306 – Constantine I is proclaimed Roman Emperor by his troops
1814 – English engineer George Stephenson introduces his first steam locomotive, a travelling engine designed for hauling coal on the Killingworth wagonway named Blücher
1943 – Benito Mussolini dismissed as Italian Premier and arrested on the authority of King Victor Emmanuel III
1944 – World War II: Operation Spring – one of Canada’s bloodiest days, 18,444 casualties and 5,021 killed
1961 – In a speech John F. Kennedy emphasizes that any attack on Berlin is an attack on NATO
1981 – Anti-apartheid protesters in Hamilton, New Zealand, force the cancellation of a rugby test between New Zealand’s All Blacks and South Africa’s Springboks by invading the pitch during the game
1997 – Scientists announce the first human stem cells to be cultured in a laboratory using tissue taken from aborted human embryos
2000 – Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde supersonic passenger jet, F-BTSC, crashes just after takeoff from Paris killing all 109 aboard and 4 on the ground.
2007 – Pratibha Patil is sworn in as India’s 1st female President
2014 – Palestinian officials call for a “Day of Rage” in the West Bank and within Israel against Israel’s operation against Gaza; Israeli Defence Force prepares for protests
2012 – The UK economy returns to recession with a fall of 0.2% in GDP in the first quarter of 2012 following a fall of 0.3% in the last quarter of 2011
2014 – Both Israel and Hamas review US Secretary of State John Kerry’s proposal for an immediate ceasefire and meetings in Cairo
2017 – Wildfires on France’s Mediterranean coast near Bormes-les-Mimosas prompts evacuation of 12,000 people
2020 – Cargo ship MV Wakashio runs aground off the coast of Mauritius and begins leaking oil
Film & TV:
1946 – At Club 500 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis stage their first show as a comedy team
Music:
1965 – Bob Dylan is booed by sections of the crowd at the Newport Folk Festival for performing with an electric guitar, beginning of folk-rock
Sport:
1999 – 86th Tour de France: Lance Armstrong wins 1st of 7 consecutive Tour de France titles but is later disqualified for drug cheating
Via Britannica / On This Day
