Landings at several points. 1970 Splashdown climax. America's crippled spaceship, is about to splash down in the Pacific after the world's most hair-raising space flight. 1663 Turks declare war against Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. 1689 Death of British Chief Justice Judge George Jeffreys in the Tower of London. 1775 Paul Revere rides from Charlestown to Lexington to warn the Massachussetts colonists of the arrival of British troops at the start of the War of American Independence.
Publication starts of the weekly Sydney Herald, Australia's oldest still existing newspaper.
A giant earthquake strikes San Francisco. The quake and resulting fires devastate the city, leaving more than 1,000 dead and 200,000 people homeless. 1909 15th century French heroine Joan of Arc is beatified at a ceremony at the Vatican. Turkey announces closure of Dardanelles Straits to shipping. 1927 Split develops in Kuomintang Party between Chiang Kai-Shek and radical elements.