1595 – Astronomer Johannes Kepler has an epiphany and develops his theory of the geometrical basis of the universe while teaching in Graz
1843 – The steamship SS Great Britain is launched, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, is the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull or screw propeller and the largest vessel afloat in the world
1848 – 1st US women’s rights convention held in Seneca Falls NY, organised by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott
1941 – British PM Winston Churchill launches his “V for Victory” campaign
1950 – Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Summi maeroris
1969 – Apollo 11 goes into Moon orbit
1982 – Bolivian government resigns
2009 – The Wesley Impact: black spot the size of Earth discovered on Jupiter after unknown object crashed onto the planet
2013 – 20 people are killed by a suicide bombing in Diyala, Iraq
2017 – US scientists calculate total amount plastic ever produced – 8.3 billion tonnes, equal to weight of 1 billion elephants
2017 – Investigators using DNA identify 16 year-old James Byron Haakenson as a victim of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, 41 years after his disappearance
2018 – Largest intact sarcophagus of its kind ever found (2000 years old) opened in Alexandria, contains 3 skeletons, not a curse as feared
2019 – Heat wave begins across the east of America affecting 100 million people and killing 6, with New York city declaring a state of emergency
Film & TV:
1941 – Tom and Jerry first appear under their own names in cartoon “The Midnight Snack” by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Music:
1913 – Billboard publishes earliest known “Last Week’s 10 Best Sellers Among Popular Songs”; “Malinda’s Wedding Day” by singers Byron Harlan and Arthur Collins is #1 (recorded in Camden, New Jersey)
1976 – British rock group Deep Purple disbands
Sport:
1877 – 1st Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: 27-year-old English rackets player Spencer Gore wins inaugural event; beats William Marshall 6-1, 6-2, 6-4
1903 – 1st Tour de France: French rider Maurice Garin wins inaugural event
