Major Events 1816 – Argentina declared independence from Spain during the Congress of Tucumán. 1877 – The inaugural Wimbledon tennis tournament began in London. 1955 – The Russell-Einstein Manifesto was …

Major Events 1497 – Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama set sail from Lisbon on his first voyage to India. 1776 – The Liberty Bell rang in Philadelphia to summon citizens …

Major Events 1928 – Sliced bread was sold for the first time by the Chillicothe Baking Company in Missouri. 1937 – The Marco Polo Bridge Incident triggered the full-scale Second …

Major Events 1415 – Jan Hus, Czech religious reformer, was burned at the stake for heresy against the doctrines of the Catholic Church. 1885 – Louis Pasteur successfully administered the …

Major Events 1687 – Isaac Newton’s Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica was published, laying the groundwork for classical mechanics. 1811 – Venezuela declared independence from Spain, becoming the first South American …

Major Events 1776 – The United States Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress. 1802 – The United States Military Academy at West Point officially opened. 1826 …

Major Events 1608 – Samuel de Champlain founded the city of Quebec in New France (present-day Canada). 1775 – George Washington took command of the Continental Army during the American …

Major Events 1776 – The Continental Congress adopted a resolution declaring the American colonies independent from British rule, two days before the Declaration of Independence was formally adopted. 1881 – …

Major Events 1863 – The Battle of Gettysburg began during the American Civil War, becoming the war’s most significant and bloodiest battle. 1963 – The United States introduced ZIP codes …

On This Day in History – June 30 Major Events 1908 – The Tunguska event occurs in Siberia, where a massive explosion—likely caused by a meteoroid—levels over 800 square miles …