1146 – European leaders outlaw crossbow, intending to end war for all time
1363 – Beginning of the Battle of Lake Poyang; two Chinese rebel leaders Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang are pitted against each other in what was one of the largest naval battles in history during Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty
1590 – Tokugawa Ieyasu enters Edo Castle (Traditional Japanese date: August 1, 1590)
1682 – William Penn leaves England to sail to the New World
1928 – Jawaharlal Nehru requests independence of India
1941 – Siege of Leningrad by German troops begins during WWII
1983 – U.S. astronaut Guion S. Bluford, Jr., the first African American to travel into space, serving as a mission specialist aboard the shuttle orbiter Challenger, and later flew on three other missions.
Births & Deaths: 2003 – American actor Charles Bronson—who was best known for his portrayal of tough guys, notably an architect turned vigilante in Death Wish (1974)—died in Los Angeles at age 81.
Sport: 1905 – American baseball player Ty Cobb, who became one of the game’s greatest offensive players and one of its fiercest competitors, made his major league debut, with the Detroit Tigers.
Music: 1968 – 1st record under Apple label (Beatle’s Hey Jude)
TV & Film: 1976 – Tom Brokaw becomes news anchor of NBC’s “Today Show”
