1540 – Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of treason. Henry marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, on the same day.
1655 – Cyrano de Bergerac, French dramatist/novelist, dies at 36 in Paris
1655 – Suzuki Shosan, Samurai/monk/propagator of Zen Buddhism, dies at 76
1741 – Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, Italian composer, dies at 63
1746 – John Peter Zenger, journalist, involved in 1st amendment fight, dies
1750 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer (Art of the Fugue), dies at 65
1794 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre and Louis Antoine de Saint-Just are executed by guillotine in Paris, France.
1836 – Nathan Mayer Rothschild, German-English banker and financier (b. 1777) died.
1854 – USS Constellation (1854), the last all-sail warship built by the United States Navy, is commissioned.
1857 – Ballington Booth, English-American activist, co-founded Volunteers of America (d. 1940) was born.
1866 – At the age of 18, Vinnie Ream becomes the first and youngest female artist to receive a commission from the United States government for a statue (of Abraham Lincoln).
1866 – Beatrix Potter, English author (d. 1943) was born. English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books, featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is certified, establishing African American citizenship and guaranteeing due process of law.
1887 - Marcel Duchamp, Blainville-Crevon, French sculptor and painter (Nude Descending a Staircase) born
1896 – The city of Miami, Florida is incorporated.
1901 - Rudy Vallee, Vt, singer (Vagabond Dreams, My Time Is Your Time)
1914 – World War I: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia after Serbia rejects the conditions of an ultimatum sent by Austria on July 23 following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
1929 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American journalist, 37th First Lady of the United States (d. 1994) was born.
1932 – Federal troops under the order of President Hoover forcibly dispersed the “Bonus Army” of ( 17,000 World War I veterans ) who had gathered in Washington, D.C. on June 17th to demand money they weren’t scheduled to receive until 1945. The troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur and Major George S. Patton are ordered to charge into the veterans and were sent to destroy the temporary shacks in the Bonus Army’s camps in Hooverville on the Anacostia Flats forcing the marchers out. By the end of the day hundreds of veterans were injured, and several were killed.
1942 – World War II: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin issues Order No. 227 in response to alarming German advances into the Soviet Union. Under the order all those who retreat or otherwise leave their positions without orders to do so are to be immediately executed.
1943 – Mike Bloomfield, (Blues Guitarist: John Hammond Sr.,Bob Dylan, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band) Born
1943 – World War II: Operation Gomorrah – The Royal Air Force bombs Hamburg, Germany causing a firestorm that kills 42,000 German civilians.
1943 – Richard Wright, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (Pink Floyd) (d. 2008) was born.
1945 – Jim Davis, American cartoonist, created Garfield was born.
1945 – A U.S. Army B-25 bomber crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building killing 14 and injuring 26.
1948 – The Metropolitan Police Flying Squad foils a bullion robbery in the “Battle of London Airport”.
1947 – Sally Struther, Portland Oregon, actress (Gloria-All in the Family)Born
1948 – Gerald Casale, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and director (Devo and Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers) was born.
1954 – Steve Morse, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Dixie Dregs, Deep Purple, Living Loud, Angelfire, Kansas, and Flying Colors) was born.
1954 – Ken Margolis, rocker (Mink DeVille)Born
1954 – Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela, (d. 2013)Born
1958 – Terry Fox, Canadian runner and activist (d. 1981) was born.
1965 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.
1970 – Michael Amott, Swedish guitarist and songwriter (Arch Enemy, Spiritual Beggars, Candlemass, Carcass, and Carnage) was born.
1976 – Jacoby Shaddix, American singer-songwriter (Papa Roach and Fight the Sky) was born.
1978 – The Price of gold has reached an all time high on the Bullion Market of $200.00 per ounce , investors usually invest in gold during monetary instability and the steady decline in the value of the dollar has sent many US investors into the gold market.
1981 – Dave Rosin, Canadian guitarist and singer (Hedley) was born.
2005 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army calls an end to its thirty year long armed campaign in Northern Ireland.