692: The Eighth Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church convenes in Constantinople.
1190: Frederick I Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, drowns in the Saleph River in present-day Turkey while leading the Third Crusade.
1349: The first recorded use of the term "scapegoat" appears in a sermon delivered by the English scholar John Wycliffe.
1523: Danish nobleman and rebel Søren Norby surrenders to Lübeck after a long siege, ending his rebellion against King Frederick I.
1536: The Danish Reformation officially begins as King Christian III introduces Lutheranism as the state religion.
1692: The Salem witch trials in colonial Massachusetts reach their peak with the hanging of five women accused of witchcraft.
1786: The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, drafted by Thomas Jefferson, is enacted, establishing freedom of religion in Virginia.
1793: The Jardin des Plantes, a natural history museum and botanical garden in Paris, is officially inaugurated.
1815: English poet and future Poet Laureate William Wordsworth publishes "The White Doe of Rylstone," a narrative poem about the Yorkshire Rebellion of 1569.
1840: The French steamship "President" sinks off the coast of Cape Cod after colliding with another vessel, resulting in the loss of more than 120 lives.
1863: Confederate forces win the Battle of Brandy Station in Virginia during the American Civil War, marking the largest cavalry engagement in North America up to that point.
1898: The United States annexes the Hawaiian Islands, making Hawaii a U.S. territory.
1921: The Tulsa Race Massacre begins in Oklahoma, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of African Americans and the destruction of much of Tulsa's Greenwood neighborhood.
1940: Italy declares war on France and Great Britain, officially entering World War II on the side of Nazi Germany.
1942: Lidice, a Czech village, is destroyed by German forces in retaliation for the assassination of Nazi Deputy Protector Reinhard Heydrich.
1963: U.S. President John F. Kennedy delivers his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech in West Berlin, expressing solidarity with the people of Berlin during the Cold War.
1967: The Six-Day War begins between Israel and its Arab neighbors, resulting in a decisive Israeli victory and the capture of significant territories.
1977: Apple II, one of the first mass-produced personal computers, is introduced by Apple Computer Company (now known as Apple Inc.).
1983: The first spacewalk by an American woman, astronaut Sally Ride, takes place during the STS-7 Challenger mission.
2001: Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada is ousted from power through the People Power Revolution and replaced by Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.