Today:
1212 – The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa: The beginning of the Christian victory in the Reconquista.
1499 – Portuguese explorer Nicolau Coelho returns to Lisbon, after discovering the sea route to India.
1553 – Lady Jane Grey becomes Queen of England.
1584 – William I of Orange is assassinated in his home in Delft, Holland.
1778 – American Revolutionary War: Louis XVI of France declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain.
1850 – Millard Fillmore becomes the 13th President of the United States following the death of Zachary Taylor.
1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called “Monkey Trial” begins with John T. Scopes, a high school science teacher, accused of teaching evolution in violation of Tennessee state law.
1940 – World War II: The Battle of Britain begins as the Luftwaffe starts attacking southern England.
1962 – Telstar, the world’s first active communications satellite, is launched.
2000 – EADS, the world’s second-largest aerospace group, is formed by the merger of Aérospatiale-Matra, Dornier GmbH, and CASA.
30 American Heritage Events: #3
Ratification of the U.S. Constitution (1788)
The Constitution was ratified, establishing the framework for the federal government