On this day in 1963, Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space as a member of the Vostok 6 Mission, in the Soviet Space Program.
On this day in 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to Ken Taylor, Canada's former ambassador to Iran, for helping six Americans escape from Iran during the hostage crisis of 1979-81; he was the first foreign citizen bestowed the honor.
On this day in 2000, Israel complied with United Nations Security Council Resolution 425 22 years after its issuance, which called on Israel to completely withdraw from Lebanon. Israel did so, except the disputed Shebaa farms.
On this day in 2012, China successfully launched its Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, carrying three astronauts, including the first female Chinese astronaut Liu Yang, to the Tiangong-1 orbital module.