Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date

1509

Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon are crowned King and Queen of England.

1540

English King Henry VIII commands his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, to leave the court.

1604

Samuel de Champlain encounters the mouth of the Saint John River, site of Reversing Falls and the present-day city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.

1647

Margaret Brent, a niece of Lord Baltimore, was ejected from the Maryland Assembly after demanding a place and vote in the body.

1717

The Premier Grand Lodge of England is founded in London, the first Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (now the United Grand Lodge of England).

1793

The first republican constitution in France was adopted.

1812

Napoleon's Grande Army crosses the Neman river beginning the invasion of Russia.

1922

The National Football League (NFL) was officially born when owners agreed to change its name from the American Professional Football Association, while also allowing the Green Bay Packers franchise into the league.

1940

France signed an armistice with Italy during World War II.

1948

The Berlin Blockade began as the Soviet Union blocked American, British and French access into West Berlin, marking the first major incident of the Cold War.

1968

''Resurrection City,'' a shantytown constructed as part of the Poor People's March on Washington D.C., was closed down by authorities.

1975

Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 encounters severe wind shear and crashes on final approach to New York's JFK Airport killing 113 of the 124 passengers on board, making it the deadliest U.S. plane crash at the time.

1997

In Freehold, N.J., 18-year-old Melissa Drexler, who gave birth during her prom, was charged with murder in the death of her baby.

1997

Actor Brian Keith was found dead in his Malibu, Calif., home; he was 75.

1997

The Air Force released a report on the so-called "Roswell Incident," suggesting the alien bodies witnesses reported seeing in 1947 were actually life-sized dummies.

1998

AT&T Corp. struck a deal to buy cable television giant Tele-Communications Inc. for $31.7 billion dollars.

2002

The Igandu train disaster in Tanzania kills 281, the worst train accident in African history.

2004

In New York State, capital punishment is declared unconstitutional.

2006

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, starring Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley, was released into theaters for the first time. The film would set a record by grossing over $1 billion worldwide in just 63 days.

2010

At Wimbledon, John Isner of the United States defeats Nicolas Mahut of France, in the longest match in professional tennis history.

2010

Julia Gillard assumes office as the first female Prime Minister of Australia.

2013

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is found guilty of abusing his power and engaging in sex with an underage prostitute, and is sentenced to seven years in prison.

2021

The Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida suffers a sudden partial collapse, killing 98 people inside.

2022

In <i>Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization</i>, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Constitution does not assign the authority to regulate abortions to the federal government, thereby returning such authority to the individual states. This overturns the prior decisions in <i>Roe v. Wade</i> (1973) and <i>Planned Parenthood v. Casey</i> (1992).

2023

The Wagner Group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin launches an insurrection against the Russian government.

1908

Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, died in Princeton, N.J., at age 71.

1987

Comedian-actor Jackie Gleason died at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at age 71.