In 1401, Turko-Mongol conqueror Timur sacked the city of Baghdad as part of his campaigns in the Levant before turning his attention to Anatolia, modern Turkey. His soldiers butchered the entire populace of 20,000 residents and disrupted the short-lived Jalayirid Sultanate, which lasted from 1335 to 1432.
In 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment to the American Constitution was ratified. This amendment guaranteed the full citizenship to all black Americans, along with the protection of due process of law to all persons in the United States. Since then, the Supreme Court has relied upon the powers of this Amendment to expand civil liberties and protections.
In 2011, the most recent sovereign nation with widespread recognition was born when the Republic of South Sudan gained independence and seceded from the Republic of the Sudan. Happy Independence Day to the South Sudanese!
Notable Birth(s)
1249 and 1654 – Two Emperors of Japan were born on this date, the first being Emperor Kameyama (d. 1305) who was emperor during the Kamakura shogunate period, and the second Emperor Reigen (d. 1654) who was an emperor during the isolationist Edo period.
A Notable Death
1850 – Zachary Taylor (b. 1784) was the 12th President of the United States, passing away while in office due to the consumption of raw fruit and iced milk. His service during the Mexican-American War led to his rise to the presidency, which only lasted 16 months.
