American actor, writer, director, producer
Chinese politician
Indian cricketer
Czech/German writer
Australian journalist, publisher, activist, founder of WikiLeaks
French engineer, businessman, founded Citroën
American actor, singer, producer, screenwriter
Austrian journalist, author
American tennis player
American singer-songwriter, poet
In 2013, Egyptian Defense Minister Abdul Fatah al-Sisi staged a coup and forced out President Mohamed Morsi, just over a year after he was elected.
In 1988, the USS Vincennes mistakenly shot down Iran Air Flight 655 en route to Dubai, killing all 290 people aboard. The Vincennes, a guided missile cruiser, incorrectly identified the plane as a military aircraft. In 1996, the United States government made a cash settlement with Iran in order to close the case Iran had brought against the US in the International Court of Justice.
In 1962, Algeria gained independence from France after 132 years of French rule. This was finalized after the signing of the Évian Accords in the spa town of Évian-les-Bains, which ended a 7-year long violent war of independence. Independence was finally achieved after the July 1, 1962, referendum favored complete Algerian independence. Ahmed Ben Bella became the first President of the country.
The 3-day long Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War was fought between the Union and Confederacy in-and-around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Thought to be one of the bloodiest battles of the war – around 50,000 soldiers were lost on both sides – the Battle of Gettysburg marked a key turning point in the conflict. The decisive Union victory led to the retreat of Confederate soldiers from the north.
In 1844, the last known pair of Great Auks, members of a species of flightless birds, were killed off the coast of Iceland at the request of a collector. It is believed that the extinction of these birds was caused by human activities and hunting due to the high demand for their feathers.
In 324, the Roman Emperor Constantine I defeated his co-emperor Licinius, who fled to Byzantium, in the Battle of Adrianople.
In 1187, Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria, destroyed Jerusalem's crusader army in the Battle of Horns of Hattin.
In 1884, the Dow Jones published its first stock index, the Dow Jones Transportation Average.
In 1996, the UK House of Commons announced that the Stone of Scone, also known as the Stone of Destiny and used in the coronation of Scottish (and subsequently English and British) monarchs, would be returned to Scotland after 700 years in Westminster Abbey.