Today:
138 – Emperor Hadrian dies after a heart failure at Baiae; he is buried at Rome in the Tomb of Hadrian beside his late wife, Vibia Sabina.
1212 – The most severe of several early fires of London burns most of the city to the ground.
1460 – Wars of the Roses: Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, takes London and captures King Henry VI of England.
1553 – Lady Jane Grey takes the throne of England.
1584 – William I of Orange is assassinated in his home in Delft, Holland, by Balthasar Gérard.
1778 – American Revolution: Louis XVI of France declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain.
1832 – The U.S. President Andrew Jackson vetoes a bill to re-charter the Second Bank of the United States.
1890 – Wyoming is admitted as the 44th U.S. state.
1940 – World War II: The Battle of Britain begins.
1962 – Telstar, the world’s first communications satellite, is launched into orbit.
30 American Heritage Events: #10
California Gold Rush (1848-1855)
A period of mass migration to California following the discovery of gold.