Today:
64 AD: The Great Fire of Rome began, causing widespread devastation and burning for six days, ultimately destroying much of the city.
1553: Lady Jane Grey was deposed as Queen of England after only nine days on the throne, being replaced by Mary I.
1799: The Rosetta Stone, a tablet with hieroglyphic translations into Greek, was discovered in Egypt by French soldiers.
1848: The Seneca Falls Convention, one of the first women’s rights conventions in the United States, began in Seneca Falls, New York.
1870: France declared war on Prussia, marking the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War.
1900: The first line of the Paris Métro opened for operation.
1903: Maurice Garin won the first Tour de France, concluding the inaugural race.
1943: During World War II, more than 150 B-17 and 112 B-24 bombers attacked Rome for the first time.
1969: Apollo 11, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, went into orbit around the Moon.
1980: The Summer Olympics began in Moscow, though approximately 60 countries boycotted the event due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.