On this day in 1956, the first Eurovision Song Contest was held in Lugano, Switzerland.
On this day in 1957, an angry crowd broke into and ransacked the United States Embassy in Taipei in protest of the killing of Taiwanese citizen Liu Tzu-jan by an American soldier. News that a US court martial had acquitted the American soldier of all charges triggered the riot.
On this day in 1961, during the American civil rights movement, Freedom Riders were arrested in Mississippi, for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus.
On this day in 1976, the Judgment of Paris, a wine competition that took place in France, launched California as a worldwide force in the production of quality wine.
And on this day in 2000, Israeli troops withdrew from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.