Today:
1100 – Henry I of England was crowned King of England, three days after the death of his brother, William II of England.
1305 – William Wallace, the Scottish patriot and military leader, was captured near Glasgow by English forces.
1583 – Humphrey Gilbert claimed the island of Newfoundland for England, establishing the first English overseas colony in North America.
1861 – The United States government imposed its first federal income tax to help finance the American Civil War.
1884 – The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was laid on Bedloe’s Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor.
1914 – Montenegro declared war on Austria-Hungary during the opening days of World War I.
1930 – Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon, was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio.
1944 – The Cowra Breakout occurred in Australia when more than 1,000 Japanese prisoners of war attempted a mass escape from a POW camp.
1962 – Marilyn Monroe was found dead at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 36.
2012 – The NASA Curiosity Rover Landing successfully landed the Curiosity rover in Gale Crater on Mars, marking a major milestone in planetary exploration.