1792 – Mount Unzen on Japan’s Shimabara Peninsula, erupts creating a tsunami, killing about 15,000; Japan’s deadliest volcanic eruption
1832 – 1st Democratic National Convention (Baltimore)
1881 – Clara Barton founded the American Association of the Red Cross (later the American Red Cross).
1871 -July 28] French regular troops attack Commune of Paris; 17,000 die
1927 – Aviator Charles Lindbergh, in the Spirit of St Louis, lands in Paris after the first solo air crossing of Atlantic
1932 – After flying for 17 hours from Newfoundland, Amelia Earhart lands near Londonderry, Northern Ireland, becoming the 1st transatlantic solo flight by a woman
1972 – Michelangelo’s Pietà, a sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary supporting the body of the dead Christ, was attacked and badly damaged in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City
1991 – Indian politician Rajiv Gandhi, who served as the country’s prime minister (1984–89), was assassinated in a suicide bombing attack.
2000 – British author Dame Barbara Cartland—who wrote more than 700 books, mostly formulaic novels of romantic love set in the 19th century—died.
2013 – Microsoft announces the release of Xbox One
2018 – Mushrooms have poisoned more than 800 in western Iran, killing 11
2018 – Teenager who started California’s 2017 Eagle Creek Fire ordered to pay $36.6 million to cover damages by district judge
2018 – Former US president Barack Obama and Michelle Obama sign deal with Netflix to produce films and series
2019 – Oldest and most distant gravitational waves detected from collision of two black holes with first intermediate-mass black hole ever discovered, 7 billion light years away
Births & Deaths:
1844 – French painter Henri Rousseau—the archetype of the modern naive artist, known for his richly coloured and meticulously detailed pictures of lush jungles, wild beasts, and exotic figures—was born in Laval.
Film & TV:
1908 – 1st horror movie (Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde) premieres in Chicago
Music:
1981 – Reggae musician Bob Marley receives a Jamaican state funeral
Sport:
1904 – Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) forms in Paris
Via Britannica / On This Day
