- 1794
"Terror is nothing more than speedy, severe and inflexible justice"
Robespierre, one of the leading figures of the French Revolution, was sent to the guillotine.
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1540
King Henry VIII of England's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, was executed and Henry married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.
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1750
The great baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach died.
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1821
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1868
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which established the citizenship of African Americans and guaranteed due process of law, was ratified.
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1914
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, precipitating the start of World War I.
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1932
Herbert Hoover ordered Douglas MacArthur to evict the Bonus Marchers from their camps.
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2002
Nine Pennsylvania coal miners were rescued after 77 hours of being trapped in a mine shaft.