General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led a coalition to depose President Mohamed Morsi in a coup d'état in Cairo, suspending the Egyptian Constitution of 2012.
US president Jimmy Carter signed a presidential finding, authorizing covert operations to aid the mujahideen against the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
SS United States (pictured) departed New York Harbor on her maiden voyage, on which completion she became the fastest ocean liner to cross the Atlantic.
Second World War: The Royal Navy attacked the French fleet at Mers El Kébir (pictured), fearing that the ships would fall into Axis hands after the French–German armistice.