What happened on 8 July?

7 events from the Ever-When timeline, ranked by how much they mattered.

1. 1853 Perry Expedition to Japan US Black Ships force Japan to end sakoku and open to foreign trade.
2. 1709 Battle of Poltava Peter the Great's decisive victory over Charles XII of Sweden; the turning point of the Great Northern War and of Russia's rise.
3. 1853 Perry's black ships arrive in Edo Bay US Commodore Matthew Perry forces Japan to open to foreign trade.
4. 1839 Born: John D. Rockefeller American oil magnate; co-founder of Standard Oil; richest American of his era.
5. 1994 Death of Kim Il-sung North Korea's founding leader dies; power passes to his son Kim Jong-il, entrenching the world's only communist dynasty.
6. 2022 Assassination of Shinzō Abe Former prime minister Abe shot dead while campaigning in Nara; ends an era of Japanese political stability.
7. 1939 Renoir's The Rules of the Game Satirical comedy considered one of the greatest films ever made.