1540 – King Henry VIII of England annuls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.
1572 – Nineteen Catholics suffer martyrdom for their beliefs in the Dutch town of Gorkum.
1755 – French and Indian War: Braddock Expedition – British troops and colonial militiamen are ambushed and suffer a devastating defeat by French and Native American forces.
1776 – George Washington orders the Declaration of Independence to be read out loud to members of the Continental Army in New York, New York, for the first time.
1789 – In Versailles, the National Assembly reconstitutes itself as the National Constituent Assembly and begins preparations for a French constitution.
1793 – The Act Against Slavery is passed in Upper Canada and the importation of slaves into Lower Canada is prohibited.
1807 – The Treaties of Tilsit are signed by Napoleon I of France and Alexander I of Russia.
1819 – Elias Howe, American inventor, invented the sewing machine (d. 1867) was born.
1850 – U.S. President Zachary Taylor dies and Millard Fillmore succeeds him as 13th President of the United States.
1863 – American Civil War: the Siege of Port Hudson ends.
1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.
1896 – William Jennings Bryan delivers his Cross of Gold speech advocating bimetallism at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
1900 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom gives Royal Assent to an Act creating Australia thus uniting separate colonies on the continent under one federal government.
1900 – Boxer Rebellion: The Governor of Shanxi province in North China orders the execution of 45 foreign Christian missionaries and local church members, including children.
1903 – Future Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin is exiled to Siberia for three years.
1918 – Great Train Wreck of 1918: in Nashville, Tennessee, an inbound local train collides with an outbound express killing 101 and injuring 171 people, making it the deadliest rail accident in United States history.
1932 – Donald Rumsfeld, American captain and politician, 13th and 21st United States Secretary of Defense, (involved in Watergate) was birthed.
1932 – John Paul Getty II, US/British oil magnate/billionaire (Getty Oil) Birthed
1932 – King C. Gillette, American businessman, founded The Gillette Company (b. 1855) died.
1941 – British cryptologists break the secret code ( Enigma ) used by the German army to direct ground-to-air operations on the Eastern front.
1945 – Dean R[ay] Koontz, US, sci-fi author (Star Quest, Beastchild)Born
1946 – Bon Scott, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter (AC/DC, Fraternity, The Valentines, and The Spektors) (d. 1980) was born.
1947 – Mitch Mitchell, English drummer (The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Dirty Mac, and The Riot Squad) (d. 2008) was born
1947 – O. J. Simpson, American football player and actor was born.
1950 – Viktor Yanukovych, Ukrainian politician, 4th President of Ukraine was born.
1951 – Chris Cooper, Kansas City MO, actor (Thousand Pieces of Gold, American Beauty, Matewan)born
1955 – Lindsey Graham, American colonel, lawyer, and AIPAC politician was birthed.
1955 – Fred Norris, comedy writer/singer (Howard Stern Show)Born
1955 – The Russell–Einstein Manifesto is released by Bertrand Russell in London, England, United Kingdom.
1956 – Tom Hanks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter was born.
1959 – Jim Kerr, Glasgow Scotland, rock vocalist (Simple Minds)Born *Kerr was married to Chrissie Hynde, lead singer of The Pretenders, in 1984 (divorced, 1990)
1959 – Kevin Nash, American wrestler and actor was born.
1960 – With the continuing cold war and the new communist revolutionary Fidel Castro taking control of Cuba which then became the focus of arguments between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev due to Americas concern over having a communist controlled country within striking distance of The United States.
1962 – The Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test is conducted by the United States.
1962 – Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans exhibition opens at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles.
1964 – Courtney Love, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (Hole, Pagan Babies, Sugar Babydoll, and Babes in Toyland) was birthed.
1965 – Frank Bello, American bass player (Anthrax and Helmet) was born.
1966 – Prisoners at Maryland Penitentiary rioted setting fire to a number of buildings , the riot was stopped in the end by authorities using tear gas on the 1200 inmates
1972 – The Troubles: In Belfast, British Army snipers shoot five civilians dead in the Springhill Massacre.
1975 – Jack White, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, and The Go) was born.
1976 – Fred Savage, American actor, director, and producer was born.
1977 – Alice Paul, American activist (b. 1885) died.
1979 – A car bomb destroys a Renault motor car owned by the famed “Nazi hunters” Serge and Beate Klarsfeld at their home in France. A note purportedly from ODESSA claims responsibility.
1981 – Donkey Kong, a video game created by Nintendo, is released. The game marks the debut of Nintendo’s future mascot, Mario.
1981 – Kimveer Gill, Canadian murderer, committed the Dawson College shooting (d. 2006) was born.
1982 – Pan Am Flight 759 crashes in Kenner, Louisiana killing all 145 people on board and eight others on the ground.
1984 – Jacob Hoggard, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Hedley) was born.
1986 – The Parliament of New Zealand passes the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalising homosexuality in New Zealand.
1987 – Amanda Knox, American murderer was born.
1991 – Spencer Elden, Baby/Model on Nirvana (band)’s Nevermind album was born
1992 – Eric Sevareid, American reporter (b. 1912)Dies
1993 – The Parliament of Canada passes the Nunavut Act that would legally divide the Northwest Territories based on plebiscite results
1993 – Will Rogers Jr, (Rep-D)/actor (Boy from Okla), commits suicide at 81
1995 – The Grateful Dead played their last concert including the lead guitarist Jerry Garcia , at Soldier Field in Chicago.
1999 – Days of student protests begin after Iranian police and hardliners attack a student dormitory at the University of Tehran.
2002 – Rod Steiger, American actor (b. 1925)Dies
2004 – A Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded the CIA had provided unfounded assessments of the threat posed by Iraq which the Bush administration used to justify for invasion of Iraq.
2008 – In an attack on the United States consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, a total of six people were killed on this day. The attacks were linked to an Islamic fundamentalist group by the name of the Great Eastern Islamic Raiders.
2011 – South Sudan gains independence and secedes from Sudan.
2011 – Würzel, English guitarist (Motörhead) (b. 1949) died.