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
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 delivered to British House of Commons
1951 – In South Africa, the Suppression of Communism Act commences
1959 – 1st telecast transmitted from England to US
1980 – Indian “human computer” Shakuntala Devi sets a world record by mentally multiplying two random 13-digit numbers in 28 seconds; She correctly answered that 7,686,369,774,870 × 2,465,099,745,779 = 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730 !
2013 – Russia passes a law banning foreign same-sex couples from adopting children
2015 – Pope Francis blames human selfishness for global warming in his encyclical, named “Laudato Si (Be Praised), On the Care of Our Common Home”
2018 – President Trump orders US military to set up sixth branch of the military – a space force
2019 – Sex-changing Australian bush tomato study published in journal “PhytoKeys” detailing how Solanum Plastisexum can change from male to female to hermaphrodite
2020 – Global COVID-19 death toll passes 450,000 (451,118) with 8,421,357 cases known according to Johns Hopkins figures
Film & TV:
1969 – “The Wild Bunch”, directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden and Ernest Borgnine, is released
Music:
1967 – Closing day of the Monterey International Pop Festival, Southern California. First major US appearances of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The WHO and Otis Redding
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
