1356 In a landmark battle of the Hundred Years' War, English Prince Edward defeats the French at Poitiers.

1544 Francis, the king of France, and Charles V of Austria sign a peace treaty in Crespy, France, ending a 20-year war.

1692 Giles Corey is pressed to death for standing mute and refusing to answer charges of witchcraft brought against him. He is the only person in America to have suffered this punishment.

1777 American forces under Gen. Horatio Gates meet British troops led by Gen. John Burgoyne at Saratoga Springs, NY.

1783 The first hot-air balloon is sent aloft in Versailles, France with animal passengers including a sheep, rooster and a duck.

1788 Charles de Barentin becomes lord chancellor of France.

1841 The first railway to span a frontier is completed between Strasbourg and Basel, in Europe.

1900 President Emile Loubet of France pardons Jewish army captain Alfred Dreyfus, twice court-martialed and wrongly convicted of spying for Germany.

1918 American troops of the Allied North Russia Expeditionary Force receive their baptism of fire near the town of Seltso against Soviet forces.

1948 Moscow announces it will withdrawal soldiers from Korea by the end of the year.

1955 Argentina's President Juan Peron is overthrown by rebels.

1957 First underground nuclear test takes place in Nevada.

1970 First Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (originally called the Pilton Festival) is held near Pliton, Somerset, England.

1973 Carl XVI Gustaf invested as King of Sweden, following the death of his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf.

1982 The first documented emoticons, :-) and :-(, posted on Carnegie Mellon University Bulletin Board System by Scott Fahlman.

1985 An earthquake kills thousands in Mexico City.

1985 Parents Music Resource Center formed by Tipper Gore (wife of then-Senator Al Gore) and other political wives lobby for Parental Advisory stickers on music packaging.

1991 German hikers near the Austria-Italy border discover the naturally preserved mummy of a man from about 3,300 BC; Europe's oldest natural human mummy, he is dubbed Otzi the Iceman because his lower half was encased in ice.