| 1758 |
|
The British attack on Fort Carillon at Ticonderoga, New York, is foiled by the French. |
| 1794 |
|
French troops capture Brussels, Belgium. |
| 1815 |
|
With Napoleon defeated, Louis XVIII returns to Paris. |
| 1822 |
|
29-year old poet Percy Bysshe Shelley drowns while sailing in Italy. |
| 1859 |
|
The Truce at Villafranca Austria cedes Lombardy to France. |
| 1863 |
|
Demoralized by the surrender of Vicksburg, Confederates in Port Hudson, Louisiana, surrender to Union forces. |
| 1864 |
|
Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston retreats into Atlanta to prevent being flanked by Union General William T. Sherman. |
| 1865 |
|
Four of the conspirators in President Abraham Lincoln's assassination are hanged in Washington, D.C. |
| 1879 |
|
The first ship to use electric lights departs from San Francisco, California. |
| 1905 |
|
The mutinous crew of the battleship Potemkin surrenders to Rumanian authorities. |
| 1918 |
|
Ernest Hemingway is wounded in Italy while working as an ambulance driver for the American Red Cross. |
| 1941 |
|
20 B-17s fly in their first mission with the Royal Air Force over Wilhelmshaven, Germany. |
| 1943 |
|
American B-24 bombers strike Japanese-held Wake Island for the first time. |
| 1960 |
|
The Soviet Union charges American pilot Francis Gary Powers with espionage. |
Born on July 8 |
| 1621 |
|
Jean de La Fontaine, poet and author (Fables). |
| 1838 |
|
Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German designer and manufacturer of airships. |
| 1839 |
|
John D. Rockefeller, financier, philanthropist, founder of Standard Oil. |
| 1869 |
|
Wiliam Vaughan Moody, poet and playwright (The Great Divide). |
| 1906 |
|
Philip C. Johnson, architect. |
| 1908 |
|
Nelson Rockefeller, U.S. vice president to Gerald Ford. |
| 1943 |
|
Faye Wattleton, women's rights advocate. |
| 1953 |
|
Anna Quindlen, novelist. |