On this date in history:

In 1519, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan began a voyage to find a western passage to the East Indies.

In 1946, the first Cannes Film Festival opened on the French Riviera. An earlier attempt to begin the international movie showcase in 1939 was halted by the outbreak of World War II.

In 1966, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II launched the Cunard liner bearing her name, often shortened to QE-2. (It eventually became the only ocean liner on the once thriving trans-Atlantic route.)

In 1973, Billy Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in a Battle of the Sexes tennis match.

In 1984, Muslim militants bombed the U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 23 people. It was the third terrorist attack on U.S. installations in the city in 17 months.

In 2000, the six-year Whitewater investigation of U.S. President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton ended without any indictments being issued. Independent Counsel Robert Ray said there was insufficient evidence to establish criminal wrongdoing.

In 2011, the don't ask, don't tell ban on openly gay U.S. service members was officially repealed at 1 minute past midnight, ending a policy under which about 14,000 men and women were discharged. The controversial 1993 law had allowed gays to serve only if they kept their sexual orientation private.

In 2012, the year-old repeal of a ban on gays in the U.S. military has had no overall negative impact on readiness, a UCLA study found.

In 2013, Chicago police said at least three people were killed and 23 wounded -- 13 in one gang-related outburst of gunfire in a park -- in a two-day spate of shootings. Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said it was a miracle there has been no fatality in the park attack. One of the victims was a 3-year-old boy, shot in the head. (Days later, the child's mother said he would need surgery many times in the years ahead.)

Copyright 2014 by United Press International