On this day

79 – Mount Vesuvius erupts. The cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae are buried in volcanic ash, killing approximately 20,000 (this traditional date has been challenged, and many scholars believe that the event occurred on October 24).

1482 - The town and castle of Berwick upon Tweed were captured from Scotland by an English army. The border town has remained English ever since.

1680 - The death of Colonel Blood, an Irish adventurer who stole the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London in 1671. He had been captured after the theft, but insisted on seeing King Charles II, who pardoned him.

1814 – British troops invade Washington, D.C. and during the Burning of Washington the White House is set ablaze, though not burned to the ground; as well as several other buildings.

1875 - Matthew Webb (Captain Webb) started his attempt from Dover England to become the first person to swim the English Channel. He reached Calais, France at 10.40 am the following morning, having been in the water for 22 hours.

1891 – Thomas Edison patents the motion picture camera.

1932 – Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop (from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey).

1936 – The Australian Antarctic Territory is created.

1947 - The first Edinburgh Festival was held.

1981 - American Mark David Chapman was given a 20 year life sentence for shooting John Lennon in New York.

1991 – Ukraine declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.

2006 – The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term "planet" such that Pluto is now considered a Dwarf Planet.

Births:

1945 – Vince McMahon, American professional wrestling promoter
1957 – Stephen Fry, English comedian and actor
1958 – Steve Guttenberg, American actor
1962 – David Koechner, American actor
1964 – Dana Gould, American comedian and writer
1967 – Michael Thomas, English footballer
1970 – Dan Henderson, American mixed martial artist
1973 – Dave Chappelle, American actor and Comedian
1977 – Denílson, Brazilian footballer
1977 – Robert Enke, German footballer (d. 2009)
1981 – Chad Michael Murray, American actor
1982 – Kim Kallstrom, Swedish footballer
1982 – José Bosingwa, Portuguese footballer
1988 – Rupert Grint, English actor

1537 – The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, and the second most senior, is formed.

1609 – Galileo Galilei demonstrates his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers.

1875 – Captain Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel, traveling from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in 22 hours.

1914 – World War I: The library of the Catholic University of Leuven is deliberately destroyed by the German Army. Hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable volumes and Gothic and Renaissance manuscripts are lost.

1917 - The Order of the British Empire (OBE), and the Companion of Honour (CH), were awarded for the first time.

1939 – The United Kingdom and Poland form a military alliance in which the UK promises to defend Poland in case of invasion by a foreign power.

1942 - The Duke of Kent, youngest brother of King George VI, was killed in a plane crash during a war mission to Iceland. He was the first member of the Royal family to be killed on active service.

1944 - Paris was liberated by Allied forces after four years of Nazi occupation.

1989 – Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Neptune, the outermost planet in the Solar System.

1991 – Belarus gains its independence from the Soviet Union.

1991 – Linus Torvalds announces the first version of what will become Linux.

Births:

1949 – Gene Simmons, Israeli-born musician (Kiss)
1954 – Elvis Costello, English musician
1958 – Tim Burton, American film director
1961 – Billy Ray Cyrus, American singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist
1964 – Blair Underwood, American actor
1970 – Claudia Schiffer, German model
1976 – Alexander Skarsgård, Swedish actor
1979 – Marlon Harewood, English footballer
1981 – Rachel Bilson, American actress
1987 – Blake Lively, American actress
1988 – Alexandra Burke, English singer
1988 – Ray Quinn, English singer

Births:

1970 – Melissa McCarthy American actor
1980 – Macaulay Culkin, American actor
1980 – Chris Pine, American actor
1981 – Tino Best, Barbadian West Indies cricketer
1986 – Colin Kazim-Richards, Turkish footballer
1987 – Riley Steele, Pornographic actress
1988 – Tori Black, American pornographic actress
1990 – Lil' Chris, English singer-songwriter and TV personality

1660 - John Milton's books were burned in London, because of the author's attacks on King Charles II.

1776 – The Battle of Long Island: in what is now Brooklyn, New York, British forces under General William Howe defeat Americans under General George Washington.

1828 – Uruguay is formally proclaimed independent at preliminary peace talks brokered by Great Britain between Brazil and Argentina during the Cisplatine War.

1832 – Black Hawk, leader of the Sauk tribe of Native Americans, surrenders to U.S. authorities, ending the Black Hawk War.

1859 – Petroleum is discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania leading to the world's first commercially successful oil well.

1916 – Romania declares war against Austria-Hungary, entering World War I as one of the Allied nations.

1939 – First flight of the turbojet-powered Heinkel He 178, the world's first jet aircraft.

1966 - Francis Chichester began the first solo circumnavigation of the world, when he set out from Plymouth in Gypsy Moth IV.

1967 - Brian Epstein died, from an accidental overdose of brandy and barbiturates. He managed The Beatles, and worked with Gerry and The Pacemakers.

1991 – The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

1991 – Moldova declares independence from the USSR.

2003 – Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing 34,646,418 miles (55,758,005 km) distant.

Births:

1969 – Mark Ealham, English cricketer
1970 – Andy Bichel, Australian cricketer
1970 – Peter Ebdon, English snooker player
1972 – The Great Khali, Indian wrestler
1972 – Denise Lewis, English heptathlete
1972 – Jimmy Pop, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Bloodhound Gang)
1973 – Jazz, American wrestler
1973 – Dietmar Hamann, German footballer
1974 – Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistani cricketer
1976 – Sarah Chalke, Canadian actress
1976 – Carlos Moyà, Spanish tennis player
1976 – Mark Webber, Australian race car driver
1977 – Deco, Portuguese footballer
1979 – Aaron Paul, American actor (YEAH BITCH!)
1984 – David Bentley, English footballer
1984 – Sulley Muntari, Ghanaian footballer
1985 – Nikica Jelavić, Croatian footballer
1986 – Mario, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
1986 – Nabil El Zhar, Moroccan footballer
1988 – Alexa Vega, American actress and singer
1990 – Luuk de Jong, Dutch footballer

1619 – Ferdinand II is elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

1789 – William Herschel discovers a new moon of Saturn Enceladus.

1833 - The House of Commons approved the Abolition Act, introduced earlier by Thomas Buxton, abolishing slavery throughout most of the British Empire.

1859 – A geomagnetic storm causes the Aurora Borealis to shine so brightly that it is seen clearly over parts of USA, Europe, and even as far away as Japan.

1898 – Caleb Bradham invents the carbonated soft drink that will later be called Pepsi-Cola.

1914 - The Battle of Heligoland Bight: The first major naval battle of World War I was fought, the Germans lost four ships and 1,000 sailors. British casualties numbered 33.

1953 – Nippon Television broadcasts Japan's first television show, including its first TV advertisement.

1963 – March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his I Have a Dream speech

1996 - The divorce of Charles, the Prince of Wales, and Princess Diana was finalized in a decree absolute issued in London's High Court. Under the terms of the divorce settlement, Diana was stripped of her 'Royal Highness' title.

Births:

1963 – Jennifer Coolidge, American actress
1965 – Shania Twain, Canadian singer
1969 – Jack Black, American actor
1978 – Jess Margera, American drummer (CKY)
1982 – LeAnn Rimes, American singer
1982 – Thiago Motta, Brazilian-born Italian footballer
1983 – Lasith Malinga, Sri Lankan cricketer
1983 – Kimberly Kane, American pornographic actress
1984 – Sarah Roemer, American actress and model
1986 – Florence Welch, British singer (Florence + the Machine)
1989 – César Azpilicueta, Spanish footballer
1989 – Cassadee Pope, American Pop Musician (Hey Monday)
1991 – Kyle Massey, American actor and rapper

1533 - Atahuallpa, the 13th and last emperor of the Incas, died by strangulation at the hands of Francisco Pizarro's Spanish conquistadors. His death marked the end of 300 years of Inca civilization.

1835 - The city of Melbourne, Australia, was founded.

1842 - The Treaty of Nanking was signed between the British and the Chinese, ending the Opium War, and leasing the Hong Kong territories to Britain.

1871 – Emperor Meiji orders the Abolition of the han system and the establishment of prefectures as local centers of administration. (Traditional Japanese date: July 14, 1871).

1885 – Gottlieb Daimler patents the world's first internal combustion motorcycle, the Reitwagen.

1910 – The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, also known as the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty, becomes effective, officially starting the period of Japanese rule in Korea.

1930 – The last 36 remaining inhabitants of St Kilda are voluntarily evacuated to other parts of Scotland.

1949 – Soviet atomic bomb project: The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb, known as First Lightning or Joe 1, at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan.

1966 - British group The Beatles gave their last live concert performance to a crowd of around 25,000 at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, USA.

2005 - Hurricane Katrina devastates much of the U.S. Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, killing more than 1,836 and causing over $80 billion in damage.