The United States Government admits to the existence of "Area 51".

French President Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed during Bastille Day celebrations.

A powerful solar flare, later named the Bastille Day event, causes a geomagnetic storm on Earth.

386BSD is released by Lynne Jolitz and William Jolitz beginning the Open Source Operating System Revolution. Linus Torvalds release his Linux soon afterwards.

Football War: after Honduras loses a soccer match against El Salvador, riots break out in Honduras against Salvadoran migrant workers.

The United States $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills are officially withdrawn from circulation.

The Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet.

Jane Goodall arrives at the Gombe Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to begin her famous study of chimpanzees in the wild.

Iraqi Revolution: in Iraq the monarchy is overthrown by popular forces lead by Abdul Karim Kassem, who becomes the nation's new leader.

Rawya Ateya takes her seat in the National Assembly of Egypt, thereby becoming the first female parliamentarian in the Arab world.

Korean War: North Korean troops initiate the Battle of Taejon.

Palmiro Togliatti, leader of the Italian Communist Party, is shot and wounded near the Italian Parliament.

In Joplin, Missouri, the George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument in honor of an African American.

Gleichschaltung: in Germany, all political parties are outlawed except the Nazi Party.

Start of the Battle of Delville Wood as an action within the Battle of the Somme, which was to last until 3 September 1916.

The Campanile in St. Mark's Square, Venice collapses, also demolishing the loggetta.

Armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance capture Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion.

Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Pat Garrett outside Fort Sumner.

First ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper and party, four of whom die on the descent.

The Sedition Act becomes law in the United States making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government.

The Priestley Riots drive Joseph Priestley, a supporter of the French Revolution, out of Birmingham, England.

French Revolution: citizens of Paris celebrate the constitutional monarchy and national reconciliation in the Fête de la Fédération.

French Revolution: citizens of Paris storm the Bastille and free seven prisoners.

Foundation of the Mission San Antonio de Padua in modern California by the Franciscan friar Junípero Serra.

An expedition led by Gaspar de Portolà establishes a base in California and sets out to find the Port of Monterey (now Monterey, California).

The Darien scheme begins with five ships, bearing about 1,200 people, departing Leith for the Isthmus of Panama.

Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II of France.