Typhoon Morakot makes landfall in Taiwan, and almost the entire southern region of Taiwan is flooded by record-breaking rainfall.

opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

An EF2 tornado touches down in Kings County and Richmond County, New York State, the most powerful tornado in New York to date and the first in Brooklyn since 1889.

Confederate submarine ''H.L. Hunley'' is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor and 30 years after its discovery by undersea explorer E. Lee Spence and 5 years after being filmed by a dive team funded by novelist Clive Cussler.

The Warsaw radio mast, at one time the tallest construction ever built, collapses.

Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.

Space Shuttle program: STS-28 Mission – Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.

The lights are turned on at Wrigley Field for the first time, making it the last major league stadium to host night games. (The game, against the Philadelphia Phillies, is rained out after three-and-a-half innings.)

The "8888 Uprising" occurs in Burma.

The Central Hotel Fire, Bundoran occurs in Ireland.

As part of the ABA-NBA merger agreement, a dispersal draft was conducted to assign teams for the players on the two ABA franchises which had folded.

Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his resignation, effective the next day.

Kim Dae-Jung, a South Korean politician and later president of South Korea, is kidnapped.

U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew appears on television to denounce accusations he had taken kickbacks while governor of Maryland.

Jurō Wada successfully performs Japan's first heart transplant.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Great Train Robbery: in England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal 2.6 million pounds in bank notes.

South Kasai secedes from the Congo.

Bhutan becomes independent.

First flight of the Convair B-36.

The United Nations Charter is signed by the United States, which becomes the third nation to join.

World War II: the Soviet Union declares war on Japan and begins the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation.

World War II: in Washington, DC, six German would-be saboteurs (Operation Pastorius) are executed.

The Quit India resolution is passed by the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee in Bombay, and Mahatma Gandhi gave the "Quit India speech" at Gowalia Tank, leading to the start of a civil disobedience movement across British India.

The "Aufbau Ost" directive is signed by Wilhelm Keitel.

The building of Mauthausen concentration camp begins.

Workers go on strike at the Hoover dam.

The German airship ''Graf Zeppelin'' begins a round-the-world flight.

World War I: the Battle of Amiens begins a string of almost continuous victories with a push through the German front lines (Hundred Days Offensive).

Public Law 62-5 sets the number of representatives in the United States House of Representatives at 435. The law would come into effect in 1913.

The millionth patent is filed in the United States Patent Office by Francis Holton for a tubeless vehicle tire.

The US Army installs the first tricycle landing gear on the Army's Wright Flyer.

Wilbur Wright makes his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. It is the Wright Brothers' first public flight.

Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.

The ''Republic of Ploieşti'', a failed Radical-Liberal rising against Domnitor Carol of Romania.

American Civil War: following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (which is refused upon receipt).

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, headed by Brigham Young, is reaffirmed as the leading body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS or Mormon Church).

Beta Theta Pi is founded in Oxford, Ohio.

Joseph Whidbey and George Vancouver lead an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.

The insurrection of Lyon occurs during the French Revolution.

Mont Blanc on the French – Italian border is climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard.

Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrates the lifting power of hot air in an audience before the King of Portugal in Lisbon

The Irish Confederate Wars and Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Dungans Hill

The city of Oulu, Finland, is founded by Charles IX of Sweden.

Anglo-Spanish War (1585)|Anglo-Spanish War: Spanish Armada#Battle of Gravelines|Battle of Gravelines

John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.

The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on Hven.

The Emperor Krishnadeva Raya is crowned, marking the beginning of the regeneration of the Vijayanagara Empire.

King James IV of Scotland marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England at Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.