Today:
1540 – Thomas Cromwell, chief minister to Henry VIII, was executed for treason and heresy. On the same day, Henry VIII married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.
1794 – Maximilien Robespierre was executed by guillotine in Paris, effectively ending the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.
1821 – José de San Martín proclaimed the independence of Peru from Spanish rule.
1868 – The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was officially certified, guaranteeing citizenship, due process, and equal protection under the law.
1914 – Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, marking the formal beginning of World War I.
1932 – The Bonus Army Eviction took place as U.S. Army troops forcibly removed World War I veterans protesting in Washington, D.C.
1945 – A B-25 Mitchell bomber crashed into the Empire State Building in New York City during heavy fog, killing 14 people.
1976 – A powerful earthquake struck Tangshan, China, killing an estimated 242,000 people in one of the deadliest earthquakes in recorded history.
1984 – The opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics was held in Los Angeles.
2010 – Andy Schleck was awarded the 2010 Tour de France title after original winner Alberto Contador was later disqualified for a doping violation.