1778: American Revolution: Louis XVI of France declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain

1940: Battle of Britain begins as Nazi forces attack shipping convoys in the English Channel

1985: French foreign intelligence agents blow up the Greenpeace boat Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbor, New Zealand to prevent it interfering with French nuclear tests in the South Pacific. Dutch photographer Fernando Pereira is killed.

1991: Boris Yeltsin sworn in as 1st elected President of the Russian Federation

2012: The American Episcopal Church becomes the first to approve a rite for blessing gay marriages

Source: Onthisday.com