Events

• 1316 – The Burgundian and Majorcan claimants of the Principality of Achaea meet in the Battle of Manolada.
• 1594 – Portuguese forces under the command of Pedro Lopes de Sousa begin an unsuccessful invasion of the Kingdom of Kandy during the Campaign of Danture in Sri Lanka.
• 1610 – John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland.
• 1687 – Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
• 1770 – The Battle of Chesma between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire begins.
• 1775 – The Second Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition.
• 1803 – The Convention of Artlenburg is signed, leading to the French occupation of the Electorate of Hanover (which had been ruled by the British king).
• 1807 – In Buenos Aires the local militias repel the British soldiers within the Second English Invasion.
• 1809 – The Battle of Wagram between the French and Austrian Empires begins.
• 1811 – The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence is adopted by a congress of the provinces.
• 1813 – War of 1812: Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York commence.
• 1814 – War of 1812: Battle of Chippawa: American Major General Jacob Brown defeats British General Phineas Riall at Chippawa, Ontario.
• 1833 – Lê Văn Khôi along with 27 soldiers stage a mutiny taking over the Phiên An citadel, developing into the Lê Văn Khôi revolt against Emperor Minh Mạng.
• 1833 – Admiral Charles Napier vanquishes the navy of the Portuguese usurper Dom Miguel at the third Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
• 1841 – Thomas Cook organises the first package excursion, from Leicester to Loughborough.
• 1859 – The United States discovers and claims Midway Atoll.
• 1884 – Germany takes possession of Cameroon.
• 1937 – Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
• 1940 – World War II: Foreign relations of Vichy France are severed with the United Kingdom.
• 1941 – World War II: Operation Barbarossa: German troops reach the Dnieper river.
• 1943 – World War II: An Allied invasion fleet sails for Sicily (Operation Husky, 01 July 1943).
• 1943 – World War II: German forces begin a massive offensive against the Soviet Union at the Battle of Kursk, also known as Operation Citadel.
• 1948 – National Health Service Acts create the national public health system in the United Kingdom.
• 1950 – Korean War: Task Force Smith: American and North Korean forces first clash, in the Battle of Osan.
• 1950 – Zionism: The Knesset passes the Law of Return which grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel.
• 1954 – The BBC broadcasts its first daily television news bulletin.
• 1962 – The official independence of Algeria is proclaimed after an eight-year-long war with France.
• 1973 – Juvénal Habyarimana seizes power over Rwanda in a coup d’état.
• 1975 – Cape Verde gains its independence from Portugal.
• 1977 – The Pakistan Armed Forces under Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq seize power in Operation Fair Play and begin 11 years of martial law.
  • Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, is overthrown.
• 1987 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The LTTE uses suicide attacks on the Sri Lankan Army for the first time.
  • The Black Tigers are born and, in the following years, will continue to kill with the tactic.
• 1989 – Iran-Contra affair: Oliver North is sentenced by US District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service.
  • His convictions are later overturned.
• 1995 – Armenia adopts its constitution, four years after its independence from the Soviet Union.
• 1997 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil MP A. Thangathurai is shot dead at Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies College in Trincomalee.
• 2006 – North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile and a long-range Taepodong-2.
  • The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan.
• Independence Day (Algeria), celebrating the independence of Algeria from France in 1962.
• Independence Day (Cape Verde), celebrating the independence of Cape Verde from Portugal in 1975.
• Independence Day (Venezuela), celebrating the independence of Venezuela from Spain in 1811; also National Armed Forces Day.

People (Births)

• 1593 – Achille d’Étampes de Valençay, French military leader (d. 1646).
• 1781 – Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (d. 1826).
• 1793 – Pavel Pestel, Russian officer (d. 1826).
• 1801 – David Farragut, American admiral (d. 1870).
• 1802 – Pavel Nakhimov, Russian admiral (d. 1855).
• 1805 – Robert FitzRoy, English captain, meteorologist, and politician, 2nd Governor of New Zealand (d. 1865).
• 1841 – William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1904).
• 1860 – Robert Bacon, American colonel and politician, 39th United States Secretary of State (d. 1919).
• 1879 – Dwight F. Davis, American tennis player and politician, 49th United States Secretary of War (d. 1945).
• 1898 – Georgios Grivas, Greek general (d. 1974).
• 1902 – Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., American colonel and politician, 3rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1985).
• 1915 – John Woodruff, American runner and commander (d. 2007).
• 1918 – Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian general and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 2012).
• 1944 – Leni Björklund, Swedish politician, 28th Swedish Minister of Defence for Sweden.
• 1962 – Sarina Hülsenbeck, German swimmer.
• 1968 – Alex Zülle, Swiss cyclist.
• 1970 – Valentí Massana, Spanish race walker.
• 1972 – Matthew Birir, Kenyan runner.
• 1972 – Robert Esmie, Canadian sprinter.
• 1978 – Britta Oppelt, German rower.
• 1982 – Philippe Gilbert, Belgian cyclist.
• 1987 – Alexander Kristoff, Norwegian cyclist.
• 1988 – Martin Liivamägi, Estonian swimmer.
• 1990 – Abeba Aregawi, Ethiopian-Swedish runner.

People (Deaths)

• 1676 – Carl Gustaf Wrangel, Swedish field marshal and politician (b. 1613).
• 1719 – Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, German-English general (b. 1641).
• 1819 – William Cornwallis, English admiral and politician (b.1744).
• 1826 – Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (b. 1782).
• 1833 – Nicéphore Niépce, French inventor, created the first known photograph (b. 1765).
• 1863 – Lewis Armistead, Confederate general (b. 1817).
• 1929 – Henry Johnson, American sergeant (b. 1897).
• 1935 – Bernard de Pourtalès, Swiss captain and sailor (b. 1870).
• 1948 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (b. 1888).
• 2005 – James Stockdale, American admiral (b. 1923).
• 2012 – Rob Goris, Belgian cyclist (b. 1982).
• 2013 – Lambert Jackson Woodburne, South African admiral (b. 1939).