WEDNESDAY, July 8, 2026

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 and becomes the first European to reach India by sea

1777-Independent Vermont introduces a new constitution prohibiting slavery

1800-Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse gives the first cowpox vaccination in the United States to his son to prevent smallpox

1853-Commodore Matthew C. Perry sails his frigate Susquehanna into Tokyo Bay, opening Japan to Western influence and trade

1948-500th anniversary of the Russian Orthodox Church is celebrated in Moscow

1949-South Africa's Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act commences, prohibiting marriage or sexual relationships between White people and people of other race

1989-Carlos Saul Menum becomes President of Argentina

1997-NATO invites Poland, Hungary & Czech Republic to join

1999-"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," the 3rd book in the series by J. K. Rowling, is published by Bloomsbury in the UK