Events

• 447 – A powerful earthquake destroys large portions of the Walls of Constantinople, including 57 towers.
• 963 – Synod of Rome: Emperor Otto I calls a council at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Pope John XII is deposed on charges of an armed rebellion against Otto.
• 1217 – The Charter of the Forest is sealed at St Paul’s Cathedral, London by King Henry III, acting under the regency of William Marshall, 1st Earl of Pembroke which re-establishes for free men rights of access to the royal forest that had been eroded by William the Conqueror and his heirs.
• 1792 – Battle of Jemappes in the French Revolutionary Wars.
• 1936 – Spanish Civil War: The republican government flees from Madrid to Valencia, leading to the formation of the Madrid Defence Council in its stead.
• 1943 – World War II: The 1st Ukrainian Front liberates Kyiv from German occupation.
• 1963 – Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ is appointed to head the South Vietnamese government by General Dương Văn Minh’s junta, five days after the latter deposed and assassinated President Ngô Đình Diệm.
• 1971 – The United States Atomic Energy Commission tests the largest US underground hydrogen bomb, code-named Cannikin, on Amchitka Island in the Aleutians.
• 1985 – Colombian conflict, leftist guerrillas of the 19th of April Movement seize control of the Palace of Justice in Bogotá.
• 2016 – Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launch an offensive to capture the city of Raqqa from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
• Gustavus Adolphus Day (Sweden).
• International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict (United Nations).

People (Births)

• 1885 – Martin O’Meara, Irish-Australian sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1935).
• 1926 – Zig Ziglar, American soldier, businessman, and author (d. 2012).

People (Deaths)

• 1918 – Alan Arnett McLeod, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1899).
• 1964 – Hugo Koblet, Swiss cyclist (b. 1925).
• 1978 – Heiri Suter, Swiss cyclist (b. 1899).
• 2003 – Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer and coach (b. 1919).
• 2005 – Anthony Sawoniuk, Belarusian SS officer (b. 1921).
• 2010 – Robert Lipshutz, American soldier and lawyer, 17th White House Counsel (b. 1921).
• 2014 – Tommy Macpherson, Scottish soldier and businessman (b. 1920).
• 2017 – Richard F. Gordon Jr., American naval officer, aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut (b. 1929).