1815

Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated for a second time as Emperor of the French.

1938

In a rematch that bore the weight of both geopolitical symbolism and African American representation, American Joe Louis knocked out German Max Schmeling in just two minutes and four seconds to retain his heavyweight boxing title in front of 70,000 spectators at New York’s Yankee Stadium.

1941

Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, a massive and ill-fated invasion of the Soviet Union that would prove pivotal to the Allied victory over the Axis.

1945

The World War II Battle of Okinawa ended with an Allied victory.

1970

President Richard Nixon signed an extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that lowered the voting age to 18.

Birthdays

Actor Prunella Scales is 93. Actor Klaus Maria Brandauer is 82. Fox News analyst Brit Hume is 82. Musician-producer Todd Rundgren is 77. Actor Meryl Streep is 76. Actor Lindsay Wagner is 76. Actor Graham Greene is 73. Singer Cyndi Lauper is 72. Actor Bruce Campbell is 67. Environmental activist Erin Brockovich is 65. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., is 65. Basketball Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler is 63. Author Dan Brown is 61. Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner is 54. Golfer Dustin Johnson is 41.