On this day: 1 August

War of Actium: Octavian defeated the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at Alexandria, establishing Roman Egypt.

Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.

The first synod of Arles is opened by bishop Marinus of Arles.

Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607).

Arab–Byzantine wars: Led by Ibrahim II of Ifriqiya, Aghlabid forces captured the Byzantine stronghold of Taormina, concluding the Muslim conquest of Sicily.

Alexios IV Angelos is crowned Byzantine co-emperor after his father Isaac II Angelos is pressured to do so by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade.

The Old Swiss Confederacy is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.

Louis XI of France founds the chivalric order called the Order of Saint Michael in Amboise.

Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.

The Ottoman conquest of Cyprus is concluded, by the surrender of Famagusta.

Ottoman forces are defeated in the battle of Saint Gotthard by an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli, resulting in the Peace of Vasvár.

First Barbary War: USS Enterprise, an American schooner, captured the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli in a single-ship action off the coast of Libya.

The first ascent of Monte Rosa, the second highest summit in the Alps.

At the suggestion of Senator J. V. Snellman and the order of Emperor Alexander II, full rights are promised to the Finnish language by a language regulation in the Grand Duchy of Finland.

Colorado was admitted as the 38th U.S. state.

Jef Denyn hosted the world's first carillon concert at St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen, Belgium.

Henry Perky patents shredded wheat.

The Empire of Japan and Qing China declare war on each other after a week of fighting over Korea, formally inaugurating the First Sino-Japanese War.

The start of the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, the origin of the worldwide Scouting movement.

Harriet Quimby became the first woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator certificate.

World War I: The German Empire declares war on the Russian Empire.

World War I: The Swiss Army mobilizes because of World War I.

The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.

Josip Broz Tito reads the resolution "Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH" to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.

Guam is organized as an unincorporated territory of the United States as the President Harry S. Truman signs the Guam Organic Act.

The United States and Canada form the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France.

Islamabad is declared the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan.

The former Belgian Congo is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Frank Herbert's novel, Dune, is published for the first time. It was named as the world's best-selling science fiction novel in 2003.

Purges of intellectuals and imperialists becomes official China policy at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

The coronation of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei, is held.

Cyprus dispute: The United Nations Security Council authorizes the UNFICYP to create the "Green Line", dividing Cyprus into two zones.

The final act of the CSCE meeting is signed in Helsinki, Finland.

Trinidad and Tobago officially became a republic.

Niki Lauda has a severe accident that almost claims his life at the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring.

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland and becomes the world's first democratically elected female head of state.

U.S. president George H. W. Bush delivered a speech in the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev warning against independence from the Soviet Union.

The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 comes to a peak.

Puntland, an autonomous state in northeastern Somalia, is officially established following a constitutional conference in Garowe. Issims and tribal chiefs agreed to create a self-declared government until Somalia recovered.

The Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway begins operation as the fastest commuter rail system in the world.

Former US President Donald Trump is indicted for his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, his third indictment in 2023.