218 Proclamation at Emesa, Syria, of the very strange Marcus Aurelius Antoninus -- Elagabalus (c. 14) as Roman Emperor (218-222)

1152 King Henry II of England (age 19) weds Eleanor of Aquitaine(30), former Queen of France

1204 Coronation of Count Baldwin of Flanders as the first Latin Emperor of Constantinople (1204-1205)

1364 Battle of Cocherel: The French defeat the Navarrese

1412 Giancarlo Visconti becomes Duke of Milan (May 15-June 12, 1412), by murder

1527 The Medici are expelled from Florence and a Republic is established (to 1530)

1605 Camillo Borghese elected Pope as Paul V (1506-1621)

1648 Battle of Zólty Wody: Bohdan Chmielricki's Cossacks defeat John Casimir's Poles

1770 Prince Louis [XVI] of France (age 16) weds Archduchess Marie Antoinette of Austria (14)

1777 Button Gwinnett, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, mortally wounded in a duel, dies the 19th

1796 French Revolutionaries establish the puppet "Lombard Republic" in northern Italy

1811 Battle of La Albuera: The Anglo-Portuguese defeat the French

1820 USS 'Congress' becomes the first American warship to visit china

1837 The British Legion in the service of the Spanish Crown liberates Irun from the Carlists

1846 Battle of Campeche: the Texas Navy defeats the Mexican fleet, in support of rebellious Yucatan

1849 Battle of Velletri: The Garibaldini defeat the Neapolitans

1861Kentucky proclaims its neutrality in the Civil War

1863Vicksburg Campaign: Battle of Champion's Hill

1919 USN flying boats begin trans-Atlantic flight (see 25th)

1920 Canonization of Joan of Arc

1929 "Wings" wins the first Oscar for best picture

1934 Liner RMS 'Olympic' rams the Nantucket lightship, 7 Coastguardsmen die

1941 Amba Alagi: the Duke of Aosta surrenders the last Italian troops in Ethiopia to the British, ending a 17-month campaign

1942 Indian Nationalists demand "U.S. Quit India" as American troops arrive to fight the Japanese

1943 German troops destroy the main synagogue of Warsaw

1944 German military police attack gypsies in the Netherlands

1944 Siege of Kohima ends, as the last Japanese resistance is crushed

1975 India invades and annexes Sikkim

1986 "Top Gun" premieres

1992 Space Shuttle 'Endeavor' safely completes its maiden voyage