EVENTS:
- 1851 – Slavery is abolished in Colombia, South America.
- 1871 – Opening of the first rack railway in Europe, the Rigi-Bahnen on Mount Rigi.
- 1881 – The American Red Cross is established by Clara Barton in Washington, D.C.
- 1904 – The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is founded in Paris.
- 1927 – Charles Lindbergh touches down at Le Bourget Field in Paris, completing the world’s first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
- 2003 – An earthquake hits northern Algeria, killing more than 2,000 people.
- 2005 – The tallest roller coaster in the world, Kingda Ka opens at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey.
- 2011 – Radio broadcaster Harold Camping predicted that the end of the world would occur on this day, a prophecy that would prove incorrect.
- 2014 – The National September 11 Museum opens to the public.
- 2017 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performed their final show at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
BIRTHS:
- 1843 – Charles Albert Gobat, Swiss lawyer and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1914)
- 1851 – Léon Bourgeois, French politician, 64th Prime Minister of France, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1925)
- 1860 – Willem Einthoven, Indonesian-Dutch physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1927)
- 1898 – Armand Hammer, American physician and businessman, founded Occidental Petroleum (d. 1990)
- 1934 – Bengt I. Samuelsson, Swedish biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1936 – Günter Blobel, Polish-American biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1976 – Aditi Gowitrikar, Indian model, actress, and physician, Mrs. World 2001
- 1985 – Isa Guha, English cricketer
- 1988 – Jonathan Howson, English footballer
- 1989 – Hal Robson-Kanu, English footballer
- 1993 – Luke Garbutt, English footballer
HOLIDAYS and OBSERVANCES:
- Day of Patriots and Military (Hungary)
- Navy Day (Chile)
- World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (International)
- Independence Day, celebrates the Montenegrin independence referendum in 2006, celebrated until the next day. (Montenegro)
