338BC – Macedonian army led by Philip II defeats combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean
216BC – Second Punic War: Battle of Cannae – Carthaginian army lead by Hannibal defeats numerically superior Roman army under command consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro
1776 – Formal signing of the US Declaration of Independence by 56 people (date most accepted by modern historians)
1858 – Government of India transferred from East India Company to the British Crown
1940 – Clermont-Ferrand sentences General Charles de Gaulle to death
1952 – 17 year-old future world champion Floyd Patterson wins the gold medal in the middleweight division at the Helsinki Olympic Games with a 1st round KO of Romanian Vasile Tita
1969 – Bob Dylan makes surprise appearance at Hibbing HS Minn 10th reunion
1984 – Jeff Blatnick becomes first American to win a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Los Angeles Olympics, Blatnick was in remission for Hodgkin’s disease
1990 – US President George H. W. Bush orders troops to Saudi Arabia
2012 – American swimmer Rebecca Soni becomes first woman to win the 200m breaststroke twice with a world record 2:19.59 at the London Olympics
2017 – First successful gene editing in human embryos to repair disease-causing mutation reported by scientists in “Nature”
2018 – Apple becomes the first American public listed company to reach $1 trillion in value
Film & TV:
1973 – “American Graffiti”, directed by George Lucas and starring Richard Dreyfuss and Ron Howard premieres at the Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland
Music:
1961 – The Beatles 1st gig as house band of Liverpool’s Cavern Club
Sport:
1864 – Saratoga Racecourse, America’s oldest Thoroughbred racetrack, opens its inaugural meet with four days of racing
