Today:
1588: The English fleet sighted the Spanish Armada off Lizard Point, Cornwall.
1836: The Arc de Triomphe was inaugurated in Paris, France.
1890: Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh died in Auvers-sur-Oise, France, two days after shooting himself.
1899: The First Hague Convention, an international peace conference focused on the conduct of war, was signed in the Netherlands.
1948: The XIV Olympic Games opened in London, United Kingdom, after a 12-year hiatus due to World War II.
1957: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established.
1958: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law.
1967: A fire on the USS Forrestal aircraft carrier off the coast of North Vietnam killed 134 service members.
1981: Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer were married at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
2005: Astronomers announced the discovery of a dwarf planet, later named Eris, which was initially believed to be the 10th planet.