1099 – First Crusade: 15,000 starving Christian soldiers march in religious procession around Jerusalem as its Muslim defenders look on
1497 – Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama departs on his first voyage, becoming the 1st European to reach India by sea
1565 – The Turkish forces are reinforced with the arrival of 29 vessels and 2,500 warriors accompanied by the Bey of Algiers.
1777 – Independent Vermont introduces a new constitution, prohibiting slavery
1800 – Dr Benjamin Waterhouse gives 1st cowpox vaccination in the US to his son to prevent smallpox
1853 – Commodore Matthew C. Perry sails his frigate Susquehanna into Tokyo Bay, opening Japan to Western influence and trade
1889 – Journalist Charles Henry Dow published the first issue of The Wall Street Journal.
1948 – 500th anniversary of the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated in Moscow
2011 – The orbiter Atlantis was launched on the last space shuttle mission.
Births & Deaths:
1994 – Kim-II Sung, the founder of North Korea, died on this day.
Sport:
1995 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: German superstar Steffi Graf beats Arantxa Sánchez Vicario of Spain 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 for her 6th Wimbledon title
Music:
1996 – British girls group the Spice Girls release their debut single “Wannabe” in the UK
TV & Film:
2010 – “Inception”, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, premieres in London
Via Britannica / On This Day
