1396
The last great Christian crusade, led jointly by John the Fearless of Nevers and King Sigismund of Hungary, ends in disaster at the hands of Sultan Bayezid I's Ottoman army at Nicopolis.
1775
British troops capture Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga, when he and a handful of Americans try to invade Canada.
1804
The 12th Amendment is ratified, changing the procedure of choosing the president and vice-president.
1938
President Franklin Roosevelt urges negotiations between Hitler and Czech President Edvard Benes over the Sudetenland.
1943
The Red Army retakes Smolensk from the Germans who are retreating to the Dnieper River in the Soviet Union.
1974
Scientists warn that continued use of aerosol sprays will cause ozone depletion, which will lead to an increased risk of skin cancer and global weather changes.
1983
Maze Prison escape, County Antrim, Northern Ireland; 38 IRA prisoners escape in the largest prison breakout in British history; known among Irish republicans as the Great Escape.
1996
Ireland's last Magdalene laundry closes; begun as asylums to rehabilitate "fallen women," they increasingly took on prison-like qualities.
2008
China launches Shenzhou 7 spacecraft; crew performs China's first extra-vehicular activity (EVA).