Events

• 401 – The Visigoths, led by king Alaric I, cross the Alps and invade northern Italy.
• 1095 – The Council of Clermont begins: called by Pope Urban II, it led to the First Crusade to the Holy Land.
• 1493 – Christopher Columbus first sights the island now known as Puerto Rico.
• 1494 – French King Charles VIII occupies Florence, Italy.
• 1601 – Tiryaki Hasan Pasha, an Ottoman provincial governor, routs the Habsburg forces commanded by Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria during the Siege of Nagykanizsa.
• 1730 – The future Frederick the Great of Prussia is granted a pardon by his father and is released from confinement.
• 1803 – The Battle of Vertières, the last major battle of the Haitian Revolution, is fought, leading to the establishment of the Republic of Haiti, the first black republic in the Western Hemisphere.
• 1809 – In a naval action during the Napoleonic Wars, French frigates defeat British East Indiamen in the Bay of Bengal.
• 1812 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Krasnoi ends in French defeat, but Marshal of France Michel Ney’s leadership leads to him becoming known as “the bravest of the brave”.
• 1863 – King Christian IX of Denmark signs the November constitution that declares Schleswig to be part of Denmark.
  • This is seen by the German Confederation as a violation of the London Protocol and leads to the German-Danish war of 1864.
• 1901 – Britain and the United States sign the Hay–Pauncefote Treaty, which nullifies the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty and withdraws British objections to an American-controlled canal in Panama.
• 1903 – The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed by the United States and Panama, giving the United States exclusive rights over the Panama Canal Zone.
• 1909 – Two United States warships are sent to Nicaragua after 500 revolutionaries (including two Americans) are executed by order of José Santos Zelaya.
• 1916 – World War I: First Battle of the Somme: In France, British Expeditionary Force commander Douglas Haig calls off the battle which started on 01 July 1916.
• 1918 – Latvia declares its independence from Russia.
• 1940 – World War II: German leader Adolf Hitler and Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano meet to discuss Benito Mussolini’s disastrous Italian invasion of Greece.
• 1943 – World War II: Battle of Berlin: Four hundred and forty Royal Air Force planes bomb Berlin causing only light damage and killing 131.
  • The RAF loses nine aircraft and 53 air crew.
• 1961 – United States President John F. Kennedy sends 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam (refer to Vietnam War).
• 1963 – The first push-button telephone goes into service.
• 1970 – US President Richard Nixon asks the U.S. Congress for $155 million in supplemental aid for the Cambodian government (refer to Vietnam War).
• 1971 – Oman declares its independence from United Kingdom.
• 1978 – The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet makes its first flight, at the Naval Air Test Centre in Maryland, United States.
• 1991 – After an 87-day siege, the Croatian city of Vukovar capitulates to the besieging Yugoslav People’s Army and allied Serb paramilitary forces.
• 2002 – Iraq disarmament crisis: United Nations weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix arrive in Iraq.
• Day of Army and Victory (Haiti).
• Independence Day (Morocco), celebrates the independence of Morocco from France and Spain in 1956.
• Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia celebrates the independence of Latvia from Russia in 1918.
• Remembrance Day of the Sacrifice of Vukovar in 1991 (Croatia).

People (Births)

• 1804 – Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora, Italian general and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1878).
• 1886 – Ferenc Münnich, Hungarian soldier and politician, 47th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1967).
• 1904 – Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1983).
• 1918 – Tasker Watkins, Welsh soldier, judge, and politician, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 2007).
• 1924 – Alexander Mackenzie Stuart, Baron Mackenzie-Stuart, Scottish soldier, engineer, and judge (d. 2000).
• 1976 – Matt Welsh, Australian swimmer.
• 1985 – Allyson Felix, American sprinter.
• 1988 – Marie-Josée Ta Lou, Ivorian sprinter.
• 1991 – Ahmed Kelly, Iraqi-Australian swimmer.
• 1994 – Akiyuki Hashimoto, Japanese sprinter.

People (Deaths)

• 1590 – George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, English commander and politician, Lord High Steward of Ireland (b. 1528).
• 1664 – Miklós Zrínyi, Croatian and Hungarian military leader and statesman (b. 1620).
• 1804 – Philip Schuyler, American general and senator (b. 1733).
• 1841 – Agustín Gamarra, Peruvian general and politician, 10th and 14th President of Peru (b. 1785).
• 1886 – Chester A. Arthur, American general, lawyer, and politician, 21st President of the United States (b. 1829).
• 1978 – Leo Ryan, American soldier, educator, and politician (b. 1925).
• 1980 – Conn Smythe, Canadian soldier, ice hockey player, and businessman (b. 1895).
• 1987 – Jacques Anquetil, French cyclist (b. 1934).
• 2013 – Ljubomir Vračarević, Serbian martial artist, founded Real Aikido (b. 1947).