2 BC Dedication of the Temple of Mars Ultor in Rome

527 Justinian I becomes sole Roman Emperor (to 565)

626 Persians & Avars abandon siege of Constantinople (begun June 29)

902 The Arabs capture Taormina, the last Byzantine naval base in Sicily

939 Battle of Simancas: Asturians defeat the Andalucian Arabs

1086 Oath of Salisbury: Landowners of England swear fealty to William the Conqueror

1096 Walter the Penniless, Peter the Hermit, and the "Beggars' Crusade" reach Constantinople

1209 Crusaders besiege Albigenian-held Carcassone (falls, 15th)

1354 Triumphal restoration of Cola di Rienzo to power in Rome, who is murdered Oct 8th

1423 Battle of Cravant: English longbowmen devastate attacking French

1498 Christopher Columbus lands in Central America

1578 Battle of Rimenant: Dutch defeat the Spanish

1589 Monk Jacques Clement attempts to kill French King Henri III

1664 Battle of Szentgotthard: Austrian crush Turkish invaders

1675 Battle of Altenheim: The French defeat the Imperialists

1759 Battle of Minden: English infantry attacks & routs French cavalry

1781 Cornwallis' British army occupies Yorktown, Virginia

1791 Whiskey Rebellion began, desultory outbreaks continue to 1794

1801 U.S. schooner 'Enterprise' captures Tripolitanian ship 'Tripoli'

1834 Slavery abolished in the British Empire

1848 Battle of Crotta d'Adda: Austrians defeat the Piedmontese

1864 Phil Sheridan takes command of the Army of the Shenandoah

1898 US and Spanish troops skirmish outside Manila1907U.S. Signal Corps forms an Aviation Section

1914 German Emperor Wilhelm II declares war on his nephew Tsar Nicholas II of Russia

1917 Pope Benedict XV urges "an end to useless slaughter" and is widely condemned by both the Allies and the Central Powers

1918 British troops occupy Vladivostok

1926 Attempted assassination of Spanish dictator Primo de Rivera

1926 The Druze riot against the French in Damascus

1936 Hitler opens the Berlin Olympics, the 11th modern games, initiating the now routine "Olympic Torch" ceremony

1940 Soviets occupy Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia

1942 Allied fleets begin diversionary moves to mask the Guadalcanal operation

1942 U.S. battlefleet departs San Francisco for Pearl Harbor

1943 Blackett Str: "Tokyo Express" to Kolombangara tangles with 15 PT-boats

1943 Japan declares Burma independent under U Ba Maw

1943 Kiska: U.S. surface ships shell suspected Japanese positions.

1944 Chinese hold Japanese before Hengyang.

1944 George S. Patton's Third Army began 281 days of operations

1944 Marines crush Japanese resistance on Tinian

1944 Warsaw Uprising: the Polish Home Army begins a 62-day insurrection against the Nazis, as the Soviets stand idle nearby

1945 B-29s raid Toyama, Japan

1945 The Yangtze: U.S. air-dropped mines sink or damage 47 Japanese ships.

1946 Office of Naval Research is established

1946 McMinn County War (Battle of Athens): WW II veterans take up arms to help local citizens oust a corrupt political machine in Athens & Etowh, Tenn

1950 Belgium's parliament mandates that King Leopold III (1934-1951) must abdicate in favor of his son Baudouin (1951-1993)

1958 USS 'Nautilus' (SSN 571) passes beneath the Arctic ice-pack [See Aug 3]

1961 East Germany limits traffic to West Berlin, Cold War intensifies

1966 UT Austin Massacre: former Marine Charles Whitman leaves 13 dead, 31 wounded

1966 Military coup in Nigeria installs Army Chief-of-Staff Yakubu Gowon as President/Dictator (1966-1975)

1975 Helsinki Pact guaranteeing boundaries and civil rights in Europe