EVENTS:
- 1789 – The first U.S. federal government agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, is established (it will be later renamed Department of State).
- 1866 – The first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable is successfully completed, stretching from Valentia Island, Ireland, to Heart’s Content, Newfoundland.
- 1921 – Researchers at the University of Toronto led by biochemist Frederick Banting prove that the hormone insulin regulates blood sugar.
- 1928 – Tich Freeman becomes the only bowler ever to take 200 first-class wickets before the end of July.
- 1949 – Initial flight of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet-powered airliner.
- 1990 – The Supreme Soviet of the Belarusian Soviet Republic declares independence of Belarus from the Soviet Union. Until 1996 the day is celebrated as the Independence Day of Belarus; after a referendum held that year the celebration of independence is moved to June 3.
- 2012 – The opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics takes place in London.
- 2015 – At least 7 people are killed and many injured after gunmen attack an Indian police station in Punjab.
- 2016 – At a news conference in Florida, U.S. Presidential Candidate Donald Trump publicly appealed to Russia to find and release private emails from Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton; a Special Counsel investigation (2017–present) later alleged that Russian operatives began hacking into servers at the Democratic National Committee on that same day, leading to the July 13, 2018 indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers.
BIRTHS:
- 1835 – Giosuè Carducci, Italian poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907)
- 1881 – Hans Fischer, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1945)
- 1882 – Geoffrey de Havilland, English pilot and engineer, founded the de Havilland Aircraft Company (d. 1965)
- 1913 – George L. Street III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2000)
- 1921 – Garry Davis, American pilot and activist, created the World Passport (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Sat Mahajan, Indian politician (d. 2012)
- 1933 – Ted Whitten, Australian footballer and journalist (d. 1995)
- 1954 – G. S. Bali, Indian politician
- 1959 – Hugh Green, American football player
- 1967 – Rahul Bose, Indian actor, screenwriter, director
- 1967 – Neil Smith, English cricketer
- 1969 – Jonty Rhodes, South African cricketer and coach
- 1976 – Scott Mason, Australian cricketer (d. 2005)
- 1983 – Soccor Velho, Indian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1993 – Max Power, English footballer
HOLIDAYS and OBSERVANCES:
