363 – Roman Emperor Julian is killed during retreat from the Sassanid Empire. General Jovian is proclaimed Emperor by troops on the battlefield.
1794 – Battle of Fleurus: major victory by forces of the First French Republic under General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan over the Coalition Army (Great Britain, Hanover, Dutch Republic, and Habsburgs) first use of reconnaissance balloon
1857 – The first 62 recipients are awarded the Victoria Cross for valour in the Crimean war by Queen Victoria
1917 – 1st US troops arrive in France during World War I
1945 – United Nations Charter signed by 50 nations in San Francisco
1975 – CN Tower, which opened to the public this day in 1976, was—at 1,815 feet (553 metres)—the world’s tallest freestanding structure until being surpassed in 2007 by the Burj Khalifa in Dubayy, United Arab Emirates.
1979 – After almost 20 years of professional fights, heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali announced his retirement from boxing.
2013 – In United States v. Windsor, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the provision in the Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage for federal purposes as a legal union between one man and one woman.
2016 – Panama Canal’s third set of locks opens for commercial traffic, doubling the Canal’s capacity at an estimated cost of $5.25 billion
Births & Deaths:
2003 – American politician Strom Thurmond—who, as one of the longest-serving senators in U.S. history, came to personify the changing political landscape of the South—died.
Film & TV:
1925 – “The Gold Rush”, directed, starring and written by Charlie Chaplin, is released
Music:
1870 – Richard Wagner’s opera “Valkyrie”, second in his Ring Cycle premieres in Munich, featuring “Ride of the Valkyries”
1977 – Elvis Presley performed in public for the last time.
Sport:
2017 – America’s Cup: Emirates Team New Zealand defeat Oracle Team USA 7-1 in Bermuda, Peter Burling (26) youngest ever helmsman
