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Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is found guilty of abusing his power and having sex with an underage prostitute, and is sentenced to seven years in prison.
Lonesome George, the last known individual of Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii, a subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise, dies.
Julia Gillard assumes office as the first female Prime Minister of Australia.
John Isner of the United States defeats Nicolas Mahut of France at Wimbledon, in the longest match in professional tennis history.
The Igandu train disaster in Tanzania kills 281, the worst train accident in African history.
"Rugby World Cup final": South Africa defeats New Zealand, Nelson Mandela presents Francois Pienaar with the Webb-Ellis trophy in an iconic post-apartheid moment.
Jiang Zemin succeeds Zhao Ziyang to become the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
"The Jakarta Incident": British Airways Flight 9 flies into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four engines.
The Humber Bridge opens to traffic, connecting Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It would be the world's longest bridge span for 17 years.
The UpStairs Lounge arson attack takes place at a gay bar located on the second floor of the three-story building at 141 Chartres Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Thirty-two people die as a result of fire or smoke inhalation.
In Roth v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.
First Indochina War: Battle of Mang Yang Pass: Viet Minh troops belonging to the 803rd Regiment ambush G.M. 100 of France in An Khê.
Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act formally segregating races is passed.
The first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, is aired on NBC starring William Boyd.
Start of the Berlin Blockade: The Soviet Union makes overland travel between West Germany and West Berlin impossible.
Kenneth Arnold makes the first widely reported UFO sighting near Mount Rainier, Washington.
US military police attempt to arrest a black soldier in Bamber Bridge, England, sparking the Battle of Bamber Bridge mutiny that leaves one dead and seven wounded.
World War II: Operation Collar, the first British Commando raid on occupied France, by No 11 Independent Company.
Siam is renamed Thailand by Plaek Phibunsongkhram, the country's third prime minister.
Pieces of a meteorite, estimated to have weighed 450 metric tons when it hit the Earth's atmosphere and exploded, land near Chicora, Pennsylvania.
A bloodless revolution instigated by the People's Party ends the absolute power of King Prajadhipok of Siam (now Thailand).
The American Professional Football Association is renamed the National Football League.
Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to sign a million-dollar contract.
King Edward VII of the United Kingdom develops appendicitis, delaying his coronation.
Marie François Sadi Carnot is assassinated by Sante Geronimo Caserio.
First performance of O Canada, the song that would become the national anthem of Canada, at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français.
Battle of Custoza: An Austrian army defeats the Italian army during the Austro-Prussian War.
Battle of Solferino (Battle of the Three Sovereigns): Sardinia and France defeat Austria in Solferino, northern Italy.
The Battle of Carabobo takes place. It is the decisive battle in the war of independence of Venezuela from Spain.
Battle of Beaver Dams: A British and Indian combined force defeats the United States Army.
Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon's Grande Armée crosses the Neman river beginning the invasion of Russia.
American Revolutionary War: The Great Siege of Gibraltar begins.
Battle of Wilhelmsthal: The British-Hanoverian army of Ferdinand of Brunswick defeats French forces in Westphalia.
The Premier Grand Lodge of England, the first Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (now the United Grand Lodge of England), is founded in London.
Samuel de Champlain discovers the mouth of the Saint John River, site of Reversing Falls and the present day city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
The first Dutch voyage to the East Indies reaches Banten, Java.[citation needed]
Miguel López de Legazpi founds Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines.
Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon are crowned King and Queen of England.
John Cabot lands in North America at Newfoundland leading the first European exploration of the region since the Vikings.
A sudden outbreak of St. John's Dance causes people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse from exhaustion.
Hundred Years' War: Battle of Sluys: The French fleet is almost completely destroyed by the English fleet commanded in person by King Edward III.
First War of Scottish Independence: The Battle of Bannockburn concludes with a decisive victory by Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce.
Battle of São Mamede, near Guimarães: Forces led by Afonso I defeat forces led by his mother Teresa of León and her lover Fernando Pérez de Traba.
Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces, takes place.
The Battle of Moira is fought between the High King of Ireland and the Kings of Ulster and Dál Riata. It is claimed to be the largest battle in the history of Ireland.
Julius Nepos forces Roman usurper Glycerius to abdicate the throne and proclaims himself Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
Roman emperor Trajan inaugurates the Aqua Traiana, an aqueduct that channels water from Lake Bracciano, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north-west of Rome.
The Romans, led by Gaius Flaminius, are ambushed and defeated by Hannibal at the Battle of Lake Trasimene.
Mursili II launches a campaign against the Kingdom of Azzi-Hayasa.
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