1461: Ming Dynasty Chinese military general Cao Qin stages a coup against the Tianshun Emperor

1714: Battle of Gangut: Russian Navy wins its first major victory during the Great Northern War against Sweden

1782: Commander of the Continental Army, George Washington, creates two Honorary Badges of Distinction and a Badge of Military Merit (now the Purple Heart). First time military awards are presented to common soldiers.

1933: Iraqi government forces slaughter over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Simele in northern Iraq, commemorated as Assyrian Martyrs Day

1955: Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, the precursor to Sony, begins selling its first transistor radios in Japan

1990: US deploys troops to Saudi Arabia, beginning Operation Desert Shield

Source: Onthisday.com