Events

• 363 – Roman emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sasanian Empire.
• 1243 – Mongols defeat the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Köse Dağ.
• 1295 – Przemysł II crowned king of Poland, following Ducal period. The white eagle is added to the Polish coat of arms.
• 1407 – Ulrich von Jungingen becomes Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights.
• 1460 – Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, and Edward, Earl of March, land in England with a rebel army and march on London.
• 1483 – Richard III becomes King of England.
• 1522 – Ottomans begin the second Siege of Rhodes.
• 1579 – Livonian campaign of Stephen Báthory begins.
• 1723 – After a siege and bombardment by cannon, Baku surrenders to the Russians.
• 1740 – A combined force of Spanish, free blacks and allied Indians defeat a British garrison at the Siege of Fort Mose near St. Augustine during the War of Jenkins’ Ear.
• 1794 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Fleurus marked the first successful military use of aircraft.
• 1843 – Treaty of Nanking comes into effect, Hong Kong Island is ceded to the British “in perpetuity”.
• 1857 – The first investiture of the Victoria Cross in Hyde Park, London.
• 1889 – Bangui is founded by Albert Dolisie and Alfred Uzac in what was then the upper reaches of the French Congo.
• 1906 – The first Grand Prix motor race is held at Le Mans.
• 1917 – World War I: The American Expeditionary Forces begin to arrive in France. They will first enter combat four months later.
• 1918 – World War I: Allied forces under John J. Pershing and James Harbord defeat Imperial German forces under Wilhelm, German Crown Prince in the Battle of Belleau Wood.
• 1924 – The American occupation of the Dominican Republic ends after eight years.
• 1936 – Initial flight of the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, the first practical helicopter.
• 1940 – World War II: Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Romania requiring it to cede Bessarabia and the northern part of Bukovina.
• 1941 – World War II: Soviet planes bomb Kassa, Hungary (now Košice, Slovakia), giving Hungary the impetus to declare war the next day.
• 1942 – The first flight of the Grumman F6F Hellcat.
• 1944 – World War II: San Marino, a neutral state, is mistakenly bombed by the RAF based on faulty information, leading to 35 civilian deaths.
• 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Osuchy in Osuchy, Poland, one of the largest battles between Nazi Germany and Polish resistance forces, ends with the defeat of the latter.
• 1945 – The United Nations Charter is signed by 50 Allied nations in San Francisco, California.
• 1948 – Cold War: The first supply flights are made in response to the Berlin Blockade.
• 1960 – The former British Protectorate of British Somaliland gains its independence as Somaliland.
  • Independence Day.
• 1960 – Madagascar gains its independence from France.
  • Independence Day.
• 1963 – Cold War: US President John F. Kennedy gave his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech, underlining the support of the United States for democratic West Germany shortly after Soviet-supported East Germany erected the Berlin Wall.
• 1974 – The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time to sell a package of Wrigley’s chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.
• 1991 – Yugoslav Wars: The Yugoslav People’s Army begins the Ten-Day War in Slovenia.
• Day of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan.
• International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (International).

People (Births)

• 1819 – Abner Doubleday, American general (d. 1893).
• 1821 – Bartolomé Mitre, Argentinian soldier, journalist, and politician, 6th President of Argentina (d. 1906).
• 1839 – Sam Watkins, American soldier and author (d. 1901).
• 1898 – Chesty Puller, US general (d. 1971).
• 1901 – Stuart Symington, American lieutenant and politician, 1st United States Secretary of the Air Force (d. 1988).
• 1918 – Raleigh Rhodes, American combat fighter pilot (d. 2007).
• 1923 – Ed Bearss, American military historian and author (d. 2020).
• 1925 – Pavel Belyayev, Russian soldier, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1970).
• 1934 – Toru Goto, Japanese swimmer.
• 1936 – Benjamin Adekunle, Nigerian general (d. 2014).
• 1939 – Chuck Robb, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 64th Governor of Virginia.
• 1944 – Gennady Zyuganov, Russian colonel and politician.
• 1956 – Patrick Mercer, English colonel and politician.
• 1961 – Greg LeMond, American cyclist.
• 1969 – Ingrid Lempereur, Belgian swimmer.
• 1969 – Geir Moen, Norwegian sprinter.
• 1970 – Paul Bitok, Kenyan runner.
• 1981 – Natalya Antyukh, Russian sprinter and hurdler.
• 1984 – Priscah Jeptoo, Kenyan runner.
• 1990 – Belaynesh Oljira, Ethiopian runner.

People (Deaths)

• 1574 – Gabriel, comte de Montgomery, captain of the Scottish Guard of Henry II of France (b. 1530).
• 1757 – Maximilian Ulysses Browne, Austrian field marshal (b. 1705).
• 1793 – James Dickey, Irish revolutionary (b. 1776).
• 1810 – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, French inventor, co-invented the hot air balloon (b. 1740).
• 1879 – Richard H. Anderson, American general (b. 1821).
• 1946 – Max Kögel, German SS officer (b. 1895).
• 1958 – George Orton, Canadian runner and hurdler (b. 1873).
• 1979 – Akwasi Afrifa, Ghanaian soldier and politician, 3rd Head of State of Ghana (b. 1936).
• 2003 – Denis Thatcher, English soldier and businessman (b. 1915).
• 2003 – Strom Thurmond, American general, lawyer, and politician, 103rd Governor of South Carolina (b. 1902).