Events Pre-1600 356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson. 230 – Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope. After being exiled to Sardinia, he became the first pope to resign his office. 285 – Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar and co-ruler. 365 – The Crete earthquake occurs with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), causing a destructive tsunami that affects the coasts of Libya and Egypt, especially Alexandria. Many thousands are killed. 905 – King Berengar I of Italy and a hired Hungarian army defeat the Frankish forces at Verona. King Louis III is captured and blinded for breaking the oath he gave in 902 to not return to Italy.Previté Orton, p. 337. The Gest Berengarii and Constantine Porphyrogenitus' De administrando imperio both show Berengar as declaiming responsibility for Louis's blinding. 1242 – Battle of Taillebourg: Louis IX of France puts an end to the revolt of his vassals Henry III of England and Hugh X of Lusignan. 1403 – Battle of Shrewsbury: King Henry IV of England defeats rebels to the north of the county town of Shropshire, England. 1545 – The first landing of French troops on the coast of the Isle of Wight during the French invasion of the Isle of Wight. 1568 – Eighty Years' War: in the Battle of Jemmingen, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva defeats Louis of Nassau.
1601–1900 1645 – Qing dynasty regent Dorgon issues an edict ordering all Han Chinese men to shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair into a queue identical to those of the Manchus. 1656 – The Raid on Málaga takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War. 1674 – A Dutch assault on the French island of Martinique is repulsed against all odds. 1718 – The Treaty of Passarowitz between the Ottoman Empire, Austria and the Republic of Venice is signed. 1774 – Russo-Turkish War (1768–74): Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ending the war. It is the first time that an Ottoman ruler surrendered territory largely populated by Muslims and the first time that a separation of secular and spiritual authority in the Ottoman Empire was established. 1798 – French campaign in Egypt and Syria: Napoleon's forces defeat an Ottoman-Mamluk army near Cairo in the Battle of the Pyramids. 1831 – Inauguration of Leopold I of Belgium, first king of the Belgians. 1832 – Signing of the treaty of Constantinople between Britain, France, Russia and the Ottoman Empire, which outlines the borders of the new kingdom of Greece. 1861 – American Civil War: First Battle of Bull Run: At Manassas Junction, Virginia, the first major battle of the war begins and ends in a victory for the Confederate army. 1865 – In the market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots and kills Davis Tutt in what is regarded as the first western showdown. 1873 – At Adair, Iowa, Jesse James and the James–Younger Gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American Old West. 1877 – After rioting by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers and the deaths of nine rail workers at the hands of the Maryland militia, workers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, stage a sympathy strike that is met with an assault by the state militia.
1901–present 1904 – Louis Rigolly, a Frenchman, becomes the first man to break the barrier on land. He drove a 15-liter Gobron-Brillié in Ostend, Belgium. 1907 – The passenger steamer SS Columbia sinks after colliding with the steam schooner San Pedro off Shelter Cove, California, killing 88 people. 1919 – The dirigible Wingfoot Air Express crashes into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago, killing 12 people. 1920 – The "Belfast Pogrom" begins two years of violence with the expulsion of thousands of Catholic shipyard, factory and linen mill workers from their jobs. 1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching human evolution in class and fined $100. 1925 – Malcolm Campbell becomes the first man to exceed on land. At Pendine Sands in Wales, he drives Sunbeam 350HP built by Sunbeam at a two-way average speed of . 1936 – Spanish Civil War: The Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia is constituted, establishing an anarcho-syndicalist economy in Catalonia. 1944 – World War II: Battle of Guam: American troops land on Guam, starting a battle that will end on August 10. 1944 – World War II: Claus von Stauffenberg and four fellow conspirators are executed for the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. 1949 – The United States Senate ratifies the North Atlantic Treaty. 1951 – Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 3505 disappears while flying from Vancouver to Tokyo. The aircraft and its 37 occupants are never found.Civil Aviation Authority 1974, p. 12/51 1952 – The 7.3 Kern County earthquake strikes Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 12 and injuring hundreds. 1954 – First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam. 1959 – , the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, is launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" initiative. 1959 – Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green becomes the first African-American to play for the Boston Red Sox, the last team to integrate. He came in as a pinch runner for Vic Wertz and stayed in as shortstop in a 2–1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. 1960 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike is sworn in as prime minister of Ceylon, becoming the world's first democratically elected female head of government. 1961 – Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 4 mission: Gus Grissom piloting Liberty Bell 7 becomes the second American to go into space (in a suborbital mission). 1961 – Alaska Airlines Flight 779 crashes near Shemya Air Force Base in Shemya, Alaska, killing six. 1964 – A series of racial riots break out in Singapore. In the next six weeks, 23 die with 454 others injured. 1969 – Apollo program: At 02:56 UTC, astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon, followed 19 minutes later by Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. 1970 – After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed. 1972 – The Troubles: Bloody Friday: The Provisional IRA detonate 22 bombs in central Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom in the space of 80 minutes, killing nine and injuring 130. 1973 – In Lillehammer, Norway, Mossad agents kill a waiter whom they mistakenly thought was involved in the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre. 1976 – Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, is assassinated by the Provisional IRA. 1977 – The start of the four-day-long Libyan–Egyptian War. 1979 – Jay Silverheels, a Mohawk actor, becomes the first Native American to have a star commemorated in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 1983 – The world's lowest temperature in an inhabited location is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at . 1990 – Taiwan's military police forces mainland Chinese illegal immigrants into sealed holds of a fishing boat Min Ping Yu No. 5540 for repatriation to Fujian, causing 25 people to die from suffocation. 1995 – Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People's Liberation Army begins firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan. 2001 – At the conclusion of a fireworks display on Okura Beach in Akashi, Hyōgo, Japan, 11 people are killed and more than 120 are injured when a pedestrian footbridge connecting the beach to JR Asagiri Station becomes overcrowded and people leaving the event fall down in a domino effect. 2005 – Four attempted bomb attacks by Islamist extremists disrupt part of London's public transport system. 2008 – Ram Baran Yadav is declared the first President of Nepal. 2010 – U.S. President Barack Obama signs the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. 2011 – NASA's Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. 2012 – Erden Eruç completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world. 2019 – Yuen Long attack or "721 incident" in Hong Kong. Triad members indiscriminately beat civilians returning from protests while police failed to take action. 2023 – The Barbenheimer phenomenon begins as two major motion pictures, Greta Gerwig's fantasy comedy Barbie and Christopher Nolan's epic biographical thriller Oppenheimer, are released in theaters on the same day and audiences, instead of creating a rivalry between the extremely dissimilar films, instead attend and praise both as an informal, surreal double feature. 2024 – U.S. President Joe Biden announces he will no longer seek a second term and withdraws from the 2024 election, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as she launches her own presidential campaign. 2025 – A Bangladesh Air Force Chengdu FT-7BGI crashes shortly after takeoff into Milestone School campus in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 35 people and injuring 173.
Births Pre-1600 541 – Emperor Wen of Sui, emperor of the Sui dynasty (died 604) 1030 – Kyansittha, King of Burma (died 1112) 1414 – Pope Sixtus IV (died 1484) 1462 – Queen Jeonghyeon, Korean royal consort (died 1530) 1476 – Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara (died 1534) 1476 – Anna Sforza, Italian noble (died 1497) 1535 – García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete, Royal Governor of Chile (died 1609)
1601–1900 1616 – Anna de' Medici, Archduchess of Austria (died 1676) 1620 – Jean Picard, French astronomer (died 1682) 1648 – John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, Scottish general (died 1689) 1654 – Pedro Calungsod, Filipino catechist and sacristan; later canonized (died 1672) 1664 – Matthew Prior, English poet and diplomat, British Ambassador to France (died 1721) 1693 – Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (died 1768) 1710 – Paul Möhring, German physician, botanist, and zoologist (died 1792) 1783 – Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon, French general (died 1853) 1789 – Vasil Aprilov, Bulgarian educator, merchant and writer (died 1847) 1808 – Simion Bărnuțiu, Romanian historian, academic, and politician (died 1864) 1810 – Henri Victor Regnault, French chemist and physicist (died 1878) 1811 – Robert Mackenzie, Scottish-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Queensland (died 1873) 1816 – Paul Reuter, German-English journalist, founded Reuters (died 1899) 1858 – Maria Christina of Austria, Queen Consort of King Alfonso XII of Spain, Queen Regent of Spain (died 1929) 1858 – Lovis Corinth, German painter (died 1925) 1858 – Alfred Henry O'Keeffe, New Zealand painter and educator (died 1941) 1863 – C. Aubrey Smith, English-American cricketer and actor (died 1948) 1866 – Carlos Schwabe, Swiss Symbolist painter and printmaker (died 1926) 1870 – Emil Orlík, Czech painter, etcher, and lithographer (died 1932) 1875 – Charles Gondouin, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (died 1947) 1880 – Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak astronomer, general, and politician (died 1919) 1882 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian author and illustrator (died 1967) 1885 – Jacques Feyder, Belgian actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1948) 1890 – Howie Shanks, American baseball player (died 1941) 1891 – Julius Saaristo, Finnish javelin thrower and soldier (died 1969) 1893 – Hans Fallada, German author (died 1947) 1896 – Sophie Bledsoe Aberle, American anthropologist, physician and nutritionist (died 1996) 1898 – Sara Carter, American singer-songwriter (died 1979) 1899 – Hart Crane, American poet (died 1932) 1899 – Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1961) 1900 – Isadora Bennett, American theatre manager and modern dance publicity agent (died 1980)
1901–present 1903 – Russell Lee, American photographer and journalist (died 1986) 1903 – Roy Neuberger, American businessman and financier, co-founded Neuberger Berman (died 2010)