Today:
1487 – The Battle of Stoke Field, considered the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, is fought.
1745 – The Battle of Fontenoy takes place during the War of the Austrian Succession.
1815 – The Battle of Ligny, where Napoleon defeats Blücher’s Prussian army, occurs.
1858 – Abraham Lincoln delivers his House Divided speech in Springfield, Illinois.
1903 – The Ford Motor Company is incorporated.
1911 – IBM is founded as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) in Endicott, New York.
1940 – Marshal Philippe Pétain becomes Prime Minister of Vichy France.
1963 – Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.
1976 – The Soweto Uprising begins in South Africa.
1997 – The Dairat Labguer massacre in Algeria leaves 50 people dead.