EVENTS
- 1866 – The Atlantic Cable is successfully completed allowing transatlantic telegraph communication.
Landing of the Atlantic Cable - 1890 – Vincent Van Gogh shoots himeslf. The famed painter, shot himself in the chest. He died of his wounds two days later.
- 1940 – Bugs Bunny makes first appears in the cartoon A Wild Hare.
- 1949 – The first jet-powered airliner, the de Havilland Comet, takes flight.
- 1953 – The Korean War ends after 3 years of fighting.
- 1955 – Austrian State Treaty came to force. The treaty re-established Austria as a democratic and sovereign country after World War II. It also ended the allied occupation of the country.
- 1985 – Coup in Uganda. Tito Lutwa Okello, an Ugandan military officer successfully staged a coup against president Milton Obote. He was ousted by current president Yoweri Museveni 6 months later.
- 2012 – Queen Elizabeth II officially opens the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. It was the 3rd time London had hosted the multi-event international sports event. The ceremony was called Isles of Wonder and was directed by Danny Boyle.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1667 – Johann Bernoulli (Mathematician)
Johann Bernoulli - 1824 – Alexandre Dumas, fils (French author)
- 1870 – Hilaire Belloc (English writer)
- 1901 – Rudy Vallee (Singer)
- 1922 – Norman Lear (TV Producer)
- 1948 – Peggy Flemming (Figure Skater)
- 1969 – Triple H (American wrestler, actor)
- 1975 – Alex Rodriguez (Baseball Player)
- 1980 – Dolph Ziggler (American wrestler)
DEATHS
- 1946 – Gertrude Stein (American poet, art collector)
Gertrude Stein - 1948 – Joe Tinker (American baseball player)
- 1980 – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (Shah of Iran)
- 2003 – Bob Hope (English/American actor, singer, producer)
- 2015 – A. P. J Abdul Kalam (Indian scientist, politician, 11th President of India)
