1794: French Revolutionary figure Maximilien Robespierre and 22 other leaders of “the Terror” guillotined to thunderous cheers in Paris

1914: Austria-Hungary decides against mediation and declares war on Serbia – first declaration of war of WWI

1917: Silent Parade organised by James Weldon Johnson of 10,000 African-Americans who march on 5th Ave in NYC to protest against lynching

1943: Operation Gomorrah: RAF bombing over Hamburg causes a firestorm that kills 42,600 German civilians

1976: Tangshan Earthquake, 8.2 in magnitude kills over 240,000 Northern China in the largest loss of life from an earthquake in the 20th century

2005: The Provisional Irish Republican Army call an end to their thirty year long armed campaign in Northern Ireland

Source: Onthisday.com