1356: In a landmark battle of the Hundred Years’ War, English Prince Edward defeats the French at Poitiers.
1692: Giles Corey is pressed to death for standing mute and refusing to answer charges of witchcraft brought against him. He is the only person in America to have suffered this punishment.
1783: The first hot-air balloon is sent aloft in Versailles, France with animal passengers including a sheep, a rooster and a duck.
1841: The first railway to span a frontier is completed between Strasbourg and Basel, in Europe.
1893: New Zealand becomes the first nation to grant women the right to vote.
1948: Moscow announces it will withdraw soldiers from Korea by the end of the year.
1955: Argentina’s President Juan Peron is overthrown by rebels.
1957: The first underground nuclear test takes place in Nevada.
1970: The first Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (originally called the Pilton Festival) is held near Pilton, Somerset, England.
1982: The first documented emoticons, :-) and :-(, are posted on the Carnegie Mellon University Bulletin Board System by Scott Fahlman.
1985: An earthquake kills thousands in Mexico City.
1985: The Parents Music Resource Center which was formed by Tipper Gore (wife of then-Senator Al Gore) and other political wives lobbies for Parental Advisory stickers on music packaging.
1991: German hikers near the Austria-Italy border discover the naturally preserved mummy of a man from about 3,300 BC; Europe’s oldest natural human mummy, he is dubbed Otzi the Iceman because his lower half was encased in ice.
2006: A military coup in Bangkok revokes Thailand’s constitution and establishes martial law.