1610 – John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland.
1687 – Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
1775 – The Second Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition.
1915 – The Liberty Bell leaves Philadelphia by special train on its way to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. This is the last trip outside Philadelphia that the custodians of the bell intend to permit.
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, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
1945 – World War II: The liberation of the Philippines is declared.
1946 – The bikini goes on sale after debuting during an outdoor fashion show at the Molitor Pool in Paris, France.
1948 – National Health Service Acts create the national public health system in the United Kingdom.
1950 – The Knesset passes the Law of Return which grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel.
Elvis Presley, nineteen, makes his first recordings for Sun Records, including the single “That’s All Right (Mama)” in 1954.
1954 – The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin.
1954 – Elvis Presley records his first single, “That’s All Right (Mama),” at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.
1962 – Algeria becomes independent from France.
1971 – 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.
1975 – Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
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. His convictions are later overturned.
1996 – Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.
1999 – U.S. President Bill Clinton imposes trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
2009 – The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered in England, consisting of more than 1,500 items, is found near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, Staffordshire.
2012 – The Shard in London is inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 metres (1,020 ft).
2015 – The United States women’s national soccer team win gold at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Vancouver.
Births
1794 – Sylvester Graham, Minister and noted vegetarian, developed Graham cracker
1801 – David Farragut, American admiral (“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”)
1867 – A. E. Douglass, American astronomer and inventor of dendrochronology (tree-ring dating)
Deaths
1979 – Elizabeth Ryan, tennis ace (won 19 Wimbledon titles)