1642 – English Civil War begins between Royalists and Parliament
1848 – The United States annexes New Mexico
1933 – Chicago Cubs president William Veeck, Sr. urges MLB to incorporate midsummer inter-league games and a split season
1939 – Dutch border guards take positions for German invasion
1946 – Mikko Hietanen wins Oslo marathon (2:24:55)
1962 – USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
1966 – The Beatles arrive in New York City and hold two press conferences, one for the press and one for their fans
1980 – Leaders of Port Elizabeth’s Black secondary school children in South Africa decided to end a four month boycott of classes
1992 – Greg Matthews (4/76) and Shane Warne (3/11) spin Australia to a famous 16-run win v Sri Lanka in 1st cricket Test in Colombo
2008 – Maurren Higa Maggi wins the women’s long jump with a leap of 7.04m at the Beijing Olympics; Brazil’s first ever gold medal in any women’s individual event