On this day: 16 June

The final king of the Sasanian Empire of Iran, Yazdegerd III, ascended the throne at the age of eight.

Ming forces conquered Đại Ngu in modern-day northern Vietnam, capturing Hồ dynasty emperor Hồ Quý Ly and bringing the country under Chinese rule.

War of the Austrian Succession: New England colonial troops under the command of William Pepperrell capture the Fortress of Louisbourg in Louisbourg, New France (Old Style date).

War of the Austrian Succession: Austria and Sardinia defeat a Franco-Spanish army at the Battle of Piacenza.

A strong earthquake in the Kutch district of Gujarat, India, caused a local zone of uplift that dammed the Nara River, which was later named the Allah Bund ('Dam of God').

The Papal conclave of 1846 elects Pope Pius IX, beginning the longest reign in the history of the papacy.

Abraham Lincoln delivers his House Divided speech in Springfield, Illinois.

The first purpose-built roller coaster, LaMarcus Adna Thompson's "Switchback Railway", opens in New York's Coney Island amusement park.

A treaty annexing the Republic of Hawaii to the United States is signed; the Republic would not be dissolved until a year later.

Roald Amundsen leaves Oslo, Norway, to commence the first east–west navigation of the Northwest Passage.

The Ford Motor Company is incorporated.

IBM founded as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in Endicott, New York.

Artek, the most famous Young Pioneer camp of the Soviet Union, is established.

Sovnarkom establishes decree time in the USSR.

The National Industrial Recovery Act is passed in the United States, allowing businesses to avoid antitrust prosecution if they establish voluntary wage, price, and working condition regulations on an industry-wide basis.

World War II: Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of State of Vichy France (Chef de l'État Français).

The Soviet Union occupies Lithuania, which will eventually become the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR).

Psycho, a psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on a novel of the same name by Robert Bloch, premiered.

While on tour with the Kirov Ballet in Paris, Rudolf Nureyev defects from the Soviet Union.

Aboard Vostok 6, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (pictured) became the first woman in space.

In an attempt to resolve the Buddhist crisis in South Vietnam, a Joint Communique is signed between President Ngo Dinh Diem and Buddhist leaders.

The largest single-site hydroelectric power project in Canada is inaugurated at Churchill Falls Generating Station.

Oracle Corporation is incorporated in Redwood Shores, California, as Software Development Laboratories (SDL), by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates.

Revolutions of 1989: Imre Nagy, the former Hungarian prime minister, is reburied in Budapest following the collapse of Communism in Hungary.

The Astronomy Picture of the Day website is launched.

The Secretary-General of the UN reports that Israel has complied with United Nations Security Council Resolution 425, 22 years after its issuance, and completely withdrawn from Lebanon. The Resolution does not encompass the Shebaa farms, which is claimed by Israel, Syria and Lebanon.

Padre Pio is canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.

Bhutan becomes the first country to institute a total ban on tobacco.

Liu Yang (pictured), a member of the Shenzhou 9 crew, became the first Chinese woman in space.

The United States Air Force's robotic Boeing X-37B spaceplane returns to Earth after a classified 469-day orbital mission.

American businessman Donald Trump announces his campaign to run for President of the United States in the upcoming election.

Shanghai Disneyland Park, the first Disney Park in mainland China, opens to the public.

Upwards of 2,000,000 people participate in the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, the largest in Hong Kong's history.