Events

• 1169 – Saladin becomes the emir of Egypt.
• 1344 – The Siege of Algeciras, one of the first European military engagements where gunpowder was used, comes to an end.
• 1351 – Combat of the Thirty: Thirty Breton knights call out and defeat thirty English knights.
• 1697 – Safavid government troops take control of Basra.
• 1700 – William Dampier is the first European to circumnavigate New Britain, discovering it is an island (which he names Nova Britannia) rather than part of New Guinea.
• 1885 – The Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel begin the North-West Rebellion against Canada.
• 1913 – First Balkan War: Bulgarian forces capture Adrianople.
• 1917 – World War I: First Battle of Gaza: British troops are halted after 17,000 Turks block their advance.
• 1934 – The United Kingdom driving test is introduced.
• 1939 – Spanish Civil War: Nationalists begin their final offensive of the war.
• 1942 – World War II: The first female prisoners arrive at Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland.
• 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends as the island is officially secured by American forces.
• 1954 – Nuclear weapons testing: The Romeo shot of Operation Castle is detonated at Bikini Atoll. Yield: 11 megatons.
• 1958 – The United States Army launches Explorer 3.
• 1970 – South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu implements a land reform program to solve the problem of land tenancy (refer to Vietnam War).
• 1971 – East Pakistan declares its independence from Pakistan to form Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Liberation War begins.
  • Independence Day and National Day (Bangladesh), celebrates the declaration of independence from Pakistan in 1971.
• 1975 – The Biological Weapons Convention comes into force.
• 1979 – Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C.
• 1982 – A groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, D.C.
• 1998 – During the Algerian Civil War, the Oued Bouaicha massacre sees fifty-two people, mostly infants, killed with axes and knives.
• 2005 – Around 200,000 to 300,000 Taiwanese demonstrate in Taipei in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of China.
• 2010 – The South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan is torpedoed, killing 46 sailors.
  • After an international investigation, the President of the United Nations Security Council blames North Korea.

People (Births)

• 1886 – Hugh Mulzac, Vincentian-American soldier and politician (d. 1971).
• 1900 – Angela Maria Autsch, German nun, murdered in Auschwitz helping Jewish prisoners (d. 1941).
• 1908 – Franz Stangl, Austrian-German SS officer (d. 1971).
• 1914 – William Westmoreland, American general (d. 2005).
• 1915 – Lennart Strandberg, Swedish sprinter (d. 1989).
• 1923 – Gert Bastian, German general and politician (d. 1992).
• 1925 – Edward Graham, Baron Graham of Edmonton, English soldier and politician (d. 2020).
• 1937 – Barbara Jones, American sprinter.
• 1953 – Tatyana Providokhina, Russian runner.
• 1965 – Violeta Szekely, Romanian runner.
• 1968 – Laurent Brochard, French cyclist.
• 1985 – Matt Grevers, American swimmer.

People (Deaths)

• 1858 – John Addison Thomas, American lieutenant, engineer, and politician, 3rd United States Assistant Secretary of State (b. 1811).
• 1862 – Uriah P. Levy, American commander (b. 1792).
• 1881 – Roman Sanguszko, Polish general and activist (b. 1800).
• 1885 – Anson Stager, American general and businessman, co-founded Western Union (b. 1825).
• 1954 – Charles Perrin, French rower (b. 1875).
• 1966 – Victor Hochepied, French swimmer (b. 1883).
• 2005 – James Callaghan, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1912).
• 2008 – Manuel Marulanda, Colombian rebel leader (b. 1930).