Today:
480 BC – The Battle of Salamis: The Greek fleet, under Themistocles, defeated the Persian navy under Xerxes I in one of the pivotal battles of the Greco-Persian Wars.
1364 – The Battle of Auray: During the Breton War of Succession, John de Montfort defeated Charles de Blois, ultimately securing the Duchy of Brittany.
1567 – The Duke of Alva’s Council of Blood sentences a large number of Protestant leaders in the Netherlands to death, beginning a brutal period of repression during the Dutch Revolt.
1789 – The United States Department of War establishes a regular army with a strength of several hundred men.
1829 – The Metropolitan Police of London, founded by Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel, begins operations.
1885 – The first practical public electric tramway in the world is opened in Blackpool, England.
1938 – The Munich Agreement is signed by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, allowing Nazi Germany to annex the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia.
1941 – The Babi Yar massacre begins, where German forces and local collaborators in Nazi-occupied Ukraine kill nearly 34,000 Jews over two days.
1954 – The convention establishing CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) is signed, aimed at fostering cooperation in nuclear research across Europe.
2008 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 777 points, the largest single-day point drop in history, amid the global financial crisis.