Today:
1199: King Richard I of England, known as Richard the Lionheart, dies from an infection after being hit by a crossbow bolt during a siege in France.
1320: The Scots reaffirm their independence from England by signing the Declaration of Arbroath.
1453: Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II begins the Siege of Constantinople, which eventually leads to the fall of the Byzantine Empire.
1652: Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp at the Cape of Good Hope, marking the beginning of the settlement that became Cape Town.
1830: Joseph Smith and his followers formally organize the Church of Christ, the beginning of the Latter Day Saint movement, in New York.
1862: The Battle of Shiloh, one of the major engagements of the American Civil War, begins in Tennessee.
1896: The first modern Olympic Games are officially opened in Athens, Greece, after a hiatus of more than 1,500 years.
1917: The United States formally enters World War I by declaring war on Germany.
1974: The Swedish pop group ABBA wins the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Waterloo, launching their international career.
1994: The Rwandan genocide begins following the assassination of the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi after their plane is shot down.