585 BC Thales of Greece makes the first known prediction of a solar eclipse.
1085 Alfonso VI takes Toledo, Spain from the Muslims.
1787 The Constitutional convention opens at Philadelphia with George Washington presiding.
1810 Argentina declares independence from Napoleonic Spain.
1851 Jose Justo de Urquiza of Argentina leads a rebellion against Juan Manuel de Rosas, his former ally.
1911 Porfirio Diaz, President of Mexico, resigns his office.
1914 The British House of Commons passes Irish Home Rule.
1925 John Scopes is indicted for teaching Darwinian theory in school.
1935 Jesse Owens sets six world records in less than an hour in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
1946 Jordan gains independence from Britain.
1953 The first atomic cannon is fired in Nevada.
1938 Raymond Carver, American writer.
1949 Jamaica Kincaid, author (Annie John, Lucy).