618 – Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries of the Tang Dynasty’s rule over China
1429 – Joan of Arc led the French army against the English at Patay, France.
1812 – War of 1812 begins as US declares war against Britain
1815 – Battle of Waterloo; Napoleon and France defeated by British forces under Wellington and Prussian troops under Blucher
1928 -American aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the 1st woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean landing at Burry Port, Wales
1940 – Winston Churchill’s “this was their finest hour” speech urging perseverance during Battle of Britain was delivered to the British House of Commons
1948 – UN Commission on Human Rights adopts the International Declaration of Human Rights
1979 – The SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) II treaty was signed by U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.
1983 – The first American woman to fly into outer space, Sally Ride, was launched with four other astronauts aboard the space shuttle Challenger.
2006 – Prelate Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, becoming the first woman chosen as a churchwide leader in the 400-year history of the Anglican Communion.
Births & Deaths: 1886 – British explorer and mountaineer George Mallory, whose disappearance on Mount Everest in 1924 became one of the most-celebrated mysteries of the 20th century, was born in Mobberley, Cheshire.
1942 – Paul McCartney, English musician and member of The Beatles and Wings, born in Liverpool, England
Film & TV: 1969 – “The Wild Bunch”, directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden and Ernest Borgnine, is released
Music: 1991 – “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” single released by Bryan Adams (Billboard Song of the Year 1991)
Sport: 1995 – All Black Jonah Lomu scores the try of the Rugby World Cup, running over Mike Catt in New Zealand’s 45-29 defeat of England
