1494 – Treaty of Tordesillas: Spain and Portugal divide the new world along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa
1628 – English King Charles I ratifies the Petition of Rights
1654 – Louis XIV crowned King of France
1753 British Museum founded by an Act of Parliament with royal assent from King George II (opens in 1759)
1929 – Vatican City becomes a sovereign state
1965 – The Supreme Court of the United States decides on Griswold v. Connecticut, effectively legalizing the use of contraception by married couples
1977 – Anita Bryant leads successful crusade against Miami gay rights law
1977 – During the Queen’s Jubilee, the Sex Pistols attempt to perform on a boat on the River Thames, but are forced to stop by the police
1979 – Rock ‘n’ roll musician Chuck Berry is charged with tax evasion
1990 – South African President F. W. de Klerk lifts 4 year state of emergency
2001 – Tony Blair’s Labour Party wins another landslide victory in the General Election
2012 – 16th century archaeology remains of the Curtain Theatre, where some of Shakespeare’s plays first performed found under a pub in London
2019 – More than four million Venezuelans have left their country since 2015 due to its economic crisis according to the UN
2020 – Black Lives Matter Protests continue worldwide in large numbers, In Bristol England statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston pulled down
2020 – COVID-19 global death toll passes 400,000 with confirmed cases at 6,973,195 according to Johns Hopkins figures
Film & TV:
1975 – Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder for sale to the public
Music:
1972 – Musical “Grease” opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 3,388 performances
