A powerful afternoon storm struck Newark, New Jersey, killing at least two people and injuring others.  Lightning strikes killed a farmer working in his fields on the edge of town and a young man in the city. (By John Osborne) 

Illinois supporters of the Constitutional Union ticket of John Bell and Edward Everett met in Decatur at their state convention.  Ninety-two delegates from twenty-six counties attended.  They named a slate of candidates for statewide offices and reinforced their intent to work for a Bell-Everett victory in November.  (By John Osborne)  

The West Kent Wharf on the south side of the Thames in the London Docks was mostly destroyed in a fire that began at midnight and burned fiercely  for two entire days.  Several massive warehouses, recently built and towering up to nine stories over the river, suffered severe damage along with their contents.  Damage was estimated at around £200,000, the equivalent of something like $1,000,000.  No deaths or serious injuries were reported, however.  (By John Osborne) 

A fire broke out in the early morning hours in a carriage factory in the Covent Garden section of London and spread to the nearby St. Martin's Hall.  The large concert hall, built in 1850 and capable of holding 3000 patrons, was completely destroyed.  It had been a popular venue for music and other performances, Charles Dickens gave several of his readings there, and was rebuilt and reopened in 1863.  The Queen's Theatre now occupies the site.  (By John Osborne)

In the Turkish city of Smyna on the Aegean coast much of the Greek quarter burned in a massive fire.  The exceptionally hot summer weather had dried the wooden buildings of the town to tinder-like conditions and when the fire broke out  in the morning it spread quickly.  Despite help from ships in the harbor, including men from the British H.M.S. Terrible, more than 700 buildings were destroyed in seven hours.  (By John Osborne)

Mexico's liberals had been gaining military strength in the past months and had forced conservative president Miguel Miramón to retreat with his forces towards Querétaro in the center of the country.  At Silao in the state of Guanajuato, liberal General Gonzáles Ortega surrounded Miramón and defeated him in a three hour battle.  Miramón's army broke up and in December, 1860 he resigned as president and fled to Europe. (By John Osborne) 

What the Republican-supporting Chicago Tribune called the largest political meeting ever to be held in the United States took place at the Fair Grounds just outside of Springfield, Illinois. The gathering ended with a massive torch-lit procession past Abraham Lincoln's Springfield home.  Many at the rally took advantage of the mild summer weather to sleep outdoors around the city that night.  (By John Osborne)