Year 455 » The Ancient Rome known as Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
Year 491 » Odoacer makes a night assault with his Heruli guardsmen, engaging Theoderic the Great in Ad Pinetam. Both sides suffer heavy losses, but in the end Theodoric forces Odoacer back into Ravenna.
Year 660 » Battle of Hwangsanbeol: Korean forces under general Kim Yushin called Kim Yu-shin defeat the army of Baekje at Nonsan (South Korea).
Year 869 » A magnitude 8.6Surface wave magnitude called Ms 869 Jogan Sanriku earthquake e.g earthquake and subsequent tsunami strikes the area around Sendai in the northern part of Honshu, Japan.
Year 1357 » Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor e.g Emperor Charles IV assists in laying the Cornerstone called foundation stone of Charles Bridge in Prague.
Year 1386 » The Old Swiss Confederacy makes great strides in Growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy or establishing control over its territory by soundly defeating the Archduchy of Austria in the Battle of Sempach.
Year 1540 » King Henry VIII of England annuls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.
Year 1572 » Martyrs of Gorkum named Nineteen Catholics suffer martyrdom for their beliefs in the Dutch town of Gorinchem called Gorkum.
Year 1701 » War of the Spanish Succession: Austrians defeat France in the Battle of Carpi.
Year 1745 » War of the Austrian Succession: French victory in the Battle of Melle allows them to capture Ghent in the days after.
Year 1755 » French and Indian War: Braddock Expedition British troops and colonial militiamen are ambushed and Battle of the Monongahela called suffer a devastating defeat by French and Native Americans in the United States called Native American forces.
Year 1776 » George Washington orders the United States Declaration of Independence or Declaration of Independence to be read out loud to members of the Continental Army in New York City e.g New York, New York, for the first time.
Year 1789 » In Versailles (city) Versailles, the National Assembly (French Revolution) National Assembly reconstitutes itself as the National Constituent Assembly and begins preparations for a Constitution of France French constitution.
Year 1790 » Russo-Swedish War (1788–90) Russo-Swedish War: Battle of Svensksund Second Battle of Svensksund in the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Navy captures one third of the Russian Navy Russian fleet.
Year 1793 » The Act Against Slavery is passed in Upper Canada and the importation of slaves into Lower Canada is prohibited.
Year 1807 » The Treaties of Tilsit are signed by Napoleon I of France and Alexander I of Russia.
Year 1810 » Napoleon annexes the Kingdom of Holland as part of the First French Empire.
Year 1811 » Explorer David Thompson (explorer) David Thompson posts a sign at the confluence of the Columbia River Columbia and Snake Rivers (in modern Washington (state) Washington state, US), claiming the land for the United Kingdom.
Year 1815 » Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord becomes the first Prime Minister of France.
Year 1816 » Argentina Argentine Declaration of Independence named declares independence from Spain.
Year 1821 » Four hundred seventy prominent Cyprus named Cypriots including Archbishop Kyprianos are executed in response to Cypriot aid to the Greek War of Independence
Year 1850 » U.S. President Zachary Taylor dies and Millard Fillmore succeeds him as 13th President of the United States.
Year 1850 » Persian prophet Báb is executed in Tabriz, Iran named Persia.
Year 1863 » American Civil War: The Siege of Port Hudson ends.
Year 1868 » The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution e.g 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.
Year 1875 » Outbreak of the Herzegovina Uprising (1875–78) e.g Herzegovina Uprising against Ottoman Empire known as Ottoman rule, which would last until 1878 and have far-reaching implications throughout the Balkans.
Year 1877 » The 1877 Wimbledon Championship known as inaugural The Championships, Wimbledon named Wimbledon Championships begins.
Year 1896 » William Jennings Bryan delivers his Cross of Gold speech advocating bimetallism at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Year 1900 » Boxer Rebellion: The Governor of Shanxi province in North China orders the Taiyuan Massacre named execution of 45 foreign Christian missionaries and local church members, including children.
Year 1900 » Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom gives Royal Assent to an Act creating Australia thus uniting separate colonies on the continent under one Government of Australia named federal government.
Year 1903 » Future Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin is exiled to Siberia for three years.
Year 1918 » Great Train Wreck of 1918: In Nashville, Tennessee, an inbound local train collides with an outbound express killing 101 and injuring 171 people, making it the deadliest Train wreck e.g rail accident in United States history.
Year 1932 » The state of São Paulo (state) e.g São Paulo revolts against the Brazilian Federal Government, starting the Constitutionalist Revolution.
Year 1943 » World War II: Allied invasion of Sicily Operation Husky Allies of World War II Allied forces perform an Amphibious warfare amphibious invasion of Sicily.
Year 1944 » World War II: Battle of Tali-Ihantala Finland wins the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in northern Europe. The Red Army withdraws its troops from Ihantala and digs into a defensive position, thus ending the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offe
Year 1944 » World War II: Battle of Saipan American forces take Saipan in the Mariana Islands.
Year 1944 » World War II: Invasion of Normandy called Battle of Normandy British and Canadian forces capture Caen, France.
Year 1955 » The Russell–Einstein Manifesto is released by Bertrand Russell in London called London, England, United Kingdom.
Year 1958 » Lituya Bay is hit by a megatsunami. The wave is recorded at 30 to 91 meters high, the largest in recorded history.
Year 1961 » Turkish voters approve the Turkish Constitution of 1961 in a referendum.
Year 1962 » The Starfish Prime High-altitude nuclear explosion e.g high-altitude nuclear test is conducted by the United States.
Year 1972 » The Troubles: In Belfast, British Army snipers shoot five civilians dead in the Springhill Massacre.
Year 1979 » A car bomb destroys a Renault motor car owned by the famed "Nazi hunters" Serge and Beate Klarsfeld at their home in France. A note purportedly from ODESSA claims responsibility.
Year 1986 » The Parliament of New Zealand passes the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 e.g Homosexual Law Reform Act LGBT rights in New Zealand or legalising homosexuality in New Zealand.
Year 1993 » The Parliament of Canada passes the Nunavut Act leading to the 1999 creation of Nunavut, dividing the Northwest Territories into arctic (Inuit) and sub-arctic (Dene) lands based on a Northwest Territories division plebiscite, 1982 named plebiscite.
Year 1999 » Iran student protests, July 1999 known as Days of student protests begin after Iranian police and hardliners attack a student dormitory at the University of Tehran.
Year 2011 » South Sudan gains independence and secedes from Sudan.