776 BC The First Olympiad begins.

291 BC Triumph of Q. Fabius Maximus Gurges for the defeat of the Samnites

81 BC Sulla ends the proscriptions, c. 9,000 have been murdered

230 Accession of Pope St. Pontian (July 21, 230-Sep. 28,235), exiled to Sardinia by Emperor Maximinus Thrax, d. October 235

1097 Battle of Doryleum: Crusaders defeat Sultan Kilidj Arslan's Seljuk Turks near Nicaea

1266 Treaty of Perth: Scotland "rents" the Western Isles from Norway at 100 marks a year

1482 Battle of Loja: the Moors defeat the Castilians & Aragonese

1543 Treaty of Greenwich: King Edward VI of England (9) is betrothed to his cousin Mary Queen of Scots (14)

1569 The Union of Lublin: Formation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, ruled by a single elected King of Poland/Grand Duke of Lithuania, and governed with a common senate and parliament

1690 Battle of Fleurs: The French defeat the Imperialists

1690 Battle of the Boyne: Protestants massacre Catholics outside Dublin (12th NS)

1782 American privateers raid Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

1816 French frigate 'Medusa' wrecked, inspiring Gericault's "The Raft of the Medusa"

1823 United Provinces of Central America gain independence from Mexico

1861 Skirmish at Falling Waters/Martinsburg, Md: Union victory

1862 Battle of Holly Spring, MS

1862 Day 7 of the 7 Days: Malvern Hill/Harrison's Landing/Crew's Farm, Va.

1862 US taxes incomes of $600 or more to help finance the Civil War

1862 Battle of Booneville Ms: Gen Beauregard evacuates Corinth

1863 The Netherlands abolishes slavery in its West Indian colonies

1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Day1: Lee wins, but Union troops fall back on a very strong position

1864 Battle of Petersburg (to July 31)

1870 James W Smith becomes the first black man to enter West Point

1873 Henry Flipper of Georgia is the second black man to enter West Point

1898 Battles of El Caney and San Juan Hill, outside Santiago, Cuba

1898 Skirmish at Aguadores, Cuba

1898 Action at Havana: US ships and Spanish batteries exchange fire

1900 Marriage of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria to the Countess Sophie Chotek, who later meet Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo in 1914

1903 The former Apache war chief Geronimo is baptized in the Methodist Church

1913 Second Balkan War: Serbia & Greece declare war on Bulgaria

1916 Battle of the Somme begins

1918 The US 4th Marine Brigade secures Belleau Wood

1940 German troops occupy the Channel Islands

1941 The Farhud Pogrom: Pro-fascist Iraqis attack Bagdad's Jews; British troops arrive on the 2nd & restore order, but between 200-1000 Jews are killed, many injured, and much property destroyed

1942 The Germans capture Sevastopol after a long siege

1943 USS 'Thresher' (SS-200) damages Japanese DD 'Hokaze' in the Southwest Pacific.

1943 Marine 4th Raider Bn captures Viru Harbor on New Georgia.

1943 The "Women's Army Auxiliary Corps" is renamed the "Women's Army Corps"

1945 Australians land at Balikpapan, Borneo, against stiff resistance

1946 US atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll, the 4th nuclear explosion

1950 First US ground troops arrive in Korea

1960 USSR shoots down US RB-47

1961 British troops land in Kuwait to prevent an Iraqi invasion

1962 Belgian "Trust Territories" of Burundi and Rwanda became independent

1969 Prince Charles is invested as the Prince of Wales