
2018 Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez accepts migrant rescue ship Aquarius with 629 people on board after Italy refuses it
- 2019 Botswana overturns law criminalizing same-sex relationships from colonial-era in landmark African LGBTQ case
Single-Use Plastics Ban
2019 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces plan to ban single-use plastics by 2021
2019 Comedian Jon Stewart delivers angry rebuke to Congress for the lack of funds for 9/11 victims
- 2019 Russian journalist Ivan Golunov released from prison and drug charges dropped after major public outcry with unprecedented joint campaign by Russian news sources
- 2019 WHO confirms first case of Ebola virus in Uganda, spread from outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo
- 2020 Bodies of 46 migrants recovered off the coast of Tunisia after a boat capsized a few days before
- 2020 Pan-American Health Organisation warns pandemic spreading "exponentially" in many areas of the region, home to nearly half of all cases worldwide
Pulitzer Prize
2021 Pulitzer Prizes awarded to Katori Hall for drama, The New York Times for pandemic coverage and special citation for Darnella Frazier for recording the murder of George Floyd
- 2021 US lobsterman survives being swallowed by a humpback whale off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts
- 2022 Charl Schwartzel hangs on to beat fellow South African Hennie Du Plessis by a stroke to win the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational event at the Centurion GC, Hertfordshire; pockets massive US$4.75m for the victory
- 2023 2nd ICC World Test Championship final, The Oval, London: Australia beats India by 209 runs to take it's first title; Nathan Lyon 4/41 and Scott Boland 3/46 combine to dominate Indian 2nd innings
Tony Awards
2023 76th Tony Awards: held without scripts due to writers' strike "Kimberley Akimbo" Best Musical, “Leopoldstadt” Best Play, Jodie Comer Best Actress, Sean Hayes Best Actor, J. Harrison Ghee and Alex Newell first out nonbinary winners [1]
- 2024 Estonian Biobank opens its portal allowing 200,000 people to access their genetic information, including disease risk, ancestry markers and how they handle caffeine [1]
- 2024 Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, is convicted in Wilmington on three felony charges related to buying a gun in 2018 [1]
