On July 8, 1497, Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama set sail from Lisbon on a voyage that led to discovery of a sea route to India around the southern tip of Africa.
In 1835 the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia cracked as it was being rung for the funeral of Chief Justice John Marshall.
In 1944 the Japanese-mandated island of Saipan was captured by U.S. forces in World War II.
In 1969 bishops and priests of the Church of England defeated a proposal for unification with the Methodist Church.
In 1984 John McEnroe defeated Jimmy Connors 6-1, 6-1, 6-2, for the Wimbledon men`s singles title in only 80 minutes.
In 1986 New York state`s highest court reinstated charges of attempted murder and asault against Bernhard Goetz, who had wounded four youths he said were about to rob him on a Manhattan subway. Goetz was acquitted June 16 of both charges.
