- 649 St Martin I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 767 Duke of Nepi names his brother (leek) Pope Constantine II
- 1166 Austrian town of Bad Kleinkirchheim is first mentioned, in an ecclesiastical document
- 1294 Pietro del Murrone elected as Pope Coelestinus V
- 1295 Scotland and France form an alliance, the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England
- 1436 German emperor Sigismund signs peace with Hussieten
- 1450 Pope Nicolas V names Walraven van Meurs bishop of Munster
- 1596 English fleet under Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, captures Cadiz
- 1610 John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland
- 1626 Battle at Lenz: Rebel Austrian Boers defeated
- 1628 English settlers establish town of St Michael (later Bridgetown) on Barbados
- 1643 1st recorded tornado in US (Essex County, Massachusetts)
Historic Publication
1687 Isaac Newton's great work Principia published by Royal Society in England, outlining his laws of motion and universal gravitation
Historic Siege
1715 Ottoman troops storm citadel of Acrocorinth in the Peloponnese, massacring a large part of the population and selling the rest into slavery. Inspires Lord Byron's poem "The Siege of Corinth"
Historic Event
1775 Second Continental Congress drafts the Olive Branch Petition to King George III
Venezuela Declares Independence
1811 Venezuelan Declaration of Independence: 7 provinces declare themselves independent of Spain
- 1813 War of 1812: Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York begin
- 1814 Americans defeat British and Canadians at Chippewa, Ontario
- 1830 France invades Algeria, begins a 40 year conquest
- 1834 Provisional government forms in Oregon Country
- 1841 Thomas Cook opens first travel agency
- 1843 Committee of 9 appointed to establish civil government in Oregon Country
Historic Event
1852 Frederick Douglass, fugitive slave, delivers his 'What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?' speech to the Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, condemns the celebration as hypocritical sham
- 1859 Capt N C Brooks discovers Midway Islands
- 1861 Battle of Carthage, Missouri - US General Sigel attacks pro-secessionist
- 1863 Battle of Jackson, Mississippi and Battle of Birdsong Ferry, Mississippi
- 1864 Battle at Chattahoochee River, Georgia (Skirmish at Pace's Ferry) fought during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War
- 1864 Battle of Smith's Expedition, Mississippi (Tupelo, Harrisburg)
- 1865 Great Britain creates world's 1st speed limit law
- 1865 US Secret Service begins operating under the Treasury Department
- 1871 Trial against Kiowa chief Satanta (White Bear) and Big Tree, begins
- 1878 The coat of arms of the Baku governorate was established
- 1884 German consul-general Gustav Nachtigal takes possession of Cameroon
- 1884 US Congress accept 2nd Chinese Exclusion Act
- 1887 Columbia University 4's crew becomes first American boat to win at London's Henley Regatta (Visitors Challenge Cup)
- 1891 Hail kills 16 horses in Rapid City, South Dakota
- 1898 Lizzie Arlington becomes first woman to play professional men's baseball when she pitches 9th inning for the Reading Coal Heavers against the Allentown Peanuts; allows 2 hits and walks a batter but preserves 5-0 win
- 1900 Compulsory education law passes Dutch 1st Chamber
- 1902 All-rounder Monty Noble takes 6 for 52 as Australia wins the one and only cricket Test played at Sheffield's Bramall Lane, England
- 1904 NY Giants 18-game winning streak ends as Phillies win 6-5 in 10 innings at Huntington Park
- 1906 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Dorothea Chambers beats May Sutton 6-3, 9-7 for her 3rd of 7 Wimbledon singles titles
- 1907 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: American May Sutton avenges previous year's defeat, beating Dorothea Chambers 6-1, 6-4
- 1908 Niazi Bey, a chief organizer of the revolutionary movement in Turkey, raises the standard of revolt at Resna, Macedonia
Wimbledon Women's Tennis
1912 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: English badminton champion Ethel Larcombe wins her first and only major tennis title beating Charlotte Cooper 6-3, 6-1
Meeting of Interest
1913 Queen Wilhelmina meets SDAP-leader Troelstra
- 1914 Germany offers Austria war aid to fight against Russia in Serbia
- 1914 MLB Boston Braves (26-40) are 15 games back in NL, go on to win World Series 4-0 vs Philadelphia A's
- 1919 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Suzanne Lenglen of France beats Dorothea Chambers 10-8, 4-6, 9-7 for the first of 6 Wimbledon singles titles
- 1922 1st general election in Netherlands
- 1922 Uprising of social righteousness in Rio de Janeiro
- 1922 Women 1st vote in Dutch elections, Christian parties win
- 1924 Military revolt in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
1924 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: In the first all-French final Jean Borotra beats René Lacoste 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
Wimbledon Women's Tennis
1929 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: In the first all-American final Helen Wills Moody beats Helen Jacobs 6-1, 6-2
- 1929 WOWO-AM, Indiana returns to air, 1 day after transmitter burns down
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
1930 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Bill Tilden beats fellow American Wilmer Allison 6-3, 9-7, 6-4 for his 3rd and final Wimbledon singles crown
Historic Event
1932 António de Oliveira Salazar becomes the premier and dictator of Portugal (1932-1968), founding the authoritarian Estado Novo (New State) regime
Baseball Record
1934 Lou Gehrig hits record 17th career grand slam in Yankees 8-3 win v Washington, passes Babe Ruth's total
- 1935 1st "Hawaii Calls" radio program is broadcast
- 1935 Tony (Brooklyn Dodgers) and Al (NY Giants) Cuccinello become the first brothers to both hit a MLB homer in the same game, Dodgers win 14-4
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
1935 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Fred Perry successfully defends his title against German Gottfried von Cramm 6-2, 6-4, 6-4
Baseball Record
1937 NY Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio hits 20th HR of the season but 1st career grand slam in 8-4 win vs Boston Red Sox
- 1937 Republican offensive by Brunete in Spain
- 1937 Spam, the luncheon meat is first introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation
- 1938 Herb Caen's 1st column in San Francisco Chronicle
- 1939 Flash floods kill 79 in Northeast Kentucky
- 1940 Diplomatic relations broken between Britain and Vichy government in France
- 1941 German occupiers disband political parties
- 1942 1st performance of Heitor Villa-Lobos' Chôros 6/9/11
- 1942 Ian Fleming graduates from a training school for spies in Canada
- 1943 Battle of Gulf of Kula
- 1943 Battle of Kursk, USSR: Operation Citadel: Nazi German Panzer Division assault begins what becomes the largest tank in history
- 1943 Liberator bombers sink U-535 in Gulf of Biskaye
- 1943 US invasion fleet (96 ships) sails to Sicily
- 1944 Harry Crosby takes 1st rocket airplane, MX-324, for maiden flight
Election of Interest
1945 Labour Party under Clement Attlee wins British parliamentary elections (results not declared until 26 July)
- 1945 World War II: Liberation of the Philippines declared
British Golf Open
1946 British Open Men's Golf, St Andrews: In first post-WWII Championship, Sam Snead wins his only Open title, 4 strokes clear of runners-up Johnny Bulla & Bobby Locke
- 1946 Louis Reard's design for a bikini swimsuit debuts at the Paris fashion show
- 1946 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Frenchman Yvon Petra beats Australian Geoff Brown 6-2, 6-4, 7-9, 5-7, 6-4 for his only Wimbledon title
- 1947 "Barefoot Boy with Cheek" closes at Martin Beck NYC after 108 performances
- 1947 Cleveland Indians rookie Larry Doby becomes 1st black player in AL when he strikes out in 6-5 loss vs Chicago White Sox
Wimbledon Women's Tennis
1947 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Margaret Osborne beats Doris Hart 6-2, 6-4 for her only Wimbledon singles title
Historic Invention
1951 Dr William Shockley invents the junction transistor (Murray Hill, NJ)
Musical Finale
1952 Revival of George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind's musical political satire "Of Thee I Sing", directed by Kaufman, closes at Ziegfeld Theater, NYC, after 72 performances
Wimbledon Women's Tennis
1952 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Maureen Connolly beats Louise Brough 7-5, 6-3 for the first of 3 straight Wimbledon crowns
Music Recording
1954 Singer Elvis Presley's 1st professional recording session (with guitarist Scotty Moore & bass player Bill Black) takes place at Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Service in Memphis, Tennessee. The trio record four songs including their historic cover of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's song "That's All Right". [1]
- 1954 The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin
- 1955 Six week old British dock strike ends as London dockers return to work
- 1956 France raises tobacco tax 20% due to war in Algeria
- 1957 British Open Men's Golf, St Andrews: South African Bobby Locke wins his 4th Open by 3 strokes from defending champion Peter Thomson of Australia
- 1957 England cricket batsman Tom Graveney scores a brilliant 258 in the drawn 3rd Test v West Indies at Trent Bridge
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
1957 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Lew Hoad successfully defends in crown beating fellow Australian Ashley Cooper 6-2, 6-1, 6-2
- 1958 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Lytham & St Annes GC: Australian Peter Thomson wins by 4 strokes in a 36-hole playoff with Welshman Dave Thomas, for his 4th Open title
- 1958 First ascent of Gasherbrum I (Pakistani–Chinese border), 11th highest peak on earth
- 1958 J Pengel forms government/Emanuels premier of Suriname
Wimbledon Women's Tennis
1958 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: American Althea Gibson beats Angela Mortimer of England 8-6, 6-2 to successfully defend her title
Historic Event
1959 Ben-Gurion's Israeli government resigns
- 1959 Indonesia restores constitution
- 1959 Jack Gelber's "Connection" premieres in NYC
- 1960 Mongolia adopts constitution
- 1961 80 die in collisions in Algiers
- 1961 KUSD TV channel 2 in Vermillion, SD (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1961 St Louis Cardinals first baseman Bill White smashes 3 HRs & a double in 9-1 rout of LA Dodgers
- 1962 Algeria gains independence after 132 years of French rule
- 1962 Massacre in Oran, Algeria: members of Algerian National Liberation Army kill Pied-Noir (Algerians of European descent) and European expatriates in ethnic genocide upon Algerian independence from France killing an estimated 95 to 400 people over 3 days
- 1963 1st Beatles' tune to hit US charts, Del Shannon's cover of "From Me to You" at no. 87
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
1963 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: American Chuck McKinley wins his only Grand Slam singles title beating Fred Stolle of Australia 9-7, 6-1, 6-4
Music History
1965 Greek-American soprano Maria Callas makes her final opera stage appearance in the title role of Giacomo Puccini's "Tosca" at Convent Garden, London, England
Music History
1968 John Lennon sells his psychedelic painted Rolls-Royce
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
1968 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Rod Laver beats Tony Roche 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to earn first ever prize money (£2,000) offered at Wimbledon
- 1969 Rolling Stones play a free concert in London's Hyde Park
- 1969 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Rod Laver beats John Newcombe 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 for the 3rd leg of his Grand Slam
- 1970 20th Berlin International Film Festival cancelled due to controversy surrounding the participation of Michael Verhoeven's anti-war film "o.k."
- 1970 Air Canada DC-8 crashes 7 miles from Toronto's airport killing 109
US Women's Golf Open
1970 US Open Women's Golf, Muskogee CC: Donna Caponi successfully defends her title by 1 from Sandra Haynie and Sandra Spuzich
- 1971 26th amendment to the US constitution certified (reduces voting age to 18)
- 1971 Simon Gray's "Butley" premieres in London
- 1972 Pierre Messmer appointed French premier
- 1972 Two Protestant brothers are found shot dead outside of Belfast (speculation that they were killed by Loyalists because they had Catholic girlfriends)
Coup d'état
1973 General Juvénal Habyarimana becomes president of Rwanda in a military coup d'état
- 1973 Isle of Man begins issuing its own postage stamps
- 1973 Test cricket debut of English umpire Harold "Dickie" Bird v NZ at Leeds (66 Tests, 69 ODI)
Wimbledon Women's Tennis
1974 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Chris Evert wins her first Wimbledon title beating Russian Olga Morzova 6-0, 6-4
Music History
1975 At Knebworth Festival in England, Pink Floyd debut their album "Wish You Were Here" with pyrotechnics and an exploding plane which flies into the stage
- 1975 Cape Verde Islands gain independence after 500 years of Portuguese rule
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
1975 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Arthur Ashe becomes first African-American to win Wimbledon, beats countryman Jimmy Connors 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
1980 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Björn Borg beats John McEnroe 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7, 8-6 for his 5th straight Wimbledon crown with famous 22-minute, 34-point, fourth-set tiebreak
Golf Tournament
1981 Canadian Open Women's Golf (Peter Jackson Classic), Summerlea GC: Jan Stephenson of Australia wins by 1 shot from Pat Bradley & Nancy Lopez
- 1981 Premier Begin's Likud party wins Israeli elections
- 1981 Rajan Mahadevan recites 31,811 digits of π (Pi) from memory
- 1981 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
- 1982 Challenger flies to Kennedy Space Center via Ellington AFB, Texas
- 1983 France invades Algeria
- 1983 Woman gives birth to baby 84 days after brain death (Roanoke, Virginia)
- 1984 Supreme Court weakens 70-year-old "exclusionary rule"-evidence seized with defective court warrants can now be used in criminal trials
- 1985 Nicholas Mark Sanders (England) begins circumnavigation of globe, covering 13,035 road miles in 78 days, 3 hr, 30 min
Election of Interest
1985 Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party wins re-election in Zimbabwe for a second term
Statue of Liberty
1986 Nancy Reagan cuts a red, white and blue ribbon to reopen Statue of Liberty after refurbishment
Wimbledon Women's Tennis
1986 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova beats Hana Mandlíková 7-6, 6-3 for her 7th Wimbledon singles title
Baseball Record
1987 A's 1st baseman Mark McGwire becomes first rookie to hit 30 HRs before the MLB All-Star Game as Oakland beats Red Sox, 6-2
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
1987 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Pat Cash of Australia scores his only Grand Slam singles success 7-6, 6-2, 7-5 over Ivan Lendl
- 1988 Wist Indies cricket paceman Malcolm Marshall takes career best 7-22, beat England by an innings & 156 at Old Trafford
Television Debut
1989 "Seinfield" (originally titled The Seinfeld Chronicles" screens its pilot episode starring Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards on NBC
Baseball Record
1989 Barry Bonds homers in Pittsburgh's 6-4 loss vs SF Giants, joining father Bobby Bonds as MLB father-son HR record holders (408)
Music History
1989 British singer Rod Stewart hits his head on a lighting fixture while on stage and knocks himself out in Pine Knob, Michigan [1]
Meeting of Interest
1989 South African President P. W. Botha visits ANC leader Nelson Mandela
Sports History
1990 Steffi Graf's record run of 13 consecutive tennis Grand Slam singles finals ends, beaten in Wimbledon semi-finals 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 by American Zina Garrison
- 1991 American jockey Ray Sibille wins his 3,000th career race, aboard Sporting Surf at Pleasanton, California
- 1991 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
- 1991 MLB owners approve Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins as new NL franchises to start play in 1993
- 1992 Sixto Durán Ballén elected president of Ecuador
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
1992 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: American Andre Agassi wins his first of 8 Grand Slam singles titles beating Goran Ivanišević of Croatia 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
Baseball Record
1993 As' outfielder Rickey Henderson leads off both games of Oakland's doubleheader vs Cleveland with homers (first time since 1913)
- 1993 Kurd guerrillas murder 32 villager in East Turkey
- 1993 Richard Chelimo run world record 10 km (27:07.91)
- 1994 "Cracked Rear View" debut album by Hootie & the Blowfish is released
Historic Event
1994 Amazon.com founded in Bellevue, Washington by Jeff Bezos
- 1994 The United States announces it will no longer accept unrestricted immigration from Haiti
- 1996 Angels score 3 top 1st, Oakland A's respond with 13 bottom 1st, highest-scoring 1st inning by 2 teams in MLB history, A's win 16-8
Wimbledon Women's Tennis
1997 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: 16 year old Swiss Martina Hingis beats Jana Novotná 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to become the youngest Wimbledon winner in 110 years
- 1998 NY Yankees beat Baltimore Orioles 1-0 to improve record to 61-20, equalling best 81-game start in MLB history
Baseball Record
1998 Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Roger Clemens collects his 3,000th career strikeout in 2-1 win vs Tampa Bay (11th to achieve milestone)
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
1998 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Pete Sampras retains title; beats Goran Ivanišević 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 for his 5th of 7 Wimbledon singles crowns
SARS Outbreak
2003 SARS is declared "contained" by the WHO after affecting 26 countries and resulting in 774 deaths
Wimbledon Women's Tennis
2003 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Serena Williams successfully defends her title beating older sister Venus 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
- 2004 First Indonesian presidential election by the people - first round (eventually won by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono)
- 2006 Emergency United Nations Security Council meeting at the U.N in New York City because of North Korean missile tests that day
- 2006 North Korea tests at least two short-range Nodong-2 missiles, one SCUD missile and one long-range Taepodong-2 missile
Wimbledon Women's Tennis
2008 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Venus Williams successfully defends her title beating younger sister Serena 7-5, 6-4
- 2009 Ethnic rioting breaks out in Ürümqi, Xinjiang, People's Republic of China
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
2009 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Roger Federer beats Andy Roddick of the US 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14 for a record 15th Grand Slam singles title
- 2011 "Somebody That I Used to Know" single released by Gotye ft. Kimbra (Grammy Award Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Record of the Year 2013)