1787: Arthur Phillip sets sails with 11 ships of criminals to Botany Bay, Australia

1830: Republic of Ecuador is founded, with Juan Jose Flores as president

1934: Great dustbowl storm sweeps across US prairies

1940: Winston Churchill says “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat” in his first speech as Prime Minister to British House of Commons

1981: Pope John Paul II is shot and critically wounded by Turkish gunman Mehemet Ali Agca in St Peter’s Square, Vatican City

1989: Approx 2,000 students begin hunger strike in Tiananmen Square, China

Source: Onthisday.com