1480: Great Stand on the Ugra River: Standoff between forces of Akhmat Khan, Khan of the Great Horde, and Ivan III, Grand Prince of all Rus, ends with a Tatar-Mongol retreat, leading to the disintegration of the Horde

1769: Captain James Cook lands in New Zealand for the first time near present-day Gisborne on the East Coast of the North Island. A misunderstanding, possibly over a ceremonial challenge, causes the English to shoot and kill Ngāti Oneone leader Te Maro.

1856: Second Opium War or Second Anglo-Chinese War begins with the Arrow Incident on the Pearl River

1871: The Great Chicago Fire kills an estimated 300 people and destroys over 4 square miles (10 square km) of buildings and the original Emancipation Proclamation

1915: Battle of Loos ends as German forces contain the British attack, resulting in 85,000 casualties

1917: Leon Trotsky is named chairman of the Petrograd Soviet as Bolsheviks gain control

2001: US President George W. Bush announces the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security

Source: Onthisday.com