79: Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on feast day of Vulcan, Roman god of fire (goes on to destroy Pompeii) [approx date]

1305: Scottish patriot William Wallace is executed for high treason by Edward I of England at Smithfield, London

1542: Rabbi Joseph Caro completes his commentary of Tur Code

1850: 1st US National Women’s Rights Convention convenes in Worcester, Massachusetts

1942: Battle of Stalingrad: 600 Luftwaffe planes bomb Stalingrad (40,000 die)

1943: 50th day of Battle of Kursk, USSR: Largest tank battle in history ends with Russia’s defeat of Germany; over 10,000 tanks take part, nearly 250,,000 combatants killed

1996: Osama bin Laden issues message entitled “A declaration of war against the Americans occupying the land of the two holy places”

2005: Hurricane Katrina forms over the Bahamas, later becoming a category 5 hurricane

Source: Onthisday.com