1690: Army of Protestant King William III of England defeats deposed Roman Catholic King James II in the Battle of the Boyne at Oldbridge, Ireland

1858: Joint reading of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace’s papers on evolution to the Linnean Society renders audience awestruck and silent

1863: Battle of Gettysburg begins in Pennsylvania, Union forces halt Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia

1867: The Dominion of Canada is formed, comprising the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec, with John A. Macdonald serving as the first Prime Minister

1916: First day of the Battle of the Somme in World War I: The British Army suffers its worst day, losing 19,240 men

1997: United Kingdom returns Hong Kong and the New Territories to People’s Republic of China

Source: Onthisday.com