Events

• 337 – Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans succeed their father Constantine I as co-emperors.
  • The Roman Empire is divided between the three Augusti.
• 1000 – Battle of Svolder, Viking Age.
• 1141 – Yelü Dashi, the Liao dynasty general who founded the Qara Khitai, defeats the Seljuq and Kara-Khanid forces at the Battle of Qatwan.
• 1320 – In the Battle of Saint George, the Byzantines under Andronikos Asen ambush and defeat the forces of the Principality of Achaea, securing possession of Arcadia.
• 1488 – Anne becomes sovereign Duchess of Brittany, becoming a central figure in the struggle for influence that leads to the union of Brittany and France.
• 1493 – Battle of Krbava Field, a decisive defeat of Croats in Croatian struggle against the invasion by the Ottoman Empire.
• 1493 – Christopher Columbus, with 17 ships and 1,200 men, sails on second voyage from Cadiz.
• 1499 – The citizens of Lisbon celebrate the triumphal return of the explorer Vasco de Gama, completing his two-year journey around the Cape of Good Hope to India.
• 1513 – James IV of Scotland is defeated and dies in the Battle of Flodden, ending Scotland’s involvement in the War of the League of Cambrai.
• 1543 – Mary Stuart, at nine months old, is crowned “Queen of Scots” in the central Scottish town of Stirling.
• 1588 – Thomas Cavendish in his ship Desire enters Plymouth and completes the first deliberately planned voyage of circumnavigation.
• 1739 – Stono Rebellion, the largest slave uprising in Britain’s mainland North American colonies prior to the American Revolution, erupts near Charleston, South Carolina.
• 1776 – The Continental Congress officially names its union of states the United States.
• 1791 – Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, is named after President George Washington.
• 1839 – John Herschel takes the first glass plate photograph.
• 1855 – Crimean War: The Siege of Sevastopol comes to an end when Russian forces abandon the city.
• 1863 – American Civil War: The Union Army enters Chattanooga, Tennessee.
• 1914 – World War I: The creation of the Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade, the first fully mechanised unit in the British Army.
• 1922 – The Greco-Turkish War effectively ends with Turkish victory over the Greeks in Smyrna.
• 1936 – The crews of Portuguese Navy frigate NRP Afonso de Albuquerque and destroyer Dão mutinied against the Salazar dictatorship’s support of General Franco’s coup and declared their solidarity with the Spanish Republic (refer to Spanish Civil War).
• 1939 – World War II: The Battle of Hel begins, the longest-defended pocket of Polish Army resistance during the German invasion of Poland.
• 1940 – George Stibitz pioneers the first remote operation of a computer.
• 1940 – World War II: Treznea Massacre in Transylvania.
• 1942 – World War II: A Japanese floatplane drops incendiary bombs on Oregon.
• 1943 – World War II: The Allies land at Salerno and Taranto, Italy.
• 1944 – World War II: The Fatherland Front takes power in Bulgaria through a military coup in the capital and armed rebellion in the country. A new pro-Soviet government is established.
• 1945 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Empire of Japan formally surrenders to China.
• 1947 – First case of a computer bug being found: A moth lodges in a relay of a Harvard Mark II computer at Harvard University.
• 1948 – Kim Il-sung declares the establishment of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).
  • Independence Day or Republic Day, celebrates the proclamation of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) in 1948.
• 1990 – Batticaloa massacre: Massacre of 184 Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan Army in Batticaloa District.
• 1991 – Tajikistan declares independence from the Soviet Union.
  • Independence Day (Tajikistan), celebrates the independence of Tajikistan from USSR in 1991.
• 1993 – Israeli-Palestinian peace process: The Palestine Liberation Organisation officially recognises Israel as a legitimate state.
• 2001 – Ahmad Shah Massoud, leader of the Northern Alliance, is assassinated in Afghanistan by two al-Qaeda assassins who claimed to be Arab journalists wanting an interview.
• 2016 – The government of North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test.
  • World leaders condemn the act, with South Korea calling it “maniacal recklessness”.
• Armoured Forces Day (Ukraine).
• Day of the Victims of Holocaust and of Racial Violence (Slovakia).
• Emergency Services Day (United Kingdom).

People (Births)

• 1427 – Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros, English soldier and politician (d. 1464).
• 1466 – Ashikaga Yoshitane, Japanese shōgun (d. 1523).
• 1629 – Cornelis Tromp, Dutch general (d. 1691).
• 1721 – Fredrik Henrik af Chapman, Swedish admiral and shipbuilder (d. 1808).
• 1754 – William Bligh, English admiral and politician, 4th Governor of New South Wales (d. 1817).
• 1777 – James Carr, American soldier and politician (d. 1818).
• 1894 – Bert Oldfield, Australian cricketer and soldier (d. 1976).
• 1903 – Lev Shankovsky, Ukrainian military historian (d. 1995).
• 1908 – Shigekazu Shimazaki, Japanese admiral (d. 1945).
• 1949 – Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesian general and politician, 6th President of Indonesia.
• 1968 – Jon Drummond, American sprinter and coach.
• 1974 – Vikram Batra, Indian captain, posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra (highest Indian military decoration) (d. 1999).
• 1993 – Sharon van Rouwendaal, Dutch swimmer.

People (Deaths)

• 1031 – Gang Gam-chan, Korean general (b. 948).
• 1435 – Robert Harling, English knight.
• 1513 – David Kennedy, 1st Earl of Cassilis, Scottish soldier (b. 1478).
• 1612 – Nakagawa Hidenari, Japanese daimyō (b. 1570).
• 1676 – Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, French soldier, founded Montreal (b. 1612).
• 1703 – Charles de Saint-Évremond, French-English soldier, author, and critic (b. 1610).
• 1942 – Adele Kurzweil, Austrian Holocaust victim (b. 1925).
• 1943 – Carlo Bergamini, Italian admiral (b. 1888).
• 1990 – Samuel Doe, Liberian field marshal and politician, 21st President of Liberia (b. 1951).
• 1997 – John Hackett, Australian-English general and author (b. 1910).
• 2001 – Ahmad Shah Massoud, Afghan commander and politician, Afghan Minister of Defence (b. 1953).
• 2015 – Einar H. Ingman Jr., American sergeant, Medal of Honour recipient (b. 1929).