Significant and interesting snippets of news, with a South African angle, from this day in history
1099 First Crusade: 15 000 starving Christian soldiers march in religious procession around Jerusalem as its Muslim defenders look on.
1497 Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama departs on his first voyage, becoming the first European to reach India by sea. For almost four months they sailed across the Atlantic without sight of land until they finally made landfall at what is today St Helena Bay. Close to, or near, the mouth of the Berg River, the explorers put in to make repairs, look for water, and check their position. It was here that they had their first encounter with the Khoikhoi. A misunderstanding arose between them, and fearing attack, the Khoikhoi threw spears, wounding Da Gama in the thigh.
1853 American Commodore Matthew Perry sails his frigate, Susquehanna, into Tokyo Bay, opening Japan to Western influence and trade.
1889 Heavyweight boxing champion John Sullivan KOs Jake Kilrain in 75 rounds in the last bare-knuckle bout.
1895 The Delagoa Bay Railway opens.
1944 British troops march into Caen, Normandy, following the D Day landings.
1947 Reports are broadcast that a UFO has crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico.
1949 The ludicrous Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act comes into law, prohibiting love, marriage and sex between Blacks and whites. Notwithstanding, love always found a way.
1961 The Portuguese steamer SS Save breaks up off Mozambique and 227 people die.
1968 An Israeli-Egyptian artillery duel takes place along the Suez Canal.
2011 The space shuttle Atlantis is launched in the final flight of the 27-year US space shuttle programme that consisted of 135 missions and, among other things, included construction of the International Space Station and the launching of the Hubble telescope.
2014 Germany defeat Brazil by a record 7-1 in the semi-finals of the Fifa World Cup to make it to the final; Miroslav Klose breaks the World Cup goal-scoring record with 16 goals.
2018 Four boys are the first to be rescued after being trapped for 16 days in a Thai cave. In total, there are 12 boys, members of a soccer team, and their coach.
2021 The known global death toll from Covid-19 passes 4 million, which is equal to all deaths in battle since 1982.
2022 A controversial and polarizing figure, Shinzō Abe, the former prime minister of Japan, is assassinated while giving a speech in Nara, Japan.