Today:
1411 – King Charles VI of France granted a monopoly on refining sugar to the citizens of Tours.
1783 – The Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrated their hot air balloon for the first time in Annonay, France.
1812 – The U.S. House of Representatives voted 79 to 49 to declare war against Britain, leading to the War of 1812.
1859 – The Battle of Magenta was fought during the Second Italian War of Independence; French and Sardinian forces defeated the Austrians.
1912 – Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to set a minimum wage.
1917 – The first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded, including prizes for reporting and history.
1940 – The evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk ended, with over 338,000 troops rescued during Operation Dynamo.
1970 – Tonga gained independence from British protection and became a sovereign kingdom.
1989 – Chinese troops and tanks crushed the pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, resulting in hundreds or possibly thousands of deaths.
2001 – Gyanendra was crowned King of Nepal after the death of King Birendra and most of the royal family in a palace massacre.