1536 – Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s marriage is annulled.
1792 – The New York Stock Exchange is formed under the Buttonwood Agreement.
1865 – The International Telegraph Union (later the International Telecommunication Union) is established in Paris.
1954 – The US Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.
1973 – Watergate scandal: Televised hearings begin in the United States Senate.
1983 – The U.S. Department of Energy declassifies documents showing world’s largest mercury pollution event in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (ultimately found to be 4.2 million pounds), in response to the Appalachian Observer’s Freedom of Information Act request.
1984 – Prince Charles calls a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a “monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend”, sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture.
2004 – The first legal same-sex marriages in the U.S. are performed in the state of Massachusetts.
Births
1818 – Ezra Otis Kendall, American professor, astronomer and mathematician (d. 1899)
1866 – Erik Satie, French pianist and composer (d. 1925)
1912 – Archibald Cox, American lawyer and politician, 31st United States Solicitor General (d. 2004)
1936 – Dennis Hopper, American actor and director (d. 2010)
Deaths
1829 – John Jay, politician and diplomat, first Chief Justice of the US
1886 – John Deere, American blacksmith and businessman, founded the Deere & Company (b. 1804)
1934 – Cass Gilbert, American architect (b. 1859)
1992 – Lawrence Welk, American accordion player and bandleader (b. 1903)
Edited from various sources including historyorb.com, the NYTimes.com Wikipedia and other internet searches