1603 – Elizabeth I Tudor, [Virgin Queen], of England and Ireland (1558-1603), dies at 69 / James VI of Scotland also becomes James I of England, upon the death of Elizabeth I.
1663 – The Province of Carolina is granted by charter to eight Lords Proprietor in reward for their assistance in restoring Charles II of England to the throne.
1693 – John Harrison, English carpenter and clockmaker, invented the Marine chronometer (d. 1776) was born.
1707 – The Acts of Union 1707 is signed, officially uniting the Kingdoms of England and Scotland to create the Kingdom of Great Britain.
1765 – American Revolution: The Kingdom of Great Britain passes the Quartering Act, which requires the Thirteen Colonies to house British troops.
1776 – John Harrison, English carpenter and clockmaker, invented the Marine chronometer (b. 1693) died.
1829 – Catholic Emancipation: The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, allowing Catholics to serve in Parliament.
1832 – In Hiram, Ohio, a group of men beat and tar and feather Mormon leader Joseph Smith.
1837 – Canada gives African Canadian men the right to vote.
1854 – In Venezuela, slavery was abolished.
1855 – Andrew W. Mellon, banker (Mellon Bank), US Secretary of the Treasury (1921-32) and philanthropist, birthed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1874 – Harry Houdini, [Erich Weiss], Budapest, magician/escape artist – Born
1882 – Robert Koch announces the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis.
1896 – A. S. Popov makes the first radio signal transmission in history.
1900 – Mayor of New York City Robert Anderson Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground “Rapid Transit Railroad” that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn.
1902 – Thomas E. Dewey, American politician, 47th Governor of New York (d. 1971) was born.
1905 – Jules Verne, French author (b. 1828) died.
1909 – Clyde Barrow, bank robber (of Bonnie & Clyde fame) Born
1911 – Joseph Barbera, American animator, director, and producer, co-founded Hanna-Barbera (d. 2006) was born.
1919 – Lawrence Ferlinghetti, US, beat poet (Coney Island of the Mind) Born
1922 – Irish War of Independence: In Belfast, Northern Irish policemen break into the home of a Catholic family and shoot all eight males inside.
1927 – Nanking Incident: Foreign warships bombard Nanjing, China, in defense of the foreign citizens within the city.
1930 – Steve McQueen, American actor (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape), born in Beech Grove, Indiana
1934 – United States Congress passes the Tydings–McDuffie Act, allowing the Philippines to become a self-governing commonwealth.
1936 – David Suzuki, Canadian environmentalist and academic was born.
1941 – Glenn Miller began production on “Sun Valley Serenade.” This would be his first motion picture for the film company 20th Century Fox.
1944 – Ardeatine massacre: German troops murder 335 Italian civilians in Rome.
1944 – World War II: In an event later dramatized in the movie The Great Escape, 76 Allied prisoners of war begin breaking out of the German camp Stalag Luft III.
1946 – The British Cabinet Mission, consisting of Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps and A. V. Alexander, arrives in India to discuss and plan for the transfer of power from the British Raj to Indian leadership.
1948 – Lee Oskar, Danish harmonica player and songwriter (War and Lowrider Band) was born.
1949 – Steve Lang, Canadian bass player (April Wine and Mashmakhan) was born.
1949 – President Harry S. Truman authorizes $16 million in aid for Palestinian refugees displaced and facing starvation as a result of Israel’s War of Independence in 1948.
1951 – Tommy Hilfiger, American fashion designer, founded the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation was birthed.
1951 – Dougie Thomson, Scottish bass player (Supertramp and The Alan Bown Set) was born.
1953 – Mary, queen of Great-Britain/North-Ireland, dies at 85
1965 – The Undertaker, American wrestler was born.
1958 – Rock’N’Roll teen idol Elvis Presley is drafted in the U.S. Army.
1972 – The United Kingdom imposes direct rule over Northern Ireland.
1973 – Pink Floyd the British Progressive rock band release the album “Dark Side of the Moon” which has became the 6th best selling album of all time with sales exceeding 40 million copies worldwide. What many do not know is it was produced at the Beatles famous Abbey Road Studios in London.
1975 – Muhammad Ali TKOs Chuck Wepner (The Real Rocky) in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1976 – Peyton Manning, American football player, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Born
1976 – In Argentina, the armed forces overthrow the constitutional government of President Isabel Perón and start a 7-year dictatorial period self-styled the National Reorganization Process. Since 2006, a public holiday known as Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice is held on this day.
1989 – Exxon Valdez oil spill: In Prince William Sound in Alaska, the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (38,000 m3) of crude oil after running aground.
1990 – News of Comedian Richard Pryor’s hospitalization the day before went public. He had suffered a mild heart attack the day before and was now considered to be in good condition. He was expected to be released the following week. This was not the only time he had health trouble. In the 1980s he nearly died from a cocaine overdose.
1995 – Joey Long, blues/cajun guitarist, dies at 62
1998 – Jonesboro massacre: Two students, ages 11 and 13, fire upon teachers and students at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas; five people are dead and ten are wounded.
1999 – Kosovo War: NATO commences aerial bombardment against Yugoslavia, marking the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country.
2000 – S&P 500 index reaches an intraday high of 1,552.87, a peak that, due to the collapse of the dot-com bubble, it will not reach again for another seven-and-a-half years.
2003 – The Arab League votes 21–1 in favor of a resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of U.S. and British soldiers from Iraq.
2006 – Long-term protests in Belarus are broken by police.
2008 – Richard Widmark, American actor (b. 1914) Dies
2009 – China is reported to have blocked access to YouTube video-sharing because of it showing videos of soldiers beating Tibetan monks and passers-by. The actual date and location of the footage cannot be confirmed. Google has reported the YouTube video-sharing web site being blocked, although it has not explained why. Information on it was made known by the official Xinhua news agency. The agency has said that it was supporters of the Dalai Lama that had fabricated the clips of Chinese police officers beating Tibetans in Lhasa. Xinhua did not identify the video, but based on their description it appears to match a video that was available on YouTube, which had been released by the Tibetan government-in-exile.
2010 – Robert Culp, American actor (b. 1930) Dies
2012 – African Union deploys 5,000 strong force with the aim of catching or killing warlord “Joseph Kony”
2014 – Russian troops reportedly seized control of a Crimean naval base, the third in a string of similar attacks reported by Ukrainian officials within two days. There were reports of shots fired and that Ukrainian officers had been tied up by Russian troops.