Today:
585 BC – A solar eclipse occurred as predicted by Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus, reportedly ending a battle between the Lydians and the Medes.
1533 – The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declared the marriage of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn valid.
1588 – The Spanish Armada set sail from Lisbon, Portugal, on its ill-fated mission to invade England.
1754 – In the first skirmish of the French and Indian War, Lieutenant Colonel George Washington defeated French forces at the Battle of Jumonville Glen in present-day Pennsylvania.
1830 – U.S. President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law, leading to the forced relocation of Native American tribes.
1871 – The Paris Commune was crushed by French government forces during the “Bloody Week” (Semaine Sanglante).
1937 – Neville Chamberlain became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Stanley Baldwin.
1937 – The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco was officially opened to pedestrian traffic.
1961 – Amnesty International was founded in London by lawyer Peter Benenson.
1998 – Pakistan conducted its first nuclear tests in response to India’s nuclear tests earlier that month, becoming the seventh nation to possess nuclear weapons.