663 Constans II leaves Rome after a short stay; the last Roman Emperor to visit the Eternal City, he steals all the lead roofing

1048 Accession of Pope Damasus II (17 July-8 Aug 1048)

1245 Pope Innocent IV excommunicated Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, for the third time

1453 Battle of Châtillon: French defeat the English, winning the 100 Years' War

1461 Battle of Sampierdarema: The Genovese defeat the Angevins

1465 Battle of Montlhery: The French defeat the "Public Good" Rebels

1501 The French invest Capua (Falls the 25th)

1509 The Venetians recapture Padua from the French

1549 Jews are expelled from Ghent, Belgium

1601 Treaty of Lyons: Savoy annexes Saluzzo, France gains Bresse, Bugey, Gex & Valromey.

1762 Catherine the Great becomes ruler of Russia (1762-1796), by murdering her husband Peter III

1812 USS 'Constitution' escapes a British squadron after a three-day chase off New Jersey

1815 Napoleon surrenders to the British at Rochefort

1858 US Sloop-of-War 'Niagara' & HM Ship-of-the-Line 'Agamemnon' begin laying the first Atlantic cable.

1860 Battle of Corriolo: The Garibaldini defeat the Borbons

1861 Skirmish at Bunker Hill, Va

1861 Skirmish at Fulton, Mo

1861 Skirmish at Martinsburg, Mo

1861 Skirmish at Scarrytown, WVa

1862 John Hunt Morgan raids Cynthiana, Ky

1862 Skirmish at Columbia, TN

1862 US army authorized to accept blacks as laborers

1863 Battle of Honey Springs: largest Civil War action in the Indian Territory

1864 John Bell Hood assumes command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, sealing the fate of Atlanta

1870 Franco-Prussian War began

1898 Spanish-American War: Santiago surrenders to the US

1903 The US Army and Navy form the Joint Board, to coordinate common policy

1917 British Royals change their name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor

1927 USMC pilots conduct first combat dive-bombing, Ocotal, Nicaragua.

1936 The ‘Alzamiento Nacional’ sparks the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

1942 Amphib Force, SoPac Area, is established under Richmond Kelly Turner

1942 MacArthur issues orders to occupy Buna, northeastern Papua.

1943 RAF bombs German rocket research base at Peenemunde, on the Baltic

1943 U.S. destroyers shell Kiska.

1944 Having helped the Russians to liberate Vilna from the Germans, the leaders of the Polish resistance "Army Krajowa" are arrested by Stalin

1944 Heavy fighting in the Aitape area, New Guinea.

1944 Japanese Navy Minister Shimada, resigns, bringing down Tojo government.

1944 Two ammunition ships explode at Port Chicago, Ca., 322 die

1945 The Potsdam Conference began: Truman, Stalin, & Attlee

1945 Third Fleet undertakes surface and air attacks on targets near Tokyo.

1962 Robert White in X-15 sets an altitude record of 108 km (354,300 ft)