1. 1081 - Alexius I Comnenus occupies Byzantine throne.

2. 1460 - University of Basel founded in Swiss Confederacy (now Switzerland).

3. 1541 - Ignatius of Loyola becomes 1st superior - general of Jesuits.

4. 1552 - Mauritius van Saksen begins alliance with Karel Anikita Stroganov, Stroganov family heads east.

5. 1558 - Tsar Ivan IV gives the patent to colonize "the abundant region along the Kama River" of North - Russia to the fur - trading Stroganov merchant family.

6. 1581 - Francis Drake knighted by Queen Elizabeth I aboard his galleon "Golden Hind" at Deptford, England.

7. 1588 - Christian IV succeeds Frederick II as king of Denmark.

8. 1655 - Battle at Postage Farina, Tunis: English fleet beats Barbary pirates.

9. 1655 - The miraculous statue entitled the Infant of Prague is solemnly crowned by command of Cardinal Harrach.

10. 1660 - English King Charles II issues the Declaration of Breda, promising a general pardon for crimes committed during the English Civil War and the Interregnum and religious toleration for all those who accepted him as king.

11. 1687 - English King James II publishes his Declaration of Indulgence, a step towards establishing freedom of religion in the British Isles.

12. 1737 - Anthony van Heim installed as Dutch pension advisor.

13. 1789 - 1st US Congress begins regular sessions during George Washington's presidency at Federal Hall, NYC (ending 1791).

14. 1794 - Battle of Racławice, part of the Polish - Lithuanian uprising led by Tadeusz Kościuszko with a tactical Polish victory.

15. 1814 - An officer mutiny forces French Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte to abdicate for the first time in favor of his son, who is not accepted by the allies occupying Paris.

16. 1818 - Congress decides on the US flag: 13 red & white stripes & 20 stars.

17. 1828 - Casparus van Wooden patents chocolate milk powder (Amsterdam).

18. 1832 - Charles Darwin aboard the HMS Beagle reaches Rio de Janeiro.

19. 1833 - St Étienne - Lyons railway fully opens in France.

20. 1841 - Vice President John Tyler becomes the 10th president of the United States after the death of President William Henry Harrison.

21. 1850 - City of Los Angeles incorporated.

22. 1859 - Bryant's Minstrels debut "Dixie" in New York City in the finale of a blackface minstrel show.

23. 1862 - Peninsular Campaign, launched in southeastern Virginia, aimed at capturing Richmond during US Civil War begins, Confederate victory (US Civil War).

24. 1862 - Siege of Yorktown, fought in York County and Newport News, Virginia begins (Yorktown Campaign), inconclusive result (US Civil War).

25. 1864 - Skirmish at Elkin's Ford (Little Missouri River), Arkansas.

26. 1865 - General Robert E. Lee's Confederate army arrives at Amelia Courthouse, Amelia County, Virginia.

27. 1866 - Ashmun Institute, in Oxford, Pennsylvania, is renamed Lincoln University.

28. 1866 - Russian Tsar Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Dmitry Karako zov in the city of St. Petersburg.

29. 1870 - Golden Gate Park forms by City Order #800.

30. 1887 - Susanna Madora Salter elected 1st US woman mayor in Argonia, Kansas.

31. 1896 - Announcement of gold discovery in Yukon.

32. 1899 - South Africa all out 35 vs England (Trott 4 - 19, Haigh 6 - 11).

33. 1900 - Assassination attempt on Prince of Wales, later British King Edward VII when shot by Jean - Baptiste Si pido in protest over Boer War.

34. 1900 - British garrison of Rendersberg surrenders to Boer General de Wet.

35. 1902 - Cecil Rhodes Scholarship fund forms with $10 million.

36. 1905 - Earthquake in Kangra, India, kills 20,000.

37. 1912 - Army fires on striking mine workers at Lena - gold fields in Siberia.

38. 1912 - Chinese Republic proclaimed in Tibet.

39. 1913 - Greek aviator Emmanuel Argyropoulos becomes the first pilot victim of the Hellenic air force when his plane crashes.

40. 1915 - Germany protests vigorously to the US, claiming it must insist that Britain lifts its blockade and assert American neutrality.

41. 1917 - US Senate agrees (82 - 6) to participate in WWI.

42. 1918 - Food riot in Amsterdam.

43. 1920 - Arabs attack Jews in Jerusalem.

44. 1922 - WAAB (Baton Rouge, LA) becomes the 1st US radio station with "W" calls.

45. 1926 - Greek dictator Theodoros Pangalos is elected president.

46. 1929 - The 1st AAU Greco - Roman wrestling championships are held.

47. 1930 - The Communist Party of Panama is founded.

48. 1932 - Charles G. King from the University of Pittsburgh isolates vitamin C, using adrenal samples provided by Hungarian Albert Szent - Györgyi.

49. 1933 - The USS Akron dirigible crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of New Jersey, in stormy weather; 73 die including US Navy Rear Admiral William A. Moffett - a major proponent of the airship fleet, and there are 3 survivors.

50. 1939 - Faisal II ascends to the throne of Iraq.