1536-Anne Boleyn, second wife of English King Henry VIII, is beheaded at the Tower of London on charges of adultery, incest and treason
1643-Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven form the United Colonies of New England
1649-England is declared a Commonwealth by an act of the Rump Parliament, making England a republic for the next 11 years
1885-German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck takes possession of Cameroon and Togoland
1898-US Congress passes the Private Mailing Card Act, allowing private publishers and printers to produce postcards, which have to be labeled "Private Mailing Cards" until 1901, known as "souvenir cards"
1919-Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lands at Samsun on the Black Sea coast, beginning the Turkish War of Independence
1983-36th Cannes Film Festival: "Narayama Bushiko" (The Ballad of Narayama ) directed by Japanese director Shohei Imamura wins the Palme d'Or