324 Battle of Adrianople: Roman Emperor Constantine I defeats his co-emperor Licinius, who flees to Byzantium
1449 James II of Scotland (18 ) marries Mary of Guelders (15) at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh
1608 Samuel de Champlain founded the city of Quebec, the first permanent European base in Canada. Its splendid views and unique character were noted as early as 1842 during a visit by Charles Dickens, who called Quebec the “Gibraltar of North America.”
1775 George Washington officially assumed command of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, several weeks after being appointed to the post
1856 The U.S. House of Representatives voted to admit Kansas to statehood under the antislavery resolution known as the Topeka Constitution, despite the opposition of the Senate and President Franklin Pierce
1863 Battle of Gettysburg, the largest battle ever fought on the American continent, ends in a major victory for the Union during the US Civil War
1922 Intergovernmental Conference on Identity Certificates for Russian Refugees, convened by Fridtjof Nansen (Norwegian) in Geneva, creates the Nansen passports for stateless persons
1928 John Logie Baird demonstrates the first color television transmission in London
1976 An Israeli commando squad, led by Dan Shomron, launched a rescue of hostages held by airplane hijackers in Entebbe, Uganda
1985 The comedy Back to the Future, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, was released in American theaters; a huge hit, it was followed by several sequels
1988 The USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian airliner over the Strait of Hormuz, killing all 290 people on board; the passenger plane, which was in Iranian airspace, had been incorrectly identified as a fighter jet
1996 UK House of Commons announces that the Stone of Scone, aka the Stone of Destiny, used in the coronation of Scottish and subsequently English and British monarchs, will be returned to Scotland after 700 years in Westminster Abbey
2013 Following massive demonstrations against his rule, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was removed from office by a military action
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