Today:
324 – Constantine the Great defeated Licinius at the Battle of Adrianople (324), a key step toward becoming sole ruler of the Roman Empire.
987 – Hugh Capet was crowned King of the Franks, beginning the Capetian dynasty that would rule France for centuries.
1608 – Samuel de Champlain founded the city of Quebec City, one of the oldest permanent European settlements in North America.
1775 – George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the American Revolutionary War.
1863 – The third and final day of the Battle of Gettysburg culminated in Pickett’s Charge, a decisive Union victory and a major turning point in the American Civil War.
1884 – Karl Benz officially tested one of his early gasoline-powered automobiles, an important milestone in automotive history.
1938 – Howard Hughes completed a record-setting flight around the world in just 91 hours.
1940 – The Attack on Mers-el-Kébir occurred when the Royal Navy attacked the French fleet in Algeria to prevent its ships from falling under German control during World War II.
1988 – The USS Vincennes (CG-49) accidentally shot down Iran Air Flight 655 Shootdown over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.
2005 – Roger Federer won his third consecutive men’s singles title at Wimbledon Championships by defeating Andy Roddick in the final.