Events

455 – Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

869 – A magnitude 8.6Ms earthquake and subsequent tsunami strikes the the area around Sendai in the northern part of Honshu, Japan.

1357 – Emperor Charles IV assists in laying the foundation stone of Charles Bridge in Prague.

1386 – The Old Swiss Confederacy makes great strides in establishing control over its territory by soundly defeating the Archduchy of Austria in the Battle of Sempach.

1540 – King Henry VIII of England annuls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.

1572 – Nineteen Catholics suffer martyrdom for their beliefs in the Dutch town of Gorkum.

1701 – War of the Spanish Succession: Austrians defeat France in the Battle of Carpi.

1745 – War of the Austrian Succession: French victory in the Battle of Melle allows them to capture Ghent in the days after.

1755 – French and Indian War: Braddock Expedition – British troops and colonial militiamen are ambushed and suffer a devastating defeat by French and Native American forces.

1789 – In Versailles, the National Assembly reconstitutes itself as the National Constituent Assembly and begins preparations for a French constitution.

1790 – Russo-Swedish War: Second Battle of Svensksund – in the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Navy captures one third of the Russian fleet.

1793 – The Act Against Slavery is passed in Upper Canada and the importation of slaves into Lower Canada is prohibited.
1807 – The Treaties of Tilsit are signed by Napoleon I of France and Alexander I of Russia.
1810 – Napoleon annexes the Kingdom of Holland as part of the First French Empire.
1811 – Explorer David Thompson posts a sign at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (in modern Washington state, US), claiming the land for the United Kingdom.

1815 – Talleyrand becomes the first Prime Minister of France.

1816 – Argentina declares independence from Spain.
1821 – 470 prominent Cypriots including Archbishop Kyprianos are executed in response to Cypriot aid to the Greek War of Independence.

1850 – U.S. President Zachary Taylor dies and Millard Fillmore becomes the 13th President of the United States.

1850 – The Persian prophet Báb is executed in Tabriz, Persia.

1863 – American Civil War: the Siege of Port Hudson ends.

1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.

1875 – Outbreak of the Herzegovina Uprising against Ottoman rule, which would last until 1878 and have far-reaching implications throughout the Balkans.

1877 – The inaugural Wimbledon Championships opens.

1900 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom gives royal assent to an Act creating the Commonwealth of Australia thus uniting separate colonies on the continent under one federal government.

1900 – Boxer Rebellion: The Governor of Shanxi province in North China orders the execution of 45 foreign Christian missionaries and local church members, including children.

1918 – Great train wreck of 1918: in Nashville, Tennessee, an inbound local train collides with an outbound express killing 101 and injuring 171 people, making it the deadliest rail accident in United States history.

1922 – Johnny Weissmuller swims the 100 meters freestyle in 58.6 seconds breaking the world swimming record and the 'minute barrier'.

1932 – The state of São Paulo revolts against the Brazilian Federal Government, starting the Constitutionalist Revolution
1943 – World War II: Operation Husky – Allied forces perform an amphibious invasion of Sicily.

1944 – World War II: Battle of Normandy – British and Canadian forces
capture Caen, France.

1944 – World War II: Battle of Saipan – American forces take Saipan in the Mariana Islands.

1944 – World War II: Battle of Tali-Ihantala – Finland wins the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in northern Europe.

The Red Army withdraws its troops from Ihantala and digs into defensive position, thus ending the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive.

1955 – The Russell-Einstein Manifesto is released by Bertrand Russell in Londo.

1958 – Lituya Bay is hit by a mega-tsunami. The wave is recorded at 524 meters high, the largest in recorded history.

1961 – Turkish voters approve the Turkish Constitution of 1961 in a referendum.

1962 – The Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test is conducted by the United States of America.

1962 – Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans exhibition opens at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles.

1972 – The Troubles: In Belfast, British Army snipers shoot five civilians dead in the Springhill Massacre.

1979 – A car bomb destroys a Renault motor car owned by famed "Nazi hunters" Serge and Beate Klarsfeld at their home in France. A note purportedly from ODESSA claims responsibility.

1982 – Pan Am Flight 759 crashes in Kenner, Louisiana killing all 145 people on board and eight others on the ground.

1986 – The New Zealand Parliament passes the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalising homosexuality in New Zealand.

1995 – The Navaly church bombing is carried out by the Sri Lankan Air Force killing 125 Tamil civilian refugees.

1999 – Days of student protests begin after Iranian police and hardliners attack a student dormitory at the University of Tehran.

2006 – At least 122 people are killed after a Sibir Airlines Airbus A310 passenger jet, carrying 200 passengers veers off the runway while landing in wet conditions at Irkutsk Airport in Siberia.

2011 – South Sudan gains independence and secedes from Sudan.