| 0 | | Air Force Day in Pakistan and Military Intelligence Day in Ukraine |
| 0 | | Feast of St. Regina, Martyr, Patron of Torture Victims, and that of St. Gratus of Aosta, Patron of Vineyards |
| 831 | | the Arabs captured Palermo from the Byzantines |
| 871 | | enslaved African Kharijite freedom fighters captured and sacked Basra from the Abbasids |
| 1101 | | First Battle of Ramalah: Crusaders defeat the Fatimids |
| 1158 | | Milan surrenders to Frederick Barbarossa |
| 1159 | | Orlando Bandinelli elected Pope as Alexander III (1159-81) |
| 1191 | | Battle of Arshouf: Richard Lionheart defeats Saladin |
| 1191 | | Battle of the Strymon: the Byzantines defeat William II of Sicily |
| 1298 | | Naval Battle of Curzola: Genoese defeat the Venetians, capture Marco Polo |
| 1303 | | The Colonna capture Pope Boniface VIII, a Caetani, at Anagni |
| 1664 | | The English fleet anchors off Nieuw Amsterdam |
| 1706 | | Battle of Turin: Prince Eugene defeats the French |
| 1714 | | Treaty of Baden: French retain Alsace, Austria gets right bank of Rhine |
| 1776 | | David Bushnell's submersible 'American Turtle' tried to sink HMS 'Eagle' in New York harbor -- Learn More |
| 1812 | | Napoleon gained a Pyrrhic victory over Kutuzov at Borodino -- Learn More |
| 1815 | | Grand Review of 150,000 Russian troops outside Paris for Tasr Alexander I, Emperor Francis I of Austria, and King Frederick William III, on the anniversary of the Battle of Borodino. |
| 1822 | | Pedro, son of King João VI of Portugal, declares himself emperor of an independent Brazil (1822-1831) |
| 1848 | | Messina: The Borbons retake the city from rebels after two days’ fighting |
| 1860 | | Garibaldi and the Army of the South made a triumphal entry into Naples as Bourbon forces retreated |
| 1862 | | Stonewall Jackson writes a pass so he can attend divine services |
| 1862 | | Battle of Cumberland Gap, Tn: By the 9th Union forces have seized the Gap and c. 2,500 prisoners |
| 1870 | | HMS 'Captain' capsized off Cape Finisterre, with heavy loss of life -- Learn More |
| 1927 | | Mao Tse-dung writes, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." |
| 1940 | | The London "Blitz" Begins: As Britain goes on "invasion Imminent" status, the Luftwaffe begins 57 consecutive nights of air raids |
| 1942 | | Battle of Alam Halfa: Defeat of Rommel's attempt to reach the Nile |
| 1942 | | Celebrating Labor Day, 150 warships are either laid down or launched by shipyard workers |
| 1943 | | Heavy fighting around Lae, Papua-New Guinea |
| 1943 | | Heavy fighting on Vella Lavella, Upper Solomon Is. |
| 1947 | | Hindus & Muslims battle in New Delhi |
| 1950 | | Communists close all monasteries in Hungary |
| 1956 | | Bell X-2 sets unofficial manned aircraft altitude record 126,000' |
| 1986 | | Unsuccessful attempt to assassinate President/Dictator Augusto Pinochet of Chile |
| 15 | | Aulus Vitellius, gourmand, Roman Emperor (Proclaimed Jan 1, confirmed Apr 16, abdicates Dec 20, murdered Dec 22, 69 -- Learn More |
| 1388 | | Giovanni Maria Visconti I, Duke of Milan, assassinated 1412 |
| 1471 | | King Frederik I of Denmark and Norway (1523-33) |
| 1533 | | Princess Elizabeth of England, later Queen "Gloriana" (1558-1603) -- Learn More |
| 1811 | | William Hemsley Emory, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1887 |
| 1815 | | Howell Cobb II, Maj Gen, C.S. A., d. 1868 |
| 1913 | | Anthony Quayle, SOE operative, actor ("Lawrence of Arabia"), d. 1989 |
| 1914 | | James Van Allen, co-inventor of the proximity fuze, with a belt named after him, d. 2006 |
| 1923 | | Peter Lawford, actor ("White Cliffs of Dover," "The Longest Day"), d. 1984 |
| 1930 | | King Baudouin of Belgium (1951-1991) |
| 355 | | Roman emperor-wannabe Claudius Silvanus (Aug 11-Sep 7, 355), murdered in the Rhineland |
| 1134 | | King Alfonso I of Aragon (1104-34), c. 60 |
| 1151 | | Count Geoffrey V of Anjou (1129-1151), the first Plantagenet, at 38 |
| 1298 | | Andrea Dandolo, Venetian Admiral, kia at Curzola |
| 1548 | | Catherine Parr, c. 36, Mrs. Henry VIII No. 6 (1543-1547), of natural causes |
| 1566 | | Suleiman I "the Magnificent" at 71, greatest Ottoman Sultan (1520-1566) |
| 1603 | | Marco Caltizzone, Pretender to the throne of Portugal, executed by the Spanish |
| 1741 | | Adm Blas de Lezo, 52, defender of Cartagena de las Indias (March 13-May 20, 1741) |
| 1840 | | Étienne Jacques Joseph Alexandre MacDonald, 74, Marshal of France |
| 1997 | | Mobutu Sese Seku, Dictator of Zaire (1965-1997), at 66 |
| 2002 | | Uziel "Uzi" Gal, Israeli soldier and weapons designer, at 78 |