EVENTS
- 1533 – Lady Jane Grey is replaced by Mary I as Queen of England after only nine days as queen.
- 1588 – The Spanish Armada was first sighted in the English Channel.
Spanish Armada - 1848 – A women’s rights convention was held at Seneca Falls, New York. Topics discussed included voting rights, property rights and divorce. The convention marked the beginning of an organized women’s rights movement in the U.S.
- 1863 – During the American Civil War, Union troops made a second attempt to capture Fort Wagner near Charleston, South Carolina. The attack was led by the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry, commanded by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who was killed along with half of the 600 men in the regiment. This battle marked the first use of black Union troops in the war.
- 1870 – France declares war on Prussia to start the Franco-Prussian War.
- 1900 – Paris Metro opens. One of the densest metros in the world and the second largest metro in Europe, the first line of the Paris Metro opened during the World’s Fair.
- 1903 – The first Tour de France comes to an end. Maurice Garin became the first person to win the debut of the now annual bike race.
- 2005 – Death Valley, California records a record high temperature of 53.9 degrees C (129 degrees F).
BIRTHDAYS
- 1814 – Samuel Colt (Inventor of the Colt revolver)
- 1827 – Mangal Pandey (Indian freedom fighter)
- 1834 – Edgar Degas (Painter)
Edgar Degas - 1921 – Harold Camping (American broadcaster, author)
- 1922 – George McGovern (American politician, historian, author)
- 1947 – Brian May (Guitarist for rock group Queen)
- 1962 – Anthony Edwards (Actor)
- 1965 – Stuart Scott (Sportscaster)
- 1981 – Nene (Brazilian soccer player)
DEATHS
- 1374 – Petrarch (Italian scholar, poet)
- 1543 – Mary Boleyn (English sister of Anne Boleyn)
Mary Boleyn - 1980 – Hans Morgenthau (German philosopher)
- 2002 – Alan Lomax (American historian, author, scholar)
- 2012 – Omar Suleiman (Egyptian politician, Vice President of Egypt)
