1178 – Five Canterbury monks see what is possibly the Giordano Bruno crater being formed. It is believed that the current oscillations of the Moon’s distance from the Earth (on the order of meters) are a result of this collision.
1429 – French forces under the leadership of Joan of Arc defeat the main English army under Sir John Fastolf at the Battle of Patay. This turns the tide of the Hundred Years’ War.
1684 – The charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is revoked via a scire facias writ issued by an English court.
1767 – Samuel Wallis, an English sea captain, sights Tahiti and is considered the first European to reach the island.
1778 – American Revolutionary War: British troops abandon Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1812 – War of 1812: The U.S. Congress declares war on Great Britain, Canada, and Ireland.
1815 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Waterloo results in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher forcing him to abdicate the throne of France for the second and last time.
1858 – Charles Darwin receives a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace that includes nearly identical conclusions about evolution as Darwin’s own, prompting Darwin to publish his theory.
1873 – Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election.
1887 – The Reinsurance Treaty between Germany and Russia is signed.
1928 – Aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly in an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean (she is a passenger; Wilmer Stultz is the pilot and Lou Gordon the mechanic).
1930 – Groundbreaking ceremonies for the Franklin Institute are held.
1936 – Barack Obama, Sr., Kenyan economist (d. 1982) was born.
1936 – Maxim Gorky, [Alexei M Peshkov], Russian writer (Mother), dies at 68
1937 – Jay (John D 4) Rockefeller, American politician was birthed.
1940 – Appeal of June 18 by Charles de Gaulle.
1940 – “Finest Hour” speech by Winston Churchill.
1942 – Paul McCartney, English musician, singer and songwriter (The Quarrymen, the Beatles, Wings and the Fireman) was born.
1945 – William Joyce (Lord Haw-Haw) is charged with treason for his pro-German propaganda broadcasting during World War II.
1948 – The United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted an International Declaration of Human Rights and a “Draft Declaration of Human Rights” .
1948 – Columbia Records publicly unveiled its new long-playing phonograph record, the 33 1/3, in New York City. Today, Columbia Records is the oldest record brand in the industry, dating back to 1888 when sound was recorded on black cylinders rather than albums, and begin mass production.
1952 – Carol Kane, Cleveland Ohio, actress (Dog Day Afternoon, Simka-Taxi) Born
1952 – Isabella Rossellini, Rome Italy, actress (Big Night, Blue Velvet) Born
1953 – The Egyptian Revolution of 1952 ends with the overthrow of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and the declaration of the Republic of Egypt.
1957 – Tom Bailey, England, rocker (Thompson Twins-Doctor Doctor) Born
1961 – [Genevieve] Alison Moyet, Essex England, rock vocalist (Yaz, Alf)born
1963 – Darren “Dizzy” Reed, US musician (Guns n’ Roses-Sweet Girl of Mine) Born
1964 – Uday Hussein, Iraqi son of Saddam Hussein (d. 2003) was birthed.
1965 – Vietnam War: The United States uses B-52 bombers to attack National Liberation Front guerrilla fighters in South Vietnam.
1969 – Pål Pot Pamparius, Norwegian musician (Turbonegro)Born
1981 – The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational aircraft initially designed around stealth technology, makes its first flight.
1984 – Alan Berg, American radio talk show host. Murdered
1983 – Mona Mahmudnizhad together with nine other Bahá’í women, is sentenced to death and hanged in Shiraz, Iran because of her Bahá’í Faith.
1996 – Ted Kaczynski, suspected of being the Unabomber, is indicted on ten criminal counts.
1999 – Following the recent increase of high school shootings including the Columbine High School in Colorado, A new gun control bill has been rejected by Congress, the bill was rejected by the Republican side who felt the new controls went too far and the Democrats, who felt the new controls did not go far enough.