843 - Treaty of Verdun: Brothers Lotharius I, Louis the German and Charles the Bald divide France 1627 - Cardinal Richelieu begins siege of La Rochelle 1897 - Automobile Club of Great Britain established (now: Royal Automobile Club) 1936 - First time the Olympic cycling road race is conducted as a mass start event with Frenchmen Robert Charpentier and Guy Lapébie taking gold and silver, and France winning the teams gold medal 1943 - Adolf Hitler watches a lynching of allied pilots 1981 - Coca-Cola Bottling Co agrees to pump $34 million into black business 1984 - Ian Ferguson of New Zealand wins 2 canoeing gold medals in the one day taking the K-1 500 and K-2 500 (with Paul MacDonald) at the LA Olympics; wins K-4 1000 the next day 1988 - UN estimates Asia's population hits 3 billion 1989 - A's bat out of order against White Sox in 3rd inning 1989 - Australia 0-301 at end of day one, 5th Test Cricket at Trent Bridge More Historical Events »