1621 – Dutch West India Company (WIC) receives charter for The West Indies (The Americas, Caribbean and West Africa)
1864 – Considered one of the worst Northern defeats of the American Civil War, the second Battle of Cold Harbor (Virginia), which would result in the loss of about 7,000 Union soldiers under General Ulysses S. Grant, began.
1929 – Chile and Peru sign the Treaty of Lima, finally resolving their border dispute from the War of the Pacific (1879–83). Chile keeps Arica and Peru regains Tacna.
1943 – A mob of 60 from the Los Angeles Naval Reserve Armory beat up everyone perceived to be Hispanic, starting the week-long Zoot Suit Riots
1965 – Edward H. White II emerged from the orbital spacecraft Gemini 4 and became the first American astronaut to walk in space.
1979 – Ixtoc I rig in the Gulf of Mexico blows, spilling 3 million barrels of oil in one of the worst oil spills in history
1989 – Beginning of the Tiananmen Square Massacre as Chinese troops open fire on pro-democracy supporters in Beijing
Births & Deaths: 2016 – American boxer and social activist Muhammad Ali—who justified his self-proclaimed nickname “the Greatest” by becoming arguably the most admired and dominant heavyweight boxer in the history of the sport—died in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Sport: 1899 – W. G. Grace’s last day of Test cricket aged 50 yrs 320 days
