217 – Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated. He is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
632 – King Charibert II is assassinated at Blaye (Gironde)—possibly on orders of his half-brother Dagobert I—along with his infant son Chilperic. He claims Aquitaine and Gascony, becoming the most powerful Merovingian king in the West.
1665 – English colonial patents are granted for the establishment of the Monmouth Tract, for what would eventually become Monmouth County in northeastern New Jersey.
1730 – Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated.
1832 – Black Hawk War: Around three-hundred United States 6th Infantry troops leave St. Louis, Missouri to fight the Sauk Native Americans.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Mansfield: Union forces are thwarted by the Confederate army at Mansfield, Louisiana.
1892 – Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress, co-founded United Artists (d. 1979) was born.
1895 – In Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. the Supreme Court of the United States declares unapportioned income tax to be unconstitutional.
1904 – The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the Entente cordiale.
1904 – British mystic Aleister Crowley transcribes the first chapter of The Book of the Law.
1904 – Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square after The New York Times.
1906 – Auguste Deter, the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, dies.
1913 – The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, requiring direct election of Senators, becomes law.
1916 – In Corona, California, race car driver Bob Burman crashes, killing three, and badly injuring five, spectators.
1918 – Betty Ford, American wife of Gerald R. Ford, 40th First Lady of the United States (d. 2011) was born.
1918 – World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York City’s financial district.
1927 – Ollie Mitchell, American trumpet player (The Wrecking Crew) (d. 2013) was born.
1929 – Indian independence movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest.
1935 – The Works Progress Administration is formed when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 becomes law.
1937 – Seymour Hersh, American journalist and author was born
1938 – Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat, 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations was birthed.
1943 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an attempt to check inflation, freezes wages and prices, prohibits workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and bars rate increases by common carriers and public utilities.
1945 – World War II: After an air raid accidentally destroys a train carrying about 4,000 Nazi concentration camp internees in Prussian Hanover, the survivors are massacred by Nazis.
1947 – Steve Howe, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Yes, Asia, Tomorrow, GTR, and Bodast) was born.
1951 – Mel Schacher, American bass player (Question Mark & the Mysterians and Grand Funk Railroad) was born.
1952 – U.S. President Harry Truman calls for the seizure of all domestic steel mills to prevent a nationwide strike.
1955 – Kane Hodder, American actor and stuntman was born.
1959 – A team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper meets to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be called COBOL.
1959 – The Organization of American States drafts an agreement to create the Inter-American Development Bank.
1960 – The Netherlands and West Germany sign an agreement to negotiate the return of German land annexed by the Dutch in return for 280 million German marks as Wiedergutmachung.
1962 – Izzy Stradlin, American guitarist and songwriter (Guns N’ Roses and Hollywood Rose) was born.
1972 – Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (Slipknot and Unida) (d. 2010) was born.
1974 – At Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run to surpass Babe Ruth’s 39-year-old record.
1987 – Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigns amid controversy over racially charged remarks he had made while on Nightline.
1990 – Ryan White, American activist, inspired the Ryan White Care Act (b. 1971) died.
1992 – Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.
2005 – Over four million people attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II.
2013 – Margaret Thatcher, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1925) died.
2013 – The Islamic State of Iraq enters the Syrian Civil War and begins by declaring a merger with the Al-Nusra Front under the name Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham
2014 – The Ultimate Warrior, American wrestler (b. 1959) died.
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