1534-French explorer Jacques Cartier claims for France the lands around Gaspé by erecting a 30-foot cross at Pointe-Penouille
1567-Mary, Queen of Scots, is forced to abdicate; her 1-year-old son becomes King James VI of Scotland
1832-Benjamin Bonneville leads the first wagon train across the Rocky Mountains through Wyoming's South Pass
1911-American explorer Hiram Bingham rediscovers Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas
1943-Operation Gomorrah: RAF begins bombing Hamburg (until Aug. 3), creating a firestorm and killing 42,600 people
