Today:
678 – Battle of Two Rivers: Forces of the First Bulgarian Empire defeated the Byzantine Empire, helping establish Bulgaria as a major power in the Balkans.
1556 – Thirteen Years’ War Peace Treaty: The Kingdom of Sweden and the Tsardom of Russia signed a peace treaty ending the war between them.
1743 – King George II defeated French forces at the Battle of Dettingen, becoming the last British monarch to personally lead troops into battle.
1844 – Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints movement, and his brother Hyrum Smith were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois.
1898 – The first solo circumnavigation of the globe was completed when Joshua Slocum arrived back in Newport, Rhode Island, aboard the sloop Spray after more than three years at sea.
1950 – United States Air Force began evacuating civilians from Seoul shortly after the outbreak of the Korean War.
1954 – The world’s first nuclear power station began generating electricity at Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union.
1977 – Djibouti President Hassan Gouled Aptidon became the first president of Djibouti after the country gained independence from France.
1985 – Route 66 Decommissioning: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials officially removed U.S. Route 66 from the U.S. Highway System.
2007 – Tony Blair resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after ten years in office, and Gordon Brown succeeded him.