- 311 St Miltiades begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 626 Incident at Xuanwu Gate: Prince Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rivals, the brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng, sons of Emperor Gaozu; he then forces the emperor to name him as successor to the throne
- 706 Remains of Chinese Emperor Gaozong, his wife Empress Wu Zetian and family members interred in Qianling Mausoleum by Emperor Zhongzong, outside Chang'an on Mount Liangshan
- 763 Yax Pac [First Dawn] 16th and last ruler of the Maya K'inich Yax K'uk Mo' dynasty, ascends to the throne of Copán after the death of his father Smoke Shell; rules until 820
- 963 The imperial army proclaims Nicephorus Phocas to be Emperor of the Romans on the plains outside Cappadocian Caesarea
Siege of Roche-au-Moine
1214 Siege of Roche-au-Moine ends, part of King John of England's attempt to reclaim Normandy from France
- 1266 Treaty of Perth: Norway recognises Scottish sovereignty over the Hebrides and the Isle of Man
- 1298 Battle of Gollheim between warring German kings Albert I of Habsburg and Adolf of Nassau results in Adolf's defeat and death
Luther is Thunder Struck
1505 After an encounter with a violent thunderstorm, Martin Luther declares that he will become a monk
- 1555 Turkish naval commander Dragut [Turgut Reis] sacks the Italian city of Paola
- 1561 Menas, Emperor of Ethiopia, defeats a revolt in Emfraz
- 1570 Ottoman Empire invades Venetian controlled Cyprus and lays siege to its cities; gains control of the island August 1571
- 1576 Muitende Spanish soldiers conquer Zierikzee
- 1578 English explorer Martin Frobisher sights Baffin Island
- 1600 Battle at Nieuwpoort: Maurice Count of Nassau leads an Anglo-Dutch army to victory over the Spanish led by Albert, Duke of Burgundy
- 1613 The first English expedition from Massachusetts against Acadia led by Samuel Argall
- 1644 Battle of Marston Moor, North Yorkshire: Parliamentary forces under Lords Fairfax and Manchester defeat royalists led by Prince Rupert
- 1679 Europeans first visit Minnesota and see headwaters of Mississippi in an expedition led by Daniel Greysolon de Du Luth
- 1681 Earl of Shaftesbury arrested for high treason
James II Disbands Parliament
1687 King James II dissolves the English parliament
- 1698 English engineer Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine
Dickinson Abstains
1776 At the Continental Congress, John Dickinson abstains from the votes that declare independence
- 1776 Continental Congress resolves "these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be Free and Independent States"
- 1776 New Jersey gives the right to vote to all adults who could show a net worth of 50 pounds
Marquis de Sade's Shout from Bastille
1787 Marquis de Sade shouts from Bastille that prisoners are being slaughtered
- 1794 Second Battle of Seneffe: France-Austria
- 1798 Marine Police established by The West India Committee to guard merchant vessels on the river Thames, London, beginnings of the world's oldest continuously serving police force [1]
- 1808 Simon Fraser completes his trip down Fraser River, British Columbia, lands at Musqueam
Historic Publication
1814 Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park" is published by Thomas Egerton in the United Kingdom
The Raft of the Medusa
1816 French frigate "La Méduse" runs aground under incompetent leadership of Viscount of Chaumareys, 400 passengers evacuated. 150 men, 1 woman are left on "la Machine," a poorly provisioned raft. 13 days later only 15 survivors remain, inspires Théodore Géricault's painting "The Raft of the Medusa."
- 1822 Denmark Vesey (aka Telemaque), accused of planning a slave rebellion in South Carolina, dies by hanging at approximately 55
- 1823 Bahia Independence Day: End of Portuguese rule in Brazil, with the final defeat of the Portuguese crown loyalists in the province of Bahia
- 1839 Slaves aboard a Spanish schooner La Amistad revolt to secure their freedom while being transported from one Cuban port to another
1843 An alligator falls from the sky during a thunderstorm in Charleston, South Carolina
- 1847 Envelope bearing the first US 10 cent stamps used (still exists today)
- 1850 Benjamin Lane receives a patent for a gas mask with a breathing apparatus
- 1858 Russia implements partial emancipation of serfs
- 1861 Battle of Hoke's Run, West Virginia: small Union victory
- 1862 US President Lincoln signs act granting land for state agricultural colleges
1863 2nd day of the Battle of Gettysburg (US Civil War)
- 1863 R Morgan's: Burksville, Kentucky to Salineville, Ohio (until July 26)
- 1864 General Early and Confederate forces reach Winchester en route to Washington, D.C.
- 1864 US Congress forms the National Statuary Hall
1865 One-time Methodist Reform Church minister William Booth and his wife Catherine Booth found the East London Christian Mission, now known as The Salvation Army
- 1867 First US elevated railroad begins service in NYC
- 1870 Jules Joseph d'Anethan is elected the tenth Prime Minister of Belgium
James Garfield Shot
1881 US President James Garfield shot by Charles Guiteau a disappointed office-seeker; Garfield dies 79 days later
- 1885 Canada's North-West Insurrection ends with Chief Big Bear surrendering
- 1890 US Congress passes Sherman Antitrust Act
- 1894 US Government obtains injunction against striking Pullman Workers
Zeppelin LZ 1
1900 First flight of Zeppelin LZ-1, a dirigible airship designed by Graf Ferdinand von Zeppelin, at Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen, Germany
Butch and Sundance Rob Train
1901 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid rob a train of $40,000 in Wagner, Montana
- 1903 National League MLB batting champion Ed Delahanty, disappears after being removed intoxicated from a train by force; found dead at bottom of Niagara Falls 2 weeks later
- 1903 Pitcher Jack Doscher, debuts for the Chicago Cubs, the first son of a major leaguer to play MLB, father Herm 1882-92
- 1906 MLB New York Yankees win by forfeit for the first time
Cobb Continues Streak
1911 Detroit Tigers legend Ty Cobb hits in his 40th straight game in 14-6 rout of Cleveland. Streak ends next game
- 1912 Horn & Hardart opens its first NYC "automat" (self-service restaurant)
- 1915 Erich Muenter, an instructor in German at Cornell University, explodes a bomb in the US Senate reception room
- 1916 Battle of Erzincan: Russian offensive against the Ottoman Empire
Lenin on Imperialism
1916 Lenin sends his manuscript stating mperialism is caused by capitalism to his publisher
- 1917 Race riot in East St Louis, Illinois escalates: Black neighborhood attacked and burned, 40-200 killed over 2 days, and 6,000 left homeless [1]
- 1921 British coal miners strike ends after three months with settlement largely on the terms of the mine owners
Dempsey KOs Carpentier
1921 In boxing's first million dollar gate ($1.7m), world heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey KOs Frenchman Georges Carpentier in round 4 of his 3rd title defense; crowd 91,000 at Boyle's Thirty Acres, Jersey City
US Ends War
1921 Warren G. Harding signs a joint congressional resolution declaring the official end of war with Germany
- 1922 Ralph Samuelson (18) rides the world's first water skis on Lake Pepin in Lake City, Minnesota, after previous attempts riding a board [1]
- 1926 US Army Air Corps created; Distinguished Flying Cross authorized, to award "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight"
- 1927 Jericho Earthquake in Palestine kills about 500
- 1928 British parliament reduces the age at women can vote to 21, the same as men (Representation of the People Act 1928)
- 1928 The Jenkins Television Corporation (owned by Charles Jenkins) goes on air with W3XK, the first television broadcasting station in the USA
- 1930 MLB Chicago White Sox outfielder Carl Reynolds becomes only the 2nd player in MLB history to hit home runs in 3 consecutive innings in 15-4 victory at Yankee Stadium
Hagen Wins 5th Western Open
1932 American golfer Walter Hagen wins his 5th and last Western Open in Cleveland, 16 years after he won his first
First Nomination Acceptance Speech
1932 US Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers the first acceptance speech at a presidential nominating convention
Hubbell's Shutout Innings
1933 NY Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell works 18 innings of shutout ball without a walk to beat St Louis Cardinals, 1-0
- 1934 General Lázaro Cárdenas is elected President of Mexico
- 1935 Great Britain amateur boxing team beats United States in the first International Golden Gloves tournament in New York
- 1937 24-hour honor guard is first posted at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia
Earhart and Noonan Disappear
1937 Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan disappear flying over the Pacific Ocean en route to Howland Island; Noonan is declared dead the following year, and Earhart is declared the year after (1939)
- 1940 Former Dutch PM Hendrikus Colijn publishes "Borders of 2 Worlds" (German victory)
- 1940 Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose is arrested and detained in Calcutta
- 1940 Lake Washington Floating Bridge, Seattle, is dedicated and open to traffic
DiMaggio Sets Record Hitting Streak
1941 Joe DiMaggio hits a 3-run homer off Boston's Dick Newsome to pass Willie Keeler's MLB record 44 game hitting streak
- 1941 Nazi mass murder in Lviv pogrom (7,000 dead)
- 1943 Lieutenant Charles Hall becomes the first African American pilot to shoot down a Nazi plane
- 1946 Dutch Beel government forms
- 1946 Harbor workers end strike at Rotterdam and Amsterdam
- 1949 "Red Barber's Clubhouse" sports show premieres on CBS TV
Vietnam State Recognised
1949 The State of Vietnam is internationally recognised, governing the southern half of Vietnam, with Bảo Đại as chief of state
Feller's 200th Game
1950 Cleveland Indians' pitcher Bob Feller wins his 200th MLB game, 5-3 over Detroit Tigers
- 1950 Henri Queuille is elected the 7th Prime Minister of the Fourth French Republic
- 1950 Kinkaku-ji, a Zen Buddihst temple in Kyoto, Japan, burns down
- 1951 "Bob & Ray show" premieres on NBC radio
Bill Veeck Buys the Browns
1951 Bill Veeck buys MLB St Louis Browns from Bill & Charlie DeWitt; after 1953 season sells franchise to Clarence Miles, who move team Baltimore (Orioles)
- 1951 Island Council of Curaçao is installed
- 1951 Leiden astronomers discover a radio signal from outside the Milky Way system
- 1951 Worcestershire cricket wicket-keeper Hugo Yarnold makes a record 6 stumpings in an innings in a 1st-class match vs Scotland at Dundee
- 1952 Netherlands' Princess Beatrice opens miniature city of Madurodam
- 1954 England cricket batsman Denis Compton scores career best 278 in 287 mins in 2nd Test win over Pakistan at Nottingham
- 1955 "Lawrence Welk Show" premieres on ABC TV
Hound Dog
1956 Elvis Presley records "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel" at RCA studio in New York City
- 1956 US performs nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll (atmospheric tests)
- 1957 First submarine designed to fire guided missiles is launched, the USS Grayback (SSG-574)
Catholic Encyclical
1957 Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical "Le Pèlerinage de Lourdes" warning against materialism
- 1958 Musical drama Film "King Creole," starring Elvis Presley based on a novel by Harold Robbins, premieres
- 1958 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Atoll
Baseball Record
1961 Amidst 5 NY Yankee homers v Washington, Roger Maris hits 29th and 30th en route to 61 for the season
First Walmart Opens
1962 Sam Walton opens his first Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas
Le Corbusier Honored
1964 Architect Le Corbusier is made Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
It's For You
1964 Cilla Black records Lennon and McCartney song "It's For You," Paul McCartney plays piano
LBJ's Landmark Legislation
1964 US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act into law
- 1966 First French nuclear test on Mururoa Atoll
- 1966 West Indian cricket batsman Basil Butcher scores career best 209 not out to guide tourists to a 139-run 3rd Test win over England at Trent Bridge
Music Concert
1968 American jazz musician Louis Armstrong leads his All-Star band in a performance at the BBC television studio in London, England; the thirteen song set is broadcast in September
- 1968 An El Al Israeli airliner is hijacked and diverted to Algeria by three armed members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
- 1969 American guitarist Leslie West and producer, bassist Felix Pappalardi form rock group Mountain
- 1969 Ireland cricketers dismiss West Indies for just 25 (Dougie Goodwin 5 for 6, Alec O'Riordan 4 for 18) to set up a huge upset in Londonderry
- 1970 First Boeing 747 lands in Amsterdam and Brussels
- 1970 Neil Blaney is found not guilty of illegal arms importation to the Irish Republican Army by a Dublin jury
- 1970 The Prevention of Incitement to Hatred Act (Northern Ireland) is introduced; it proves difficult to secure convictions under its provisions, seldom enforced
- 1971 USSR performs underground nuclear test at Komi, Russia
- 1972 American pole vaulter Bob Seagren breaks world record for the 4th and final time with 5.63m in Eugene, Oregon
- 1972 India and Pakistan sign Simla Agreement peace accord
- 1972 Two Catholic civilians are shot and killed in Belfast by Loyalist paramilitaries, probably the Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
- 1973 "National Black Network" begins radio operations in New York
You've Never Been This Far Before
1973 "You've Never Been This Far Before" single released by Conway Twitty (Billboard Song of the Year - Country, 1973)
- 1973 James R. Schlesinger ends his term as the 9th Director of the CIA
- 1976 Formal reunification of North and South Vietnam
- 1976 Ramble Inn attack: the Ulster Volunteer Force kills six civilians (five Protestants, one Catholic) in a gun attack at a pub near Antrim; the pub was targeted because it was owned by Catholics
- 1976 US Supreme Court rules death penalty not inherently cruel or unusual
Sports History
1978 MLB pitcher Ron Guidry beats Detroit 3-2 for a NY Yankee record 13-0 start to the season
- 1980 Comedy film "Airplane!" written and directed by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and starring Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty premieres
- 1980 Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir, drummer Mickey Hart, and manager Danny Rifkin are arrested for "suspicion of inciting a riot" after a concert in San Diego, California
- 1980 Julie Marie Bryan of Georgia (18) is crowned America's Junior Miss
- 1982 In South Africa, the Internal Security Act is passed, giving massive powers to the authorities to investigate any organization or publication
- 1982 Larry Walters rises to 16,000 feet over Los Angeles using a lawn chair and 42 helium balloons [1]
- 1982 Soyuz T-6 mission safely returns to Earth
- 1984 Fernando Mameda of Portugal sets record for 10,000 m (27:13.81)
- 1985 Andrei Gromyko appointed Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in the USSR
- 1985 European Space Agency launches Giotto as its first deepspace mission; primary aim was to study Halley's Comet
Event of Interest
1986 Assembly of Civility general strike against Pinochet regime in Chile
Baseball Record
1986 Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens (14-0) suffers his 1st loss (4-2 v Toronto), one win short of AL record for consecutive wins to start season
- 1986 US Supreme Court upholds affirmative action in 2 rulings
- 1987 KC Royals outfielder Jim Eisenreich hits 1st HR since 1982, in MLB comeback process, retired 1984 (Tourette syndrome)
- 1987 Nilde Iotti is named the first female President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
- 1988 Lester Dumakude, commander of an Umkhonto we Sizwe special operations unit, detonate a car bomb by remote control outside Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa
- 1989 American jockey Steve Cauthen wins the Irish Derby on Old Vic to become the first rider in history to sweep the world's four major Derbies (Kentucky, Epsom, French, Irish)
Event of Interest
1989 Tiananmen Square student leader Wang Dan arrested and imprisoned for spreading counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement (trial not till 1991)
- 1990 1,426 pilgrims are trampled to death after a panic in a tunnel in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Event of Interest
1990 Imelda Marcos and Adnan Khashoggi are found not guilty of racketeering
- 1990 TV cooking competition show "MasterChef" presented by Loyd Grossman, and created by Franc Roddam, first airs in the UK
- 1992 Braniff International Airlines files for bankruptcy liquidation
- 1993 Bocaue pagoda tragedy: boat sinks at Bocaue, Philippines, killing more than 250 people
- 1993 F28 crashes at Sorong Irian Barat, killing 41 people
- 1993 Muslim fundamentalists in Sivas, Turkey, set hotel on fire, killing 36 people
- 1993 Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, is renamed Kauffman Stadium shortly before the death of MLB Kansas City Royals team owner Ewing Kauffman
- 1994 John Wayne Bobbitt and Kristina Elliot are arrested for domestic battery
- 1994 Middlesex cricket seam bowler Richard Johnson takes all 10 Derbyshire wickets for 45 runs at the County Ground in Derby
- 1994 US Air DC-9 crash in North Carolina, killing 37 people
- 1995 Banharn Silpa-Archa's party wins Thailand general election
Music Concert
1995 Ringo Starr's third All-Starr Band debuts in concert; members include: Randy Bachman, Mark Farner, Billy Preston, Felix Cavaliere, John Entwistle, Zak Starkey, and Mark Rivera
- 1998 "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," the second book in J. K. Rowling's series is published by Bloomsbury in the UK
- 2000 Vicente Fox is elected the first President of México from an opposition party, the Partido Acción Nacional after more than 70 years of continuous rule by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional
- 2001 AbioCor self contained artificial heart created
- 2001 Bush Administration announce that it will seek to let oil companies drill on about 1,500,000 acres of the Gulf of Mexico
- 2001 UN Security Council, facing an almost certain Russian veto, agrees to postpone indefinitely a vote on the US-led "smart sanctions" package for Iraq
- 2002 Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon
Event of Interest
2003 Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy, insults German MP Martin Schulz by calling him a "kapo" during a session of the European Parliament
- 2004 ASEAN Regional Forum accepts Pakistan as its 24th member
Live 8 Concert
2005 10 Live 8 concerts held around the world organised by Bob Geldof to raise awareness of poverty
- 2005 Live 8 concert In Mercy Fitzgerald Square, Johannesburg, South Africa; performers include Lucky Dube, Mahotella Queens, Orchestra Baobob, Zola, and Vusi Mahlasela
- 2005 Live 8 concert in Red Square, Moscow, Russia; performers include Pet Shop Boys, Agata Kristi, Splean, and Red Elvises
Sports History
2006 Michael Schumacher wins US F1 Grand Prix for the 5th time, 1st driver in any series to win 5 races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Cricket Record
2006 Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya (152) and Upul Tharanga (109) compile world record cricket ODI opening stand of 286 vs England at Headingley
- 2008 A settlement is reached allowing former NBA franchise the Seattle SuperSonics to move to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; new owner Clay Bennett agrees to pay City of Seattle $45 million to wriggle out of last 2 years of KeyArena lease
- 2008 Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other FARC hostages are rescued by the Colombian armed forces
- 2010 FIFA World Cup: Ghana, only African team remaining in last 8, are beaten 4-2 on penalties by Uruguay; Netherlands upset Brazil 2-1
- 2010 Oil tanker truck explosion in South Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, kills at least 230 people
- 2012 GlaxoSmithKline settles the largest healthcare fraud case in history for US$3 Billion
- 2012 Monsoon rain in East India kills at least 79 people and leaves 2.2 million homeless
Event of Interest
2013 16 people are killed and 200 are injured in protest clashes at Cairo University against Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi
- 2013 Reds pitcher Homer Bailey no-hits SF Giants 3-0 in Cincinnati, his second no-hitter in 10 months
Sports History
2014 Alex Puccio ascends Top Notch in Rocky Mountain National Park, her first V13 (8B) graded boulder
Event of Interest
2014 Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is criminally charged with corruption by French prosecutors
- 2015 62 people are killed after the Kim Nirvana ferry capsizes off the coast of the Philippines
- 2015 BP agrees to compensate US government and gulf states $18.7 billion for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill
- 2016 Large lorry bomb in Baghdad kills at least 125 people and wounds 150, Islamic State claims responsibility
- 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup: Germany defeats Chile 1-0 to win for the 1st time at Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia
Sports History
2017 Home town underdog Jeff Horn upsets Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines on points in a highly controversial WBO welterweight title fight in Brisbane, Australia
Christie Hits Closed Beach
2017 New Jersey Governor Chris Christie causes an uproar by having a day at the beach during his government's shutdown of the beaches
- 2017 World Health Organization declares Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo over (4 deaths)
- 2018 270,000 people now displaced by fighting in south-western Syria says UN since assault on rebel-held area two weeks ago
- 2018 British divers discover 12 boys and their coach alive in Tham Luang Nang Non cave, Thailand, after being trapped for nine days by monsoon flooding
Music History
2018 English pop singers Cheryl Cole and Liam Payne announce they are splitting up after two years
- 2019 Air strike kills at least 40 people at Libyan migrant center in Tripoli, with Libyan National Army blamed
2019 Newly rediscovered Lewis chess piece sells at auction for £735,000 in London
- 2019 Total solar eclipse over Chile and Argentina
- 2019 Virginie Viard presents her first haute couture collection as designer at Chanel after the death of Karl Lagerfeld at the Grand Palais
- 2020 British Darts Organisation’s commercial arm, BDO Enterprises Ltd, goes into liquidation due to lack of sponsorship; oversaw original professional, semi-pro and amateur competitions in Britain
- 2020 Funeral for slain Ethiopian singer Hachalu Hundessa in Ambo amid nationwide unrest at his death that has killed over 80 people
- 2020 More than 160 people die after a landslide at a jade mine in northern Hpakant area of Myanmar
- 2020 Texas Governor Greg Abbott makes wearing face masks mandatory as cases of coronavirus soar in the state
- 2021 India's known COVID-19 death toll passes 400,000 with 30.45 million cases, amid expert speculation that over one million have died [1]
- 2022 Earliest evidence for the use of opium from 14th century BCE found in burials at Tel Yehud, ancient Canaan (now Israel) [1]
- 2022 Largest ever exhibition on African fashion "Africa Fashion" opens at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London [1]
- 2022 The more contagious COVID-19 omicron subvariant BA.5 achieves dominance in the US, making up 54% of cases according to the CDC [1]
- 2023 US schooner Cuyahoga Packet captured on the Detroit river by the Provincial Marine, including top secret war correspondence [1]
- 2024 At least 121 people, mostly women and children, are killed in a stampede at an Indian religious gathering in Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh [1]
- 2024 Sierra Leone bans child marriage, aiming to protect girls under 18 years old, in a country where a third of all girls are married before adulthood [1]
The Next Dalai Lama
2025 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, confirms he will have a reincarnated successor after his death; Chinese officials reject his declaration, announcing that the next Dalai Lama will be born in China and approved by the government [1]
Sean Combs Guilty
2025 American rapper and hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs is found guilty on two counts of transportation for prostitution and acquitted of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking [1]
- 2026 The Delaware River Bridge opens, connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey; at the time, the world's longest suspension bridge was designed by Paul Phillipe Cret, and engineered by Ralph Modjeski with six vehicle lanes, two trolley lanes, two heavy rail lanes and two pedestrian walkways; renamed the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in 1955 [1] [2]
