Today:
1540: King Henry VIII of England’s marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, was annulled.
1609: Emperor Rudolf II granted Bohemia freedom of worship through the Letter of Majesty.
1755: General Edward Braddock’s British forces were defeated by a smaller French and Native American force in the Battle of the Monongahela during the French and Indian War.
1762: Catherine the Great assumed power as Empress of Russia after a coup against her husband, Peter III.
1776: The American Declaration of Independence was read aloud to George Washington’s troops in New York.
1816: Argentina declared independence from Spain.
1850: U.S. President Zachary Taylor died after only 16 months in office; he was succeeded by Vice President Millard Fillmore.
1868: The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, defining U.S. citizenship and protecting civil liberties.
1877: The first Wimbledon Championship was held in London.
1942: Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in the attic above her father’s office in an Amsterdam warehouse.