On this day: 19 May

Ashina Jiesheshuai and his tribesmen assault Emperor Taizong at Jiucheng Palace.

Gregory II began his pontificate; his conflict with Byzantine emperor Leo III eventually led to the establishment of the temporal power of the pope.

The Byzantine Empire reconquers Melitene under the leadership of John Kourkouas.

John II of Castile defeats the Infantes of Aragon at the First Battle of Olmedo.

The Prome Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in present-day Myanmar.

Thirty Years' War: French forces under the duc d'Enghien decisively defeat Spanish forces at the Battle of Rocroi, marking the symbolic end of Spain as a dominant land power.

John III Sobieski (pictured) was elected by the szlachta as the monarch of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

French physicist Jean-Pierre Christin published the design of a mercury thermometer using the centigrade scale, with 0 representing the melting point of water and 100 its boiling point.

A combination of thick smoke, fog, and heavy cloud cover caused darkness to fall on parts of Canada and the New England area of the United States by noon.

Napoleon Bonaparte and his expedition force leave France to invade Egypt.

Napoleon Bonaparte founds the Legion of Honour.

The United States Congress passed the largest tariff in the nation's history, which resulted in severe economic hardship in the American South.

Mexican–American War: Mexico ratifies the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thus ending the war and ceding California, Nevada, Utah and parts of four other modern-day U.S. states to the United States for US$15 million.

Buffalo Bill's first Buffalo Bill's Wild West opens in Omaha, Nebraska.

Parks Canada, the world's first national park service, is established as the Dominion Parks Branch under the Department of the Interior.

The Norwegian football club Rosenborg BK is founded.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lands at Samsun on the Anatolian Black Sea coast, initiating what is later termed the Turkish War of Independence.

The United States Congress passes the Emergency Quota Act establishing national quotas on immigration.

The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union is established.

Finnish cavalry general C. G. E. Mannerheim is appointed the field marshal.

Zveno and the Bulgarian Army engineer a coup d'état and install Kimon Georgiev as the new Prime Minister of Bulgaria.

World War II: In the aftermath of the Battle of the Coral Sea, Task Force 16 heads to Pearl Harbor for repairs.

Winston Churchill's second wartime address to the U.S. Congress

The North Vietnamese Army establishes Group 559, whose responsibility is to determine how to maintain supply lines to South Vietnam; the resulting route is the Ho Chi Minh trail.

Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and did not send back any data).

Actress Marilyn Monroe performed a sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" during a televised celebration for U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

The New York Post Sunday Magazine publishes Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail.

Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union.

The Firearm Owners Protection Act is signed into law by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

Breakup of Yugoslavia: With the local Serb population boycotting the referendum, Croatians voted in favour of independence from Yugoslavia.

Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on mission STS-77.

The Sierra Gorda Biosphere, which encompasses the most ecologically diverse region in Mexico, was established as a result of grassroots efforts.

Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on mission STS-101 to resupply the International Space Station.

President of Romania Traian Băsescu survives an impeachment referendum and returns to office from suspension.

In Bangkok, the Thai military concluded a week-long crackdown on widespread protests by forcing the surrender of opposition leaders.

A corroded pipeline near Refugio State Beach, California, spilled 142,800 gallons (3,400 barrels) of crude oil onto the Gaviota Coast.