1264 – Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the de facto ruler of England.
1607 – Jamestown, Virginia is settled as an English colony.
1608 – The Protestant Union is founded in Auhausen.
1610 – Henry IV of France is assassinated, bringing Louis XIII to the throne.
1643 – Four-year-old Louis XIV becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Louis XIII.
1787 – In Philadelphia, delegates convene a Constitutional Convention to write a new Constitution for the United States; George Washington presides.
1796 – Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox inoculation.
1804 – The Lewis and Clark Expedition departs from Camp Dubois and begins its historic journey by traveling up the Missouri River.
1836 – The Treaties of Velasco are signed in Velasco, Texas.
1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Jackson takes place.
1879 – The first group of 463 Indian indentured laborers arrives in Fiji aboard the Leonidas.
1889 – The children’s charity, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is launched in London.
1897 – The Stars and Stripes Forever is first performed in public near Willow Grove Park, Philadelphia.
1913 – Governor of New York William Sulzer approves the charter for the Rockefeller Foundation, which begins operations with a $100 million donation from John D. Rockefeller.
1925 – Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs Dalloway is published.
1931 – Ådalen shootings: Five people are killed in Ådalen, Sweden, as soldiers open fire on an unarmed trade union demonstration.
1939 – Lina Medina becomes the youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five.
1940 – World War II: Rotterdam is bombed by the German Luftwaffe.
1940 – World War II: The Battle of the Netherlands ends with the Netherlands surrendering to Germany.
1943 – Jack Bruce, Scottish-English singer-songwriter and bass player (Cream, Blues Incorporated, The Graham Bond Organisation, and West, Bruce and Laing) (d. 2014) was born.
1944 – Gene Cornish, Canadian-American guitarist (The Rascals and Fotomaker) was born.
1944 – George Lucas, American director, producer, and screenwriter, founded Lucasfilm was born.
1948 – Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
1953 – Tom Cochrane, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Red Rider) was born.
1955 – Cold War: Eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact.
1961 – American civil rights movement: The Freedom Riders bus is fire-bombed near Anniston, Alabama, and the civil rights protesters are beaten by an angry mob.
1962 – Ian Astbury, English-Canadian singer-songwriter (The Cult, The Wondergirls, Circus of Power, and Holy Barbarians) was born.
1962 – C.C. DeVille, American guitarist, songwriter, and actor (Poison and Samantha 7) was born.
1966 – Mike Inez, American bass player and songwriter (Alice in Chains, Black Label Society, Slash’s Snakepit, and Spys4Darwin) was born
1966 – Fab Morvan, French singer-songwriter and dancer (Milli Vanilli, Rob & Fab, and Empire Bizarre) was born.
1970 – The Red Army Faction is established in West Germany.
1976 – Keith Relf, English singer-songwriter, harmonica player, and producer (The Yardbirds and Armageddon) (b. 1943) died.
1973 – Skylab, the United States’ first space station, is launched.
1984 – Mark Zuckerberg, American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Facebook was born.
1993 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist (b. 1908) died.
1998 – Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (b. 1915) died.
2013 – Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declares a state of emergency in the northeast states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa due to the terrorist activities of Boko Haram.
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