This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
2 people are killed and 8 injured in Turku in the first terrorist attack in Finland in over 70 years.
President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf resigns under threat of impeachment.
A massive power blackout hits the Indonesian island of Java, affecting almost 100 million people, one of the largest and most widespread power outages in history.
One year old Zachary Tuner is murdered in Newfoundland by his mother who was awarded custody despite facing trial for the murder of Zachary's father. The case led to reform of Canada's bail laws.
Leading presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galán is assassinated near Bogotá in Colombia.
Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 22 people and causing over US$1 billion in damage (1983 dollars).
Steve Biko is arrested at a police roadblock under the Terrorism Act No. 83 of 1967 in King William's Town, South Africa. He later dies from injuries sustained during this arrest bringing attention to South Africa's apartheid policies.
In the Korean Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjom, the Axe murder incident results in the death of two US soldiers.
Vietnam War: The Battle of Long Tan ensues after a patrol from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment clashes with a Viet Cong force in Phước Tuy Province.
Vietnam War: Operation Starlite begins: United States Marines destroy a Viet Cong stronghold on the Van Tuong peninsula in the first major American ground battle of the war.
Civil Rights Movement: James Meredith becomes the first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi.
Brojen Das from Bangladesh swims across the English Channel in a competition, as the first Bengali and the first Asian to do so. He came first among 39 competitors.
Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States.
Julien Lahaut, the chairman of the Communist Party of Belgium is assassinated by far-right elements.
Sukarno takes office as the first president of Indonesia, following the country's declaration of independence the previous day.
World War II: The Hardest Day air battle, part of the Battle of Britain. At that point, the largest aerial engagement in history with heavy losses sustained on both sides.
The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting New York, United States with Ontario, Canada over the Saint Lawrence River, is dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage.
A Great Fire in Thessaloniki, Greece destroys 32% of the city leaving 70,000 individuals homeless.
German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies his self-made, motored gliding airplane four months before the first flight of the Wright brothers.
French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers helium.
American Civil War: Battle of Globe Tavern: Union forces try to cut a vital Confederate supply-line into Petersburg, Virginia, by attacking the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad.
Camila O'Gorman and Ladislao Gutierrez are executed on the orders of Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas.
The Wilkes Expedition, which would explore the Puget Sound and Antarctica, weighs anchor at Hampton Roads.
A huge fireball meteor is seen across Great Britain as it passes over the east coast.
Urbain Grandier, accused and convicted of sorcery, is burned alive in Loudun, France.
The trial of the Pendle witches, one of England's most famous witch trials, begins at Lancaster Assizes.
John White, the governor of the Roanoke Colony, returns from a supply trip to England and finds his settlement deserted.
Virginia Dare, granddaughter of Governor John White of the Colony of Roanoke, becomes the first English child born in the Americas.
Marriage in Paris, France, of the Huguenot King Henry III of Navarre to Margaret of Valois, in a supposed attempt to reconcile Protestants and Catholics.
The Siege of Málaga ends with the taking of the city by Castilian and Aragonese forces.
The Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle is fought to a draw between the French army and the Flemish militias.
Battle of Marj Rahit: Umayyad partisans defeat the supporters of Ibn al-Zubayr and cement Umayyad control of Syria.
English