• 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance, the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England.
• 1610 - John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland.
• 1687 - Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
• 1770 - Battle of Chesma and Battle of Larga between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire.
• 1775 - US Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition.
• 1803 - The convention of Artlenburg leads to the French occupation of Hanover (which had been ruled by the British king).
• 1809 - Battle of Wagram starts, the two-day battle was the largest yet of the Napoleonic Wars.
• 1811 - Venezuela declares independence from Spain.
• 1813 - War of 1812: Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York begin.
• 1814 - War of 1812: Battle of Chippawa - American Major General Jacob Brown defeats British General Phineas Riall at Chippawa, Ontario.
• 1830 - France invades Algeria.
• 1833 - Admiral Charles Napier defeats the navy of the Portuguese usurper Dom Miguel at the third Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
• 1865 - The Salvation Army is founded in the East End of London, England.
• 1878 - The coat of arms of the Baku governorate was established.
• 1884 - Germany takes possession of Cameroon.
• 1934 - "Bloody Thursday" - Police open fire on striking longshoremen in San Francisco.
• 1935 - The National Labor Relations Act, which governs labor relations in the United States, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• 1937 - Spam, the luncheon meat, was introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
• 1937 - Highest recorded temperature in Canada, at Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan: 45 °C.
• 1940 - World War II: The United Kingdom and the Vichy France government break off diplomatic relations.
• 1941 - World War II: German troops reach the Dniepr River.
• 1943 - The Battle of Kursk, the largest full-scale battle in history, included world largest tank battle at Prokhorovka village, July 12.
• 1943 - World War II: An Allied invasion fleet sails for Sicily (Operation Husky, July 10, 1943).
• 1945 - World War II: Liberation of the Philippines declared.
• 1946 - The bikini is introduced in Paris, France.
• 1947 - Larry Doby signs a contract with the Cleveland Indians baseball team, becoming the first black player in the American League. (Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in the National League 11 weeks earlier.)
• 1948 - British National Health Service Act enacted.
• 1950 - Korean War: Task Force Smith - First clash between American and North Korean forces.
• 1950 - Zionism: The Knesset passes the Law of Return which grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel.
• 1951 - William Shockley invents the junction transistor.
• 1954 - Elvis Presley has his first commercial recording session. He sang That's All Right (Mama) and Blue Moon of Kentucky. Widely considered to be the birth of Rock and Roll.
• 1954 - The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin.
• 1954 - Andhra Pradesh High Court is established.
• 1958 - First ascent of Gasherbrum I, 11th highest peak on the earth.
• 1962 - Algeria becomes independent from France.
• 1970 - Air Canada Flight 621 crashes near Toronto International Airport killing 109 people.
• 1971 - Right to vote: the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years, is formally certified by President Richard Nixon.
• 1973 - Catastrophic BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) in Kingman, Arizona, following a fire that broke out as propane was being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank, kills 11 firefighters. This explosion has become a classic incident studied in fire department training programs worldwide.
• 1975 - Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
• 1975 - Cape Verde gains its independence from Portugal.
• 1977 - Military coup in Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto the very first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan overthrown.
• 1987 - First instance of the LTTE using suicide attacks on Sri Lankan Army. The Black Tigers are born and in the following years continue to use it to deadly effect.
• 1989 - Iran-Contra Affair: Oliver North is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service.
• 1994 - The United States announced it would refuse further unrestricted immigration from Haiti.
• 1996 - Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.
• 1998 - Japan launches a probe to Mars, and thus joins the United States and Russia as a space exploring nation.
• 2003 - SARS is declared to be contained by the WHO.
• 2004 - First Indonesian presidential election by the nation.
• 2006 - North Korea launched at least two short-range Nodong-2 missiles, one SCUD missile and one long-range Taepodong-2 missile.
• 2006 - Emergency United Nations Security Council meeting held at the U.N in New York City because of the North Korean missile tests a day before.

Births