1859

1st intercollegiate baseball game, Amherst beats Williams 66-32 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

1863

The Battle of Gettysburg, one of the most important battles of the American Civil War, began.

1867

The Dominion of Canada was formed this day in 1867, an event subsequently celebrated as an annual Canadian holiday.

1893

San Francisco Bay City Club opens 1st US bicycle race track, made of wood.

1903

The first Tour de France began, and the race went on to become cycling’s most prestigious and difficult event.

1910

Chicago’s White Sox Park (later Comiskey Park) opens – St Louis Browns beat White Sox, 2-0.

1916

Pittsburgh shortstop Honus Wagner, at 42 and 4 months, connects at Cincinnati to become the oldest to hit an inside-the-park HR; Pirates beat Reds, 2-1.

1916

First day of the Battle of the Somme: the British Army suffers its worst day, losing 19,240 men.

1921

The Communist Party of China is founded and Chen Duxiu elected its leader.

1941

1st commercial TV licenses granted-W2XBS-WNBT (NBC) & WCBW (CBS), NYC.

1947

State Department official George Kennan, using the pseudonym “Mr. X,” publishes an article entitled “The Sources of Soviet Conduct” in the July edition of Foreign Affairs.

1952

English architect Michael Ventris says he has solved one of the 20th century’s greatest linguistic riddles, by deciphering Linear B in BBC interview. Is an ancient form of Greek on clay tablets from Minoan palace of Knossos.

1961

Princess Diana of Wales was born.

1963

The U.S. Postal Service instituted the Zone Improvement Plan Code, commonly known as the ZIP Code.

1979

Sony began selling its Walkman.

1984

PG-13 rating debuts.

1997

The crown colony of Hong Kong officially reverted to Chinese sovereignty, ending 156 years of British rule.

2002

The International Criminal Court—established to prosecute and adjudicate individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity—began sittings.

2005

The last Thunderbird, Ford Motor Company’s iconic sports car, emerges from a Ford factory in Wixom, Michigan.

2020

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a controversial trade pact that took effect in 1994, was replaced by the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).