EVENTS
- 1715 – The Riot Act took effect in Britain. If a dozen or more persons were disturbing the peace, an authority was required to command silence and read the following, “Our sovereign Lord the King chargeth and commandeth all persons, being assembled, immediately to disperse themselves, and peaceably to depart to their habitations, or to their lawful business, upon the pains contained in the act made in the first year of King George, for preventing tumults and riotous assemblies. God save the king.” Any persons who failed to obey within one hour were to be arrested.
- 1810 – Colombia declare independence from Spain.
- 1918 – German troops cross the Marne in WWI.
- 1940 – Billboard magazine first publishes it’s list of most popular songs.
- 1954 – An agreement was signed in Geneva, Switzerland, ending hostilities between French forces in Vietnam and the People’s Army of Vietnam.
- 1969 – Apollo 11 is the first manned mission to land on the Moon.
- 1969 – Football War ends. A ceasefire came into effect between Honduras and El Salvador after the two countries fought a brief war over immigration El Salvador to Honduras. The hostilities occurred during North American trials of the FIFA World Cup.
- 1974 – Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Also known as Cyprus Peace Operation or Operation Attila, the invasion was a response to a coup in Cyprus.
- 1976 – Viking I lands on Mars. Part of the Viking program, Viking I became the first American spacecraft to succesfully land on Mars and to complete its mission.
- 2003 – Rookie Ben Curtis, ranked 396th in the world, wins the British Open on his first try.
- 2012 – Aurora shooting. A gunman, James Holmes, opened fire in a movie theater during the premier of the Dark Night Rises in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others.
BIRTHDAYS
- 356 BC –Β Alexander the Great (Greek conqueror)
- 1304 – Petrarch (Italian scholar, poet)
- 1822 – Gregor Mendel (Scientist)
- 1919 – Sir Edmund Hillary (Explored the top of Mt (Everest)
- 1938 – Natalie Wood (Actress)
- 1947 – Carlos Santana (Guitarist)
- 1966 – Enrique PeΓ±a Nieto (Mexican politician)
- 1975 – Ray Allen (NBA Basketball player)
- 1978 – Elliott Yamin (American singer-songwriter)
- 1980 – Gisele Bundchen (Model)
DEATHS
- 1923 – Pancho Villa (Mexican general)
- 1937 – Guglielmo Marconi (Italian businessman, inventor, developed Marconi’s law, Nobel Prize laureate)
- 1973 – Bruce Lee (American actor, martial artist)
- 2011 – Lucian Freud (English painter)
- 2013 – Helen Thomas (American journalist)