Siege of Damascus Ends
1148 Crusaders abandon their siege of Damascus after only four days leading to the disintegration of the Second Crusade
- 1330 Battle of Velbuzd: Serbian forces defeat Bulgarian army
- 1434 Navigator Gil Eanes leaves Cape Bojador for Lisbon
- 1563 French army recaptures Le Havre after the English garrison surrenders after a siege
- 1579 Cardinal Granvelle returns to Madrid
- 1586 Sir Thomas Harriot introduces potatoes to Europe on return to England
- 1635 Spanish marshal Piccolomini conquers Schenkenschans
- 1696 De Croissy succeeds Le Plectia as French minister of Finance
- 1708 Monarch Amengkurat II [Sunan Mas] of Mataram gives himself up to VOC
- 1717 Prussian King Frederik Willhelm I orders compulsory education for 5-12 year olds
- 1741 Danish Captain Vitus Bering, on a Russian expedition, is the first European to sight Mount Saint Elias, second-highest mountain of Canada and the US
Treaty of Berlin
1742 Maria Theresa of Austria and Prussian King Frederick the Great sign a peace treaty in Berlin
Poet Laureate Henry James Pye
1790 Henry James Pye appointed as British Poet Laureate by King George III
Execution of Maximilien Robespierre
1794 French Revolutionary figure Maximilien Robespierre and 22 other leaders of "the Terror" guillotined to thunderous cheers in Paris
Josephine de Beauharnais
1794 Joséphine de Beauharnais, future Empress of the French and first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, is released from prison five days after the execution of her first husband, Alexandre de Beauharnais
- 1800 Thames River Police established by act of British parliament, replacing earlier Marine Police (1798-1800) - world's oldest continuously serving police force
- 1821 Peru declares independence from Spain (National Day)
Film & TV History
1828 First theatrical performance of Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein" as "Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein" by Richard Brinsley Peake, starring Thomas Potter Cooke at Covent Garden [1]
- 1847 Denmark phases out slavery, beginning with all new-born children of enslaved women, the parent-generation is freed the following year [1]
- 1849 Memmon is first clipper to reach San Francisco, 120 days out of NY
- 1851 Total solar eclipse captured on a daguerreotype photograph
- 1858 First use of fingerprints as a means of identification is made by Sir William James Herschel of the Indian Civil Service
- 1858 French photographer and balloonist Nadar takes the 1st airborne photo, in a balloon, of French village of Petit-Becetre 80 meters in the air
- 1862 Confederate forces defeated at More's Hill, Missouri
- 1864 2nd day of battle at Deep Bottom Run, Virginia
- 1864 US Civil War: Battle at Ezra Chapel - Union forces under Major Gen. William Sherman defeat Confederate Lt. General John Bell Hood near Atlanta in Fulton County, Georgia
- 1866 Metric system becomes a legal measurement system in US
Ex-slaves Granted Citizenship
1868 US Secretary of State William H. Seward announces 14th Amendment ratified by states, grants citizenship to ex-slaves
- 1883 Shocks triggered by volcano Epomeo (Isle of Ischia, Italy) destroy 1,200 houses at Casamicciola killing 2,000
Lord Salisbury Government
1886 British Conservative government led by Lord Salisbury forms
Women's Suffrage Petition
1893 A petition organised by Kate Sheppard, demanding women's suffrage, is delivered to New Zealand's parliament; signed by over 25,000 women, a 5th of the adult European female population
- 1893 Vizcaya Bridge - largest transporter bridge in the world opens over the River Ibaizabal, designed by Basque architect Alberto de Palacio [1]
- 1896 City of Miami incorporated
- 1898 Spanish American War: U.S. Army occupies Ponce and declares victory in Puerto Rico over Spanish forces
- 1900 Hamburger created by Louis Lassing in Connecticut
- 1904 Interior Minister of Russia, Vyacheslav Plehve is assassinated; as leader of the most reactionary elements of government, he was hated for his repressive policies
- 1904 Rafael Reyes becomes dictator of Colombia after losing Panama
- 1906 Yankees turn triple-play, beat Cleveland 6-4
- 1911 96°F (35.6°C) in De Bilt, Netherlands
- 1914 Austria-Hungary decides against mediation and declares war on Serbia - first declaration of war of WWI
British Fleet to Scarpa Flow
1914 First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill orders British Grand Fleet to Scapa Flow
- 1914 Foxtrot 1st danced at New Amsterdam Roof Garden, in NYC, by Harry Fox
US Marines Occupy Haiti
1915 Because of virtual anarchy, US Marines go ashore in Haiti on orders from President Woodrow Wilson; this will lead to an occupation that will last until 1934
Silent Parade
1917 Silent Parade organised by James Weldon Johnson of 10,000 African-Americans who march on 5th Ave in NYC to protest against lynching
- 1919 Vrije Vakbewegings Internationale (VVI) forms in Amsterdam
- 1926 US & Panamanian pact about safeguard of Panama Canal
- 1928 IX Summer Olympic Games open in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 1929 Chicago Cardinals become 1st NFL team to train out of state (Michigan)
- 1930 114°F (46°C), Greensburg, Kentucky (state record)
Mad Dog Coll
1931 Mob hitman Mad Dog Coll allegedly participates in a kidnapping attempt that results in the shooting death of a child, which earns him the nickname "Mad Dog"
- 1931 White Sox score 11 in 8th to beat Yankees 14-12
White Zombie
1932 "White Zombie" - 1st feature length zombie film directed by Victor Halperin and starring Bela Lugosi is released in the US
Bonus Army Evicted
1932 US President Herbert Hoover uses federal troops to evict the Bonus Army (WWI veterans and their families) from their encampment, 4 die
1st Singing Telegram
1933 1st singing telegram delivered (to Rudy Vallée), NYC
- 1933 NFL divides into (2) 5 team divisions
- 1933 Spain recognizes the USSR
- 1934 118°F (48°C), Orofino, Idaho (state record)
- 1937 Eddie Paynter scores 322 for Lancashire against Sussex
- 1937 Richard Moore scores 316 for Hampshire against Warwickshire
- 1938 34,000-ton Cunard-White Star liner Mauretania launched at Birkenhead
Bradman Scores 202
1938 Don Bradman scores 202 Australia v Somerset, 225 mins, 32 fours
Mussolini Resigns
1943 Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini resigns
- 1943 Operation Gomorrah: RAF bombing over Hamburg causes a firestorm that kills 42,600 German civilians
German Troops to Normandy
1944 Adolf Hitler routes 4 division of South France to Normandy
- 1944 US 8th Army corp occupies Coutances France
- 1945 "Elevator girl" Betty Lou Oliver survives falling 75 stories after fog causes a US bomber plane to crash into the Empire State Building, breaking the cables supporting the elevator she was operating. This remains a world record for the longest survived elevator fall
- 1945 Japanese premier Suzuki disregards US ultimatum to surrender
Nuclear Bombing of Nagasaki
1945 Physicist Raemer Schreiber and Lieutenant Colonel Peer de Silva arrive on the Pacific island of Tinian with the plutonium core used to assemble the Fat Man bomb used in the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9
- 1945 US Army B-25 crashes into 79th floor of Empire State Bldg, 14 die
United Nations Charter
1945 US Senate ratifies United Nations charter 89-2
Alice In Wonderland
1951 Walt Disney releases animated musical film "Alice In Wonderland", featuring Kathryn Beaumont, J. Pat O'Malley, Ed Wynn, and Sterling Holloway and songs by Sammy Fain and Bob Hilliard
On the Waterfront
1954 "On the Waterfront", directed by Elia Kazan starring Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint, is released (Academy Awards Best Picture 1955)
Music History
1954 Ernest Bloch's 4th string quartet premieres
TV Show Appearance
1957 Rock and roll piano player-singer Jerry Lee Lewis makes his 1st TV appearance with a raucous rendition of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" on the "Steve Allen Show"
- 1959 Hawaii's 1st US election sends 1st Asian-Americans to Congress
- 1959 United Kingdom starts using postal codes
Election of Interest
1960 US Republican National convention selects Richard Nixon as candidate
- 1967 Pirate Radio Station 390 (Radio Invicta) (England) closes down
- 1971 16 time gold glover Brook Robinson commits 3 errors in 6th inning
- 1971 Dutch ends censorship of "Blue Movie"
- 1972 39th NFL Chicago All Star Game: Dallas 20, All Stars 7 (54,162)
- 1973 600,000 attend the "Summer Jam" rock festival featuring The Grateful Dead, The Band, and The Allman Brothers Band, at Watkins Glen, New York; at the time the largest ever audience at a pop festival
- 1973 France performs nuclear Test at Mururoa atoll, in the South Pacific
- 1973 NASA launches Skylab 3's astronauts (Alan Bean, Owen Garriott, and Jack Lousma) to the space station for a 59 day stay
- 1974 69 die when packed bus strikes heavy truck in Belem, Brazil
- 1976 Eldon Joersz & Geo Morgan set world air speed record of 3,530 kph
- 1976 Tangshan Earthquake, 8.2 in magnitude kills over 240,000 Northern China in the largest loss of life from an earthquake in the 20th century
- 1976 White Sox John Odom (5 inn) & Francisco Barrios (4 inn) no-hits A's
- 1977 1st oil through the TransAlaska Pipeline System reach Valdez, Alaska
Cricket Debut
1977 Legendary England cricket all-rounder Ian Botham on debut takes 5 for 74 in the Australian 1st innings in a 7 wicket 3rd Test win at Trent Bridge
- 1977 Roy Wilkins turns over NAACP leadership to Benjamin Hooks
- 1978 At Old Timer's Game it's announced Martin will again manage Yankees
- 1978 Price of gold tops $200-an-oz level for 1st time
- 1978 USSR performs nuclear Test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
Sports History
1979 Dave Kingman becomes 6th to have a 2nd 3 HR game
- 1979 France performs nuclear Test
- 1980 Peru adopts constitution, Fernando Belaúnde Terry becomes president
- 1983 NASA launches Telstar-3A
- 1983 USSR performs nuclear Test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- 1984 23rd modern Olympic Games open in Los Angeles
- 1985 Alan Garcia sworn in as President of Peru
Baseball Hall of Fame
1985 Lou Brock, Enos Slaughter, A Vaughan, & Hoyt Wilhelm are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York
- 1986 Bomb attack in East Beirut, 25 killed
- 1986 NASA releases transcript from doomed Challenger, pilot Michael Smith could be heard saying, "Uh-oh!" as spacecraft disintegrated
Sports History
1987 Ángel Cordero Jr becomes 4th jockey to win 6,000 races
- 1988 IBM announces price hike on older models
- 1988 Israeli diplomats arrive in Moscow for 1st visit in 21 years
- 1988 Jordan cancels $1.3 billion development plan in West Bank
- 1988 Winnie Mandella's home in Soweto, South Africa, destroyed by arson
Baseball Record
1989 Braves Dale Murphy, hits 2 3-run HRs in an inning, 14th man to hit 2 HRs in an inning. Also ties record of 6 RBIs in an inning
- 1989 Cards' Vince Coleman is caught stealing ends record streak at 50
- 1989 NASA's Lewis Research Center, Cleve, announce new high-temperature superconductors able to operate at 33 to 37 Gigahertz
Cuts Both Ways
1989 Singer Gloria Estefan releases her debut solo album "Cuts Both Ways"
Event of Interest
1990 Alberto Fujimori installed as President of Peru
- 1990 Blackout hits Chicago
- 1991 Buffalo Bills beat Philadelphia Eagles, 17-13 in American Bowl in Wembley
Baseball Record
1991 Dennis Martínez pitches the 13th perfect game in baseball history
- 1992 Groundbreaking of Fla Marlins 7,500 seat spring training stadium
What's the 411?
1992 R&B singer Mary J. Blige releases her debut album "What's the 411?", with production by Puff Daddy
Baseball Record
1993 Mariner Ken Griffey Jr. is 3rd to hit HRs in 8 straight games
- 1994 Baseball players decide to strike on Aug 12, 1994
- 1994 Last steel beam is placed on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio
- 1994 Texas Rangers pitcher Kenny Rogers throws the only perfect game in franchise history, against the California Angels
Event of Interest
1995 Art Modell's rep begins secrets talks to move team to Baltimore
- 1995 Norwegian Finance Minister Sigbjorn Johnsen says that Norway should not lower its crude oil production in an attempt to boost world oil prices
- 1996 Americans Karch Kiraly & Kent Steffes win inaugural beach volleyball gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics; Kiraly first to win gold in both indoor and beach events
- 1996 Kennewick Man, the remains of a prehistoric man, is discovered near Kennewick, Washington.
Sports History
1996 NY Yankee Darryl Strawberry hits his 300th HR
- 1997 Guatemala becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty
Sports History
1997 NY Ranger center Mark Messier signs with Vancouver for $20M for 3 yrs
- 1997 Peter Graf, father of Steffi, enters German jail for tax evasion
- 2002 Nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, are rescued after 77 hours underground.
- 2005 A tornado touches down in a residential area in south Birmingham, England, causing £4,000,000 worth of damages and injuring 39 people.
- 2005 The Provisional Irish Republican Army call an end to their thirty year long armed campaign in Northern Ireland
- 2008 Historic Weston-super-Mare Grand Pier burns down for a second time in 80 years
- 2012 18 people are killed and 11 injured in ethnic clashes in Ethiopia
- 2012 Ye Shiwen of China sets world record in the women's 400m individual medley (4:28.43) to take the gold medal at the London Olympics
- 2013 39 people are killed after a bus veers off a bridge in Avellino Province, Italy
Event of Interest
2014 Israel criticizes John Kerry's proposed ceasefire, stating that no ceasefire deal will be accepted without the destruction of tunnels leading from Gaza to Israel and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip
Music History
2014 Linda Ronstadt receives the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in a White House ceremony [1]
- 2014 Missiles strike near Gaza's main hospital and a nearby refugee camp Monday, leaving 10 dead and many wounded; Israeli Defence Force say they are not responsible
- 2014 UN Security Council hold emergency meeting calling for an immediate and indefinite humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas
Sports History
2015 Pedro Martínez's number 45 is retired by the Boston Red Sox
- 2016 Earliest evidence of cancer found in 1.7 million-year-old toe fossil from Swartkrans Cave, South Africa, published in "South African Journal of Science"
Appointment of Interest
2017 General John Kelly appointed new Chief of Staff by US President Donald Trump
Event of Interest
2017 Pakistan Supreme Court rules corruption accusations against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif enough to remove him from office
Event of Interest
2017 US Senate vote for "skinny" repeal of the Affordable Care Act ('Obamacare') fails 51-49 when John McCain casts deciding vote against
- 2018 Carr Fire reaches Redding, California, with death toll at 5 having burnt 80,000 acres
- 2018 Longest "blood moon" eclipse of the 21st century, lasting 1 hour 43 minutes
- 2019 Evian Championship Women's Golf, Evian Resort GC: South Korean Ko Jin-young wins her second major title of the season by 2 strokes from Shanshan Feng, Jennifer Kupcho and Kim Hyo-joo
- 2019 First Fortnite World Cup won by US teenager Kyle Giersdorf with largest ever e-sports prize of $3 million at Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York
Film & TV History
2019 Meghan Duchess of Sussex, revealed as the first guest editor for UK Vogue in 103 years for its September 2019 issue
Event of Interest
2020 Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak found guilty of corruption, sentenced to 12 years and fined nearly $50 million
- 2020 Iter, the world's largest nuclear fusion project, begins assembly in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France
- 2021 19-year-old gymnast Daiki Hashimoto of Japan becomes youngest Olympic men's artistic individual all-around champion in history at the Tokyo Games
- 2021 Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus claims Olympic double by winning women's 200m freestyle in OR 1:53.50 in Tokyo; she had beaten American superstar Katie Ledecki in 400m 2 days earlier
- 2021 Japanese swimmer Yui Ohashi wins women's individual medley double with victory in 200m at the Tokyo Olympics; 3 days earlier she won the 400m IM gold medal
- 2022 Final episodes of TV soap "Neighbours", after 37 years, screens in Australia [1]
- 2022 Flooding in Garrett County, eastern Kentucky kills at least 37 people with more missing. Four million in Kentucky and surrounding states under flood alert. [1]
- 2022 Opening ceremony for the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England, featuring giant animatronic bull [1]
- 2022 Saudi Arabia unveils plans for futuristic 106 mile one-building city "The Line" to house 9 million people, powered by renewable sources with no roads [1]
- 2023 Scientist genetically engineer female animals to reproduce without a male for the first time, using fruit flies [1]
- 2023 Typhoon Doksuri makes landfall on China's south-east Fujian province causing landslides and flooding, goes on to flood Beijing killing at least 11 people [1]
- 2061 31st predicted perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
