1821 – Peru declares independence from Spain, through Jose de San Martin.
1835 – Joseph Fieschi and co-plotters attempt an attack on Louis Philippe of France, who survives with slight injuries, though several people are killed.
1858 – Fingerprints are used for the first time to prove identity. William Herschel, Indian Civil service, used Rajyadhar Konai's print on the back of an envelope.
1938 – The Hawaii Clipper disappears between Guam and Manila as the first loss of an airliner in the Trans-Pacific China Clipper service.
1942 – World War II: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin issues Order Number 227 in response to alarming German advances into the Soviet Union. Under the order, all those who retreat or otherwise leave their positions, without orders to do so, are to be executed.
1943 – World War II: British bombers bomb the city of Hamburg, causing a firestorm which kills around 42,000 people.
1973 – Summer Jam at Watkins Glen: 600,000 people attend a rock music festival at the Watkins Glen International Raceway.
1976 – A strong earthquake, estimated at magnitude 8.2, strikes Tangshan, China. It kills 242,769 people. The estimated number of people injured is 164,851.
2013 – A coach carrying 50 people crashes into a ravine near Avellino, Campania region, Italy, killing 38 people. It was travelling to nearby Naples when it crashed.