* 622 - The beginning of the Islamic calendar.

* 1054 - Three Roman legates fractured relations between the Western and Eastern Christian churches by placing an invalid Papal Bull of Excommunication on the altar in the Hagia Sophia during Saturday afternoon divine liturgy. This is often dated as the start of the East-West Schism.

* 1661 - The first bank notes in Europe are issued by the Swedish bank Stockholm Banco.

* 1683 - Manchu/Chinese Qing Dynasty naval forces under commander Shi Lang defeat the Kingdom of Tungning in the Battle of Penghu near the Pescadores Islands.

* 1769 - Father Junipero Serra founds Mission San Diego de Alcalá, the first mission in California. The mission later evolves into the city of San Diego.

* 1782 - First performance of Mozart's opera, "The Abduction from the Seraglio."

* 1790 - The signing of the Residence Bill establishes a site along the Potomac River as the District of Columbia (seat of government).

* 1862 - American Civil War: David G. Farragut becomes the first United States Navy rear admiral.

* 1880 - Dr. Emily Howard Stowe becomes the first woman licensed to practice medicine in Canada.

* 1931 - Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia signs the first constitution of Ethiopia.

* 1941 - New York Yankees' Joe DiMaggio gets a hit in his 56th consecutive game.

* 1942 - Holocaust: Rafle du Vel'd'Hiv: The Vichy France government orders French police officers to round up 13,000-20,000 Jews and imprison them in the Winter Velodrome. In 1995, president Jacques Chirac officially recognizes the French police's responsibility.

* 1945 - Manhattan Project: The Atomic Age begins when the United States successfully detonates a plutonium-based test nuclear weapon at the Trinity site near Alamogordo, New Mexico.

* 1948 - The city of Nazareth, hometown of Jesus, capitulated to Israeli troops during Operation Dekel led by Ben Dunkelman, after little more than token resistance, during 1948 Arab- Israeli War.

* 1950 - Uruguay wins the 1950 FIFA World Cup, beating hosts Brazil 2-1 in what is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in sporting history.

* 1951 - King Léopold III of Belgium abdicates in favor of his son, Baudouin I of Belgium.

* 1955 - Original Disneyland park opens in Anaheim, California

* 1957 - United States Marine Major John Glenn flies a F8U Crusader supersonic jet from California to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8 seconds, setting a new transcontinental speed record.

* 1965 - The Mont Blanc Tunnel linking France with Italy opens.

* 1969 - Apollo program: Apollo 11 is launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida, and will become the first manned space mission to land on the moon.

* 1973 - Watergate Scandal: Former White House aide Alexander P. Butterfield informs the United States Senate that President Richard Nixon had secretly recorded potentially-incriminating conversations.

* 1979 - Iraqi President Hasan al-Bakr resigns and is replaced by Saddam Hussein.

* 1981 - Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad becomes Malaysia's fourth prime minister until retired on October 31, 2003, making him Asia's longest-serving political leader (22 years as prime minister of Malaysia).

* 1983 - Sikorsky S-61 disaster: helicopter crashes off the Isles of Scilly, causing 20 fatalities.

* 1994 - Comet Shoemaker Levy 9:comet that collided with Jupiter in 1994. Impacts began on this date through July 22nd.

* 1999 - John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette are killed in a plane crash off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. The Piper Saratoga aircraft was piloted by Kennedy.

* 2004 - Millennium Park, considered the first and most ambitious architectural project in the early 21st century for Chicago, is opened to the public by Mayor Richard M. Daley.

* 2005 - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling is released, selling over 9 million copies in the 24 hours after release.

* 2007 - An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 and aftershock of 6.6 occur off the Niigata coast, Japan, killing 8 people with at least 800 injured and damaging a nuclear power plant.