THIS DAY IN HISTORY

[IceWizard]

Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor





1885
June 17



On June 17, 1885, the dismantled Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people
of France to the people of America, arrives in New York Harbor after being shipped across
the Atlantic Ocean in 350 individual pieces packed in more than 200 cases. The copper
and iron statue, which was reassembled and dedicated the following year in a ceremony
presided over by U.S. President Grover Cleveland, became known around the world as an
enduring symbol of freedom and democracy.

Intended to commemorate the American Revolution and a century of friendship between
the U.S. and France, the statue was designed by French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi
(who modeled it after his own mother), with assistance from engineer Gustave Eiffel, who
later developed the iconic tower in Paris bearing his name. The statue was initially scheduled
to be finished by 1876, the 100th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence;
however, fundraising efforts, which included auctions, a lottery and boxing matches, took
longer than anticipated, both in Europe and the U.S., where the statue’s pedestal was to be
financed and constructed. The statue alone cost the French an estimated $250,000
(more than $5.5 million in today’s money).

Finally completed in Paris in the summer of 1884, the statue, a robed female figure with an
uplifted arm holding a torch, reached its new home on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor
on June 17, 1885. After being reassembled, the 450,000-pound statue was officially dedicated
on October 28, 1886, by President Cleveland, who said, “We will not forget that Liberty has
here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected.” Standing more than 305 feet
from the foundation of its pedestal to the top of its torch, the statue, dubbed
“Liberty Enlightening the World” by Bartholdi, was taller than any structure in New York City
at the time. The statue was originally copper-colored, but over the years it underwent a natural
color-change process called patination that produced its current greenish-blue hue.

In 1892, Ellis Island, located near Bedloe’s Island (which in 1956 was renamed Liberty Island),
opened as America’s chief immigration station, and for the next 62 years Lady Liberty, as the
statue is nicknamed, stood watch over the more than 12 million immigrants who sailed into
New York Harbor. In 1903, a plaque inscribed with a sonnet titled “The New Colossus” by
American poet Emma Lazarus, written 20 years earlier for a pedestal fundraiser, was placed
on an interior wall of the pedestal. Lazarus’ now-famous words, which include “Give me your
tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” became symbolic of America’s
vision of itself as a land of opportunity for immigrants.

Some 60 years after President Calvin Coolidge designated the statue a national monument in 1924,
it underwent a multi-million-dollar restoration (which included a new torch and gold leaf-covered flame)
and was rededicated by President Ronald Reagan on July 4, 1986, in a lavish celebration. Following
the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the statue was closed; its base, pedestal and
observation deck re-opened in 2004, while its crown re-opened to the public on July 4, 2009.
(For safety reasons, the torch has been closed to visitors since 1916, after an incident called the
Black Tom explosions in which munitions-laden barges and railroad cars on the Jersey City, New Jersey,
waterfront were blown up by German agents, causing damage to the nearby statue.)

Today, the Statue of Liberty is one of America’s most famous landmarks. Over the years, it has
been the site of political rallies and protests (from suffragettes to anti-war activists), has been
featured in numerous movies and countless photographs, and has received millions of visitors
from around the globe.




ALSO ON THIS DAY



CRIME
2015
Charleston church shooting

On the evening of June 17, 2015, a mass shooter took the lives of nine
African American people at a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist
Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The massacre at a historic
Black church deeply shook a nation already jaded by frequent gun ... read more





WORLD WAR II
1940
France to surrender to Nazis

With Paris fallen and the German conquest of France reaching its conclusion,
Marshal Henri Petain replaces Paul Reynaud as prime minister and announces
his intention to sign an armistice with the Nazis. The next day, French
General Charles de Gaulle, not very well known even to ... read more





VIETNAM WAR
1972
Watergate burglars arrested

In the early morning of June 17, 1972, five men are arrested for breaking into
the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate, an
office-hotel-apartment complex in Washington, D.C. In their possession were
burglary tools, cameras and film, and three pen-size tear ... read more





EXPLORATION
1579
Sir Francis Drake claims California for England

During his circumnavigation of the world, English seaman Francis Drake anchors
in a harbor just north of present-day San Francisco, California, and claims the
territory for Queen Elizabeth I. Calling the land “Nova Albion,” Drake remained
on the California coast for a month to ... read more


CRIME
1994
O.J. Simpson leads L.A. police on a low-speed chase

Viewers across the nation are glued to their television screens on June 17, 1994,
watching as a fleet of black-and-white police cars pursues a white Ford Bronco
along Interstate 405 in Los Angeles, California. Inside the Bronco is
Orenthal James “O.J.” Simpson, a former ... read more





WORLD WAR II
1943
FDR’s secretary of war stifles Truman’s
inquiry into suspicious defense plant

On June 17, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s secretary of war, Henry Stimson,
phones then-Missouri Senator Harry S. Truman and politely asks him not to make
inquiries about a defense plant in Pasco, Washington. World War II was in full
swing in 1943 and Truman was chairing ... read more


NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY
1876
Native Americans score victory
at the Battle of the Rosebud

Sioux and Cheyenne Native Americans score a tactical victory over General Crook’s
forces at the Battle of the Rosebud, foreshadowing the disaster of the Battle of the
Little Big Horn eight days later. General George Crook was in command of one of
three columns of soldiers ... read more


COLD WAR
1953
Soviets crush antigovernment riots in East Berlin

The Soviet Union orders an entire armored division of its troops into East Berlin to
crush a rebellion by East German workers and antigovernment protesters. The
Soviet assault set a precedent for later interventions into Hungary in 1956 and
Czechoslovakia in 1968. The riots in ... read more





AMERICAN REVOLUTION
1775
Battle of Bunker Hill begins

British General Thomas Gage lands his troops on the Charlestown Peninsula
overlooking Boston, Massachusetts, and leads them against Breed’s Hill, a fortified
American position just below Bunker Hill, on June 17, 1775. As the British advanced
in columns against the Americans, ... read more


WORLD WAR II
1940
British and Allied troops continue the evacuation
of France, as Churchill reassures his countrymen

On June 17, 1940, British troops evacuate France in Operation Ariel, an exodus
almost on the order of Dunkirk. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
offers words of encouragement in a broadcast to the nation: “Whatever has happened
in France… [w]e shall defend our ... read more

[IceWizard]

Hitler and Mussolini meet in Munich






1940
June 18



On June 18, 1940, Benito Mussolini arrives in Munich with his foreign minister, Count Ciano,
to discuss immediate plans with the Fuhrer, and doesn’t like what he hears.

Embarrassed over the late entry of Italy in the war against the Allies, and its rather tepid
performance since, Mussolini met with Hitler determined to convince his Axis partner to
exploit the advantage he had in France by demanding total surrender and occupying the
southern portion still free. The Italian dictator clearly wanted “in” on the spoils, and this
was a way of reaping rewards with a minimum of risk. But Hitler, too, was in no mood to
risk, and was determined to put forward rather mild terms for peace with France. He needed
to ensure that the French fleet remained neutral and that a government-in-exile was not
formed in North Africa or London determined to further prosecute the war. He also denied
Mussolini’s request that Italian troops occupy the Rhone Valley, and that Corsica, Tunisia
and Djibouti (adjacent to Italian-occupied Ethiopia) be disarmed.

Ciano recorded in his diary that Mussolini left the meeting frustrated and “very much embarrassed,”
feeling “that his role is secondary.” Ciano also records a newfound respect for Hitler:
“Today he speaks with a reserve and perspicacity which, after such a victory, are really astonishing.”




ALSO ON THIS DAY



FRANCE
1815
Napoleon defeated at Waterloo

At Waterloo in Belgium, Napoleon Bonaparte suffers defeat at the hands of
the Duke of Wellington, bringing an end to the Napoleonic era of European
history. The Corsica-born Napoleon, one of the greatest military strategists
in history, rapidly rose in the ranks of the French ... read more


WOMEN’S HISTORY
1983
Sally Ride becomes the first
American woman in space

On June 18, 1983,  the space shuttle Challenger is launched into space on its second
mission. On board the shuttle is Dr. Sally K. Ride, who as a mission specialist,
becomes the first American woman to travel into space.  Ride, who had earlier
pursued a professional tennis ... read more





WAR OF 1812
1812
War of 1812 begins

June 18, 1812: The day after the Senate followed the House of Representatives in
voting to declare war against Great Britain, President James Madison signs the
declaration into law—and the War of 1812 begins. The American war declaration,
opposed by a sizable minority in ... read more


SPORTS
1960
Arnold Palmer wins U.S. Open

On June 18, 1960, Arnold Palmer shoots a 65 to win the U.S. Open at Cherry Hills
Country Club in Denver, Colorado.  Palmer, from Ligonier, Pennsylvania was the son
of a golf pro at the Latrobe Country Club in nearby Latrobe. His father taught him
the game during the club’s off ... read more





U.S. PRESIDENTS
1798
President John Adams oversees passage
of first of Alien and Sedition Acts

President John Adams oversees the passage of the Naturalization Act, the first of four
pieces of controversial legislation known together as the Alien and Sedition Acts, on
June 18, 1798. Strong political opposition to these acts succeeded in undermining
the Adams administration, ... read more


ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1967
The Monterey Pop Festival reaches its climax

By the time they got to Woodstock, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Who and the
Grateful Dead were established superstars—heroes to the roughly half a million
worshipful fans who trekked up to Max Yasgur’s farm to see them in the summer
of 1969. Yet just two years earlier, they ... read more





1970S
1972
Jet crashes after takeoff at Heathrow,
killing 118 people

On June 18, 1972, a Trident jetliner crashes after takeoff from Heathrow Airport
in London, killing 118 people. The official cause of this accident remains unknown,
but it may have happened simply because the plane was carrying too much
weight. As the summer of 1972 approached, ... read more





CRIME
1984
A radio host is gunned down
for his controversial views

Talk radio host Alan Berg is gunned down and killed instantly in the driveway of
his home in Denver, Colorado, on June 18, 1984. The 50-year-old host, whose
show on the station KOA gained a strong following in the early 1980s, stirred
up controversy with his outspoken personality ... read more





COLD WAR
1979
Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev
sign the SALT-II nuclear treaty

During a summit meeting in Vienna, President Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader
Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT-II agreement dealing with limitations and guidelines
for nuclear weapons. The treaty, which never formally went into effect, proved
to be one of the most controversial ... read more





AMERICAN REVOLUTION
1778
British abandon Philadelphia

On June 18, 1778, after almost nine months of occupation, 15,000 British troops
under General Sir Henry Clinton evacuate Philadelphia, the former U.S. capital.
The British had captured Philadelphia on September 26, 1777, following General
George Washington’s defeats at the Battle ... read more

[IceWizard]

Abolition of slavery announced
in Texas on "Juneteenth"







1865
June 19



In what is now known as Juneteenth, on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrive in
Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War is over and slavery in the United States
is abolished.

A mix of June and 19th, Juneteenth has become a day to commemorate the end of
slavery in America. Despite the fact that President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation
Proclamation was issued more than two years earlier on January 1, 1863, a lack of
Union troops in the rebel state of Texas made the order difficult to enforce.

Some historians blame the lapse in time on poor communication in that era, while
others believe Texan slave-owners purposely withheld the information.

Upon arrival and leading the Union soldiers, Major Gen. Gordon Granger announced
General Order No. 3: "The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a
proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves
an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters
and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between
employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present
homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect
at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere."

On that day, 250,000 enslaved people were freed, and despite the message to stay and
work for their owners, many left the state immediately and headed north or to nearby
states in search of family members who had been taken to other regions during slavery.

For many African Americans, June 19 is considered an independence day. Before 2021,
nearly all 50 states recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday. On June 17, 2021,
President Biden signed legislation officially declaring it a federal holiday.





ALSO ON THIS DAY



CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
1968
“Solidarity Day” rally at Resurrection City

On June 19, 1968, a long-term anti-poverty demonstration known as
Resurrection City reaches its high-water mark. On “Solidarity Day,”
over 50,000 people flock to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
to protest, sing, hear speeches and demonstrate on behalf of national ... read more





CRIME
1982
Vincent Chin is murdered

Chinese American Vincent Chin, 27, is beaten in the head with a baseball
bat by two white autoworkers in Detroit on June 19, 1982. Chin died in a
hospital four days later, on June 23.  During his bachelor party at a club
on the night of June 19, Chin and three friends were ... read more





21ST CENTURY
2006
Construction on Global Seed Vault begins

On June 15, 2006, on the remote island of Spitsbergen halfway between
mainland Norway and the North Pole, the prime ministers of Norway,
Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland lay the ceremonial first stone
of the Global Seed Vault. The vault, which now has the capacity to hold ... read more





21ST CENTURY
2014
Felipe VI becomes king of Spain after
Juan Carlos I abdicates

When the clock struck midnight on June 19, 2014, King Juan Carlos I of Spain’s
nearly 40-year reign came to an end. Two weeks after abdicating the Spanish
throne amidst sagging approval ratings, Juan Carlos symbolically removed
his red sash—signifying his status as leader of the ... read more





ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
2013
James Gandolfini, TV’s Tony Soprano, dies at 51

On June 19, 2013, James Gandolfini, the actor best known for his role as
New Jersey crime boss Tony Soprano on the TV series “The Sopranos,”
which debuted in 1999 and ran for six seasons, dies of a heart attack
while vacationing in Rome, Italy. He was 51. The son of working-class ... read more





19TH CENTURY
1867
Emperor of Mexico executed

Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, installed as emperor of Mexico by
French Emperor Napoleon III in 1864, is executed on the orders of
Benito Juarez, the president of the Mexican Republic. In 1861, the liberal
Mexican Benito Juarez became president of a country in financial ... read more





US POLITICS
1856
First Republican national convention ends

In Music Fund Hall in Philadelphia, the first national convention of the
Republican Party, founded two years before, comes to its conclusion.
John Charles Fremont of California, the famous explorer of the West,
was nominated for the presidency, and William Lewis Dayton of New ... read more





COLD WAR
1953
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed for espionage

On June 19, 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of
conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviets, are executed at
Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. Both refused to admit any
wrongdoing and proclaimed their innocence right up to the time of their ... read more





WORLD WAR II
1944
United States scores major victory against
Japanese in Battle of the Philippine Sea

On June 19, 1944, in what would become known as the “Marianas Turkey Shoot,”
U.S. carrier-based fighters decimate the Japanese Fleet with only a minimum
of losses in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The security of the Marianas Islands,
in the western Pacific, were vital to ... read more


WESTWARD EXPANSION
1868
Father De Smet talks peace with Sitting Bull

Attempting to convince local Native Americans to make peace with the United States,
the Jesuit missionary Pierre-Jean De Smet meets with the Sioux leader Sitting Bull
in present-day Montana. A native of Belgium, De Smet came to the United States
in 1821 at the age of 20. He ... read more


ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1971
Carole King has her first #1 hit as a performer

Carole King began her career in music as a young newlywed and college
graduate, working a 9-to-5 shift alongside her then-husband, Gerry Goffin,
in Don Kirshner’s songwriting factory, Aldon Music. It was there, working in
a cubicle with a piano, staff paper and tape recorder that ... read more





ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1905
First nickelodeon opens

On June 19, 1905, some 450 people attend the opening day of the world’s
first nickelodeon, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and developed by
the showman Harry Davis. The storefront theater boasted 96 seats and
charged each patron five cents. Nickelodeons (named for a ... read more





CRIME
1892
A bloody fingerprint elicits a mother’s
evil tale in Argentina

Francesca Rojas’ two young children are killed in their home in the small
town of Necochea, Argentina. According to Rojas, a man named Velasquez
had threatened her when she rejected his sexual advances earlier in the
day. Upon returning home later, Rojas claimed to have seen ... read more


CIVIL WAR
1864
USS Kearsarge sinks CSS Alabama

The most successful and feared Confederate commerce raider of the war,
the CSS Alabama, sinks after a spectacular battle off the coast of France
with the USS Kearsarge. Built in an English shipyard and sold to the
Confederates in 1861, the Alabama was a state-of-the-art ship—220 ... read more


INVENTIONS & SCIENCE
2005
Controversy at U.S. Grand Prix

After 14 Formula One race car drivers withdraw due to safety concerns
over the Michelin-made tires on their vehicles, German driver Michael
Schumacher wins a less-than-satisfying victory at the United States Grand
Prix on June 19, 2005. The race, held at the Indianapolis Motor ... read more





WORLD WAR I
1917
Britain’s King George V changes royal surname

On June 19, 1917, during the third year of World War I, Britain’s King
George V orders the British royal family to dispense with the use of
German titles and surnames, changing the surname of his own family,
the decidedly Germanic Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, to Windsor.
The second son of ... read more

[IceWizard]

"Jaws" released in theaters







1975
June 20



On June 20, 1975, Jaws, a film directed by Steven Spielberg that made countless
viewers afraid to go into the water, opens in theaters. The story of a great white
shark that terrorizes a New England resort town became an instant blockbuster
and the highest-grossing film in movie history until it was bested by 1977’s Star
Wars. Jaws was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Picture category
and took home three Oscars, for Best Film Editing, Best Original Score and Best
Sound. The film, a breakthrough for director Spielberg, then 27 years old,
spawned several sequels.

The film starred Roy Scheider as principled police chief Martin Brody, Richard Dreyfuss
as a marine biologist named Matt Hooper and Robert Shaw as a grizzled fisherman
called Quint. It was set in the fictional beach town of Amity, and based on a
best-selling novel, released in 1973, by Peter Benchley. Subsequent water-themed
Benchley bestsellers also made it to the big screen, including The Deep (1977).

With a budget of $12 million, Jaws was produced by the team of Richard Zanuck and
David Brown, whose later credits include The Verdict (1982), Cocoon (1985) and
Driving Miss Daisy (1989). Filming, which took place on Martha’s Vineyard,
Massachusetts, was plagued by delays and technical difficulties, including
malfunctioning mechanical sharks.

Jaws put now-famed director Steven Spielberg on the Hollywood map. Spielberg,
largely self-taught in filmmaking, made his major feature-length directorial debut
with The Sugarland Express in 1974. The film was critically well-received but a
box-office flop. Following the success of Jaws, Spielberg went on to become one of
the most influential, iconic directors in the film world, with such epics as Close Encounters
of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), ET: the Extra-Terrestrial
(1982), Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler’s List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).
E.T., Jaws and Jurassic Park rank among the highest-grossing movies of all time.



ALSO ON THIS DAY



FRANCE
1789
Third Estate makes Tennis Court Oath

In Versailles, France, the deputies of the Third Estate, which represent
commoners and the lower clergy, meet on the Jeu de Paume, an indoor
tennis court, in defiance of King Louis XVI’s order to disperse. In these
modest surroundings, they took the historic Tennis Court Oath, ... read more


CHINA
1900
Boxer Rebellion begins in China

In response to widespread foreign encroachment upon China’s national
affairs, Chinese nationalists launch the so-called Boxer Rebellion in Peking.
Calling themselves I Ho Ch’uan, or “the Righteous and Harmonious Fists,”
the nationalists occupied Peking, killed several Westerners, ... read more





WESTWARD EXPANSION
1875
Mountain man Joe Meek dies

A skilled practitioner of the frontier art of the tall tale, the mountain man
Joe Meek dies on his farm in Oregon. His life was nearly as adventurous as
his stories claimed. Born in Virginia in 1810, Meek was a friendly and
relentlessly good-humored young man, but he had too much ... read more





ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1981
Stars on 45 single reaches the top
of the pop charts

It was the summer of 1981, and after an 11-year hiatus, the sound of the
Fab Four once again ruled the radio airwaves. Only instead of John, Paul,
George and Ringo, this time the world had to settle for Bas, Hans, Jaap
and Okkie—the Dutch studio musicians behind the phenomenon ... read more





CRIME
1947
Bugsy Siegel, organized crime leader,
is killed

Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, the man who brought organized crime to the
West Coast, is shot and killed at his mistress Virginia Hill’s home in
Beverly Hills, California. Siegel had been talking to his associate
Allen Smiley when three bullets were fired through the window
and into ... read more





COLD WAR
1963
United States and Soviet Union agree
to establish a nuclear “hot line”

To lessen the threat of an accidental nuclear war, the United States and
the Soviet Union agree to establish a “hot line” communication system
between the two nations. The agreement was a small step in reducing
tensions between the United States and the USSR following the
October ... read more





CIVIL WAR
1863
West Virginia enters the Union

During the Civil War, West Virginia is admitted into the Union as the
35th U.S. state, or the 24th state if the secession of the 11 Southern
states were taken into account. The same day, Arthur Boreman was
inaugurated as West Virginia’s first state governor. Settlement
of the ... read more


INVENTIONS & SCIENCE
1941
Ford signs first contract with autoworkers’ union

After a long and bitter struggle on the part of Henry Ford against cooperation
with organized labor unions, Ford Motor Company signs its first contract
with the United Automobile Workers of America and Congress of Industrial
Organizations (UAW-CIO) on June 20, 1941.   
In 1935, ... read more






AMERICAN REVOLUTION
1782
Congress adopts the Great Seal
of the United States

On June 20, 1782, Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States
after six years of discussion. The front of the seal depicts a bald eagle
clutching an olive branch in its right talon and arrows in its left. On its
breast appears a shield marked with 13 vertical
red and ... read more


WORLD WAR I
1919
German cabinet resigns over
Versailles deadlock

On June 20, 1919, during the final days of the Versailles Peace
Conference held in Paris, France, the German cabinet deadlocks over
whether to accept the peace terms presented to its delegation by
the other nations at the peace conference–most notably the Council
of Four: France, ... read more

[IceWizard]

U.S. Constitution ratified






1788
June 21




June 21, 1788: New Hampshire becomes the ninth and last necessary state to ratify
the Constitution of the United States, thereby making the document the law of the land.

By 1786, defects in the post-Revolutionary War Articles of Confederation were apparent,
such as the lack of central authority over foreign and domestic commerce. Congress
endorsed a plan to draft a new constitution, and on May 25, 1787, the Constitutional
Convention convened at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. On September 17, 1787,
after three months of debate moderated by convention president George Washington,
the new U.S. constitution, which created a strong federal government with an intricate
system of checks and balances, was signed by 38 of the 41 delegates present at the
conclusion of the convention. As dictated by Article VII, the document would not become
binding until it was ratified by nine of the 13 states.

Beginning on December 7, five states—Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and
Connecticut—ratified it in quick succession. However, other states, especially Massachusetts,
opposed the document, as it failed to reserve undelegated powers to the states and lacked
constitutional protection of basic political rights, such as freedom of speech, religion, and
the press. In February 1788, a compromise was reached under which Massachusetts and
other states would agree to ratify the document with the assurance that amendments
would be immediately proposed. The Constitution was thus narrowly ratified in Massachusetts,
followed by Maryland and South Carolina. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the
ninth state to ratify the document, and it was subsequently agreed that government under
the U.S. Constitution would begin on March 4, 1789. In June, Virginia ratified the Constitution,
followed by New York in July.

On September 25, 1789, the first Congress of the United States adopted 12 amendments
to the U.S. Constitution—the Bill of Rights—and sent them to the states for ratification.
Ten of these amendments were ratified in 1791. In November 1789, North Carolina became
the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Rhode Island, which opposed federal control
of currency and was critical of compromise on the issue of slavery, resisted ratifying the
Constitution until the U.S. government threatened to sever commercial relations with the state.
On May 29, 1790, Rhode Island voted by two votes to ratify the document, and the last of the
original 13 colonies joined the United States. Today the U.S. Constitution is the oldest written
constitution in operation in the world.



ALSO ON THIS DAY



19TH CENTURY
1813
French defeated in Spain,
ending the Peninsular War

At Vitoria, Spain, a massive allied British, Portuguese, and Spanish force
under British General Arthur Wellesley routs the French, effectively ending
the Peninsular War. On February 16, 1808, under the pretext of sending
reinforcements to the French army occupying Portugal, ... read more


MEXICO
1916
U.S. General John J. Pershing attacked
by Mexican troops

The controversial U.S. military expedition against Mexican revolutionary
Pancho Villa brings the United States and Mexico closer to war when
Mexican government troops attack U.S. Brigadier General John J. Pershing’s
force at Carrizal, Mexico. The Americans suffered 22 casualties, ... read more


CRIME
1982
John Hinckley Jr., who attempted to
assassinate Ronald Reagan, found not guilty

John W. Hinckley, Jr., who on March 30, 1981, shot President Ronald Reagan
and three others outside a Washington, D.C., hotel, was found not guilty of
attempted murder by reason of insanity. In the trial, Hinckley’s defense attorneys
argued that their client was ill with ... read more





U.S. PRESIDENTS
1810
Zachary Taylor and Richard Nixon
marry their future first ladies

On this day in June (in two different years), two future presidents,
Zachary Taylor and Richard Nixon, marry the women who will become
their first ladies. On this day in 1810, 26-year-old Zachary Taylor
married Margaret Smith, age 31, in her sister’s log house in Louisville, ... read more


WESTWARD EXPANSION
1876
General Santa Anna dies in Mexico City

Embittered and impoverished, the once mighty Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
dies in Mexico City. Born in 1792 at Jalapa, Vera Cruz, Mexico, Santa Anna
was the son of middle-class parents. As a teen, he won a commission in
the Spanish army and might have been expected to live out an ... read more





ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1965
“Mr. Tambourine Man” is released,
and the folk-rock revolution is on

Released on June 21, 1965, the Byrds’ debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man,
marked the beginning of the folk-rock revolution. In just a few months,
the Byrds had become a household name, with a #1 single and a smash-hit
album that married the ringing guitars and backbeat of the ... read more





ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1956
Arthur Miller refuses to name communists

Playwright Arthur Miller defies the House Committee on Un-American Activities
and refuses to name suspected communists. Miller’s defiance of McCarthyism
won him a conviction for contempt of court, which was later reversed by the
Supreme Court. His passport had already been denied ... read more





ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1920
Hollywood stars Mary Pickford and
Douglas Fairbanks mobbed by crowds

Swarms of admirers mob the Hollywood film actors Mary Pickford and
Douglas Fairbanks, who arrive in London on their honeymoon on
June 21, 1920. Two of film’s earliest stars, Pickford and Fairbanks
had been business partners since 1919, when they teamed up with
Charlie Chaplin and ... read more





NATURAL DISASTERS & ENVIRONMENT
1990
Earthquake devastates Iran

An earthquake near the Caspian Sea in Iran kills an estimated 50,000
and injures another 135,000 people on June 21, 1990. The 7.7-magnitude
tremor wrecked havoc on the simply constructed houses in the area.
Thirty minutes past midnight, with most people sleeping in their homes, ... read more





CRIME
1964
The KKK kills three civil rights activists

Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney are killed by
a Ku Klux Klan mob near Meridian, Mississippi. The three young civil
rights workers were working to register Black voters in Mississippi,
thus inspiring the ire of the local Klan. The deaths of Schwerner and ... read more





AMERICAN REVOLUTION
1779
Spain declares war against Great Britain

On June 21, 1779, Spain declares war on Great Britain, creating a de facto
alliance with the Americans. Spain’s King Charles III would not consent
to a treaty of alliance with the United States. For one imperial power to
encourage another imperial power’s colonies in revolt was ... read more


WORLD WAR II
1942
Allies surrender at Tobruk, Libya

On June 21, 1942, General Erwin Rommel turns his assault on the
British-Allied garrison at Tobruk, Libya, into victory, as his panzer
division occupies the North African port. Britain had established control
of Tobruk after routing the Italians in 1940. But the Germans attempted ... read more

[IceWizard]

Notorious Boston mobster Whitey Bulger is arrested






2011
June 22



On June 22, 2011, after 16 years on the run from law enforcement,
James “Whitey” Bulger, a violent Boston mob boss wanted for 19 murders, is
arrested in Santa Monica, California. The 81-year-old Bulger, one of the FBI’s
“Ten Most Wanted” fugitives, was arrested with his longtime companion, 60-year-old
Catherine Greig, who fled Massachusetts with the gangster in late 1994, shortly
before he was to be indicted on federal criminal charges. At the time of his 2011
arrest, there was a $2 million reward for information leading to Bulger’s capture,
the largest amount ever offered by the agency for a domestic fugitive.

Born in Massachusetts in 1929 and raised in a South Boston housing project,
Bulger, who earned his nickname as a child for his light blond hair, served time
in federal prison in the 1950s and early 1960s for bank robbery. Afterward, he
returned to Boston, where he eventually built an organized-crime empire with
partner Stephen Flemmi. At the time the two men were involved with drug trafficking,
extortion, murder and other illegal activities, they were serving, since the
mid-1970s, as FBI informants, providing information about rival mobsters in
return from protection from prosecution.

After a rogue FBI agent tipped off Bulger that he would soon be arrested on
racketeering charges, Bulger disappeared in December 1994. (John Connolly,
the agent who tipped off Bulger, was later convicted on charges of racketeering,
obstruction of justice and second-degree murder.) Despite an international manhunt,
Bulger eluded authorities for over a decade and a half. Then, on June 20, 2011,
the FBI employed a new tactic by airing a public service announcement focused
on Greig, Bulger’s companion. The ad, which aired in cities across the U.S. where
the mobster was thought to have once lived or have contacts, was aimed at female
viewers who might have seen Greig, who underwent a variety of cosmetic surgeries,
at a beauty parlor or doctor’s office. Based on one of the tips they received,
FBI agents staked out Bulger and Greig, then going by the names Charles and
Carol Gasko, and arrested them without incident at the modest, two-bedroom
Southern California apartment building they had long called home.

Law enforcement officials found weapons, fake identification and more than $800,000
stashed in Bulger’s apartment. He later revealed to them that during his years on
the lam he had traveled frequently to such places as Boston, Mexico and Las Vegas,
armed and sometimes in disguise.

After their arrest, Bulger and Greig were returned to Boston. In June 2012, as part
of a plea agreement, Greig was sentenced to eight years in prison for helping Bulger
remain in hiding. The following summer, Bulger went on trial, and on August 12, 2013,
he was convicted in a federal court in Boston of 31 of the 32 counts against him,
including participating in 11 murders and other criminal acts.

On November 14, 2013, a federal judge sentenced Bulger to two life terms in prison
plus five years.

He died while incarcerated on October 30, 2018.



ALSO ON THIS DAY



SLAVERY
1783
Zong slave ship trial

Hearing arguments in the case of the Zong, a slave ship, the Chief Justice
of the King’s Bench in London states that a massacre of enslaved African
“was the same as if Horses had been thrown over board” on June 22, 1783.
The crew of the Zong had thrown at least 142 captive ... read more


CRIME
1611
Henry Hudson set adrift by mutineers

After spending a winter trapped by ice in present-day Hudson Bay, the
starving crew of the Discovery mutinies against its captain, English navigator
Henry Hudson, and sets him, his teenage son, and seven supporters adrift
in a small, open boat. Hudson and the eight others were ... read more


WORLD WAR II
1945
Battle of Okinawa ends

During World War II, the U.S. 10th Army overcomes the last major pockets
of Japanese resistance on Okinawa Island, ending one of the bloodiest
battles of World War II. The same day, Japanese Lieutenant General
Mitsuru Ushijima, the commander of Okinawa’s defense, committed ... read more





U.S. PRESIDENTS
1944
FDR signs G.I. Bill

On June 22, 1944, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the G.I. Bill,
an unprecedented act of legislation designed to compensate returning
members of the armed services—known as G.I.s—for their efforts in
World War II. As the last of its sweeping New Deal reforms, ... read more





WORLD WAR II
1941
Germany launches Operation Barbarossa
the invasion of Russia

On June 22, 1941, over 3 million German troops invade Russia in three
parallel offensives, in what is the most powerful invasion force in history.
Nineteen panzer divisions, 3,000 tanks, 2,500 aircraft, and 7,000 artillery
pieces pour across a thousand-mile front as Hitler goes ... read more





ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1950
Bernstein, Copland, Seeger and others
are named as Communists

The Red Scare of the 1940s and 1950s famously ended the careers of
numerous film-industry professionals and forced others to avoid blacklisting
by repudiating their political beliefs and “naming names” of suspected
Communist sympathizers to the House Committee on Un-American ... read more





CIVIL WAR
1864
General Lee strikes back at Petersburg

On June 22, 1864, Union forces attempt to capture a railroad that had been
supplying Petersburg, Virginia, from the south, and extend their lines to
the Appomattox River. The Confederates thwarted the attempt, and the
two sides settled into trenches for a nine-month siege. The ... read more


ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
2001
Blockbuster hit movie
“The Fast and the Furious” released

On June 22, 2001, “The Fast and the Furious,” a crime drama based in
the underground world of street racing in Southern California, debuts
in theaters across the United States. In the film, directed by Rob Cohen,
Paul Walker starred as Brian O’Connor, an undercover cop who ... read more





AMERICAN REVOLUTION
1775
Congress issues Continental currency

On June 22, 1775, Congress issues $2 million in bills of credit. By the
spring of 1775, colonial leaders, concerned by British martial law in
Boston and increasing constraints on trade, had led their forces in
battle against the crown. But, the American revolutionaries ... read more


WORLD WAR I
1898
Author Erich Maria Remarque born

On June 22, 1898, Erich Maria Remarque, the author of the great
World War I novel All Quiet on the Western Front, is born in Osnabruck,
Germany. A student at the University of Munster, Remarque was drafted
into the German army at the age of 18. He fought on the
Western Front ... read more

[IceWizard]

Mafia boss John Gotti, aka “Teflon Don,”
sentenced to life





1992
June 23



On June 23, 1992, Mafia boss John Gotti, who was nicknamed the “Teflon Don”
after escaping unscathed from several trials during the 1980s, is sentenced to life
in prison after being found guilty on 14 accounts of conspiracy to commit murder
and racketeering. Moments after his sentence was read in a federal courthouse in
Brooklyn, hundreds of Gotti’s supporters stormed the building and overturned and
smashed cars before being forced back by police reinforcements.

Gotti, born and educated in New York City, became head of the powerful Gambino
family after boss Paul Castellano was murdered outside a steakhouse in Manhattan
in December 1985. The gang assassination, the first in three decades in New York,
was organized by Gotti and his colleague Sammy “the Bull” Gravano. The Gambino family
was known for its illegal narcotics operations, gambling activities, and car theft. During
the next five years, Gotti rapidly expanded his criminal empire, and his family grew
into the nation’s most powerful Mafia family. Despite wide publicity of his criminal
activities, Gotti managed to avoid conviction several times, usually through witness
intimidation. In 1990, however, he was indicted for conspiracy to commit murder in the
death of Paul Castellano, and Gravano agreed to testify against him in a federal
district court in exchange for a reduced prison sentence.

On April 2, 1992, John Gotti was found guilty on all counts and on June 23 was sentenced
to multiple life terms without the possibility of parole. While still imprisoned,
Gotti died of throat cancer on June 10, 2002.




ALSO ON THIS DAY



21ST CENTURY
2018
Thai soccer team becomes trapped in cave

It started as a fun after-practice excursion. On June 23, 2018,
Ekkapol Chantawong, a 25-year-old Thai youth soccer coach, takes
his team, the Wild Boars, to explore a cave he’d visited before,
intending to stay just about an hour. But when monsoon rains hit
while they’re ... read more





21ST CENTURY
2013
Wallenda makes Grand Canyon
crossing on high wire

On June 23, 2013, 34-year-old aerialist Nik Wallenda becomes the
first person to walk a high wire across the Little Colorado River Gorge
near Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Wallenda wasn’t wearing
a safety harness as he made the quarter-mile traverse on a
2-inch-thick ... read more





AFRICA
1956
Gamal Abdel Nasser elected president of Egypt

On June 23, 1956, 99.95 percent of Egyptian voters mark their
ballots to elect Gamal Abdel Nasser as the first president of the
Republic of Egypt. Nasser, who toppled the Egyptian monarchy in
1952 in a military coup, was the only presidential candidate on the
ballot. In the same ... read more





WORLD WAR II
1940
Hitler takes a tour of Paris

On June 23, 1940, Adolf Hitler surveys notable sites in the French
capital, now German-occupied territory. In his first and only visit to
Paris, Hitler made Napoleon’s tomb among the sites to see. “That
was the greatest and finest moment of my life,”
he said upon leaving. ... read more

.
SPORTS
1972
Title IX enacted

On June 23, 1972, Title IX of the education amendments of 1972
is enacted into law. Title IX prohibits federally funded educational
institutions from discriminating against students or employees
based on sex. It begins: “No person in the United States shall,
on the basis of sex, ... read more


U.S. PRESIDENTS
1972
H.R. Haldeman encourages Nixon to ward off FBI

On June 23, 1972, President Richard Nixon’s advisor, H.R. Haldeman,
tells the president to put pressure on the head of the FBI to “stay
the hell out of this [Watergate burglary investigation] business.” In essence,
Haldeman was telling Nixon to obstruct justice,
which is one of ... read more


ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1989
Tim Burton’s “Batman” released

On June 23, 1989, Tim Burton’s noir spin on the well-known story of
the DC Comics hero Batman is released in theaters. Michael Keaton
starred in the film as the multimillionaire Bruce Wayne, who has
transformed himself into the crime-fighting Batman after witnessing
his parents’ ... read more





CRIME
1934
Even without the corpse, a murderer is uncovered

William Bayly is convicted of murder in New Zealand despite the fact
that the body of one of his alleged victims was never found. Most of
the evidence against Bayly consisted of trace amounts of human hair,
bone and tissue, representing a marked advance in the
field of forensics. ... read more

[IceWizard]

Jacqueline Bouvier and Senator John F. Kennedy
announce engagement






1953
June 24



On June 24, 1953, Jacqueline Bouvier and Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy
publicly announce their engagement. Kennedy went on to become the 35th president
and Jackie, as she was known, became one of the most popular first ladies ever to
grace the White House.

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy was born into a prominent New York family in 1929.
She grew up an avid horsewoman and reader. In 1951, after graduating from
George Washington University, Jackie toured Europe with her sister. That fall, she
returned to the U.S. to begin her first job as the Washington Times-Herald‘s
“Inquiring Camera Girl.” Her assignment was to roam the streets of Washington, D.C.,
ask strangers man-on-the-street questions and then snap their picture for publication.
Shortly afterward, at a dinner party in Georgetown, she met a young, handsome
senator from Massachusetts named John F. Kennedy. The two dated over the next
two years, during which time Jackie mused to a friend that she might actually marry
a man who was allergic to horses, something she never before would have considered.
In May 1953, Kennedy proposed, giving Jackie a 2.88-carat diamond-and-emerald
ring from Van Cleef and Arpels.

The couple married on September 12, 1953, at St. Mary’s Church in Newport, Rhode Island.
Twelve hundred people attended the wedding reception at Hammersmith Farm.
The Kennedys then settled in Washington, D.C., where Kennedy continued to pursue
his political career. Seven years later, he beat out Richard M. Nixon for the presidency.




ALSO ON THIS DAY



CRIME
1973
UpStairs Lounge arson attack

On June 24, 1973, an arson fire at the UpStairs Lounge, a popular gathering
spot for New Orleans' LGBT community in the French Quarter, results in 32
deaths and at least 15 injuries. At the time, it was the deadliest known attack
at a gay club in American history. The fire's ... read more





21ST CENTURY
2021
98 people die in Surfside condo collapse

Early in the morning on June 24, 2021, 98 people die when a 12-story,
beachfront condominium building collapses in Surfside, Florida, near Miami.
The disaster is one of the worst of its kind in U.S. history. Responders
pulled dozens of survivors from the 40-year-old Champlain ... read more





1982
1982 garment workers' strike begins in
New York City's Chinatown

Over 20,000 garment workers, almost all of them Asian American women,
pack into Columbus Park in New York City’s Chinatown on June 24, 1982.
The rally and subsequent march demonstrate the workers’ power to the
city and the entire garment industry, delivering a decisive victory ... read more





CRIME
1993
Mail bomb injures Yale professor

On June 24, 1993, Yale University computer science professor David Gelernter
is seriously injured while opening his mail when a padded envelope explodes
in his hands. The attack just came two days after a University of California
geneticist was injured by a similar bomb and was ... read more





COLONIAL AMERICA
1675
King Philip’s War begins

In colonial New England, King Philip’s War begins when a band of
Wampanoag warriors raid the border settlement of Swansea, Massachusetts,
and massacre the English colonists there. In the early 1670s, 50 years
of peace between the Plymouth colony and the local Wampanoag Indians ...
read more


FRANCE
1812
Napoleon’s Grande Armee invades Russia

Following the rejection of his Continental System by Czar Alexander I,
French Emperor Napoleon orders his Grande Armee, the largest European
military force ever assembled to that date, into Russia. The enormous
army, featuring some 500,000 soldiers and staff, included troops ... read more


1990S
1997
U.S. Air Force reports on Roswell

On June 24, 1997, U.S. Air Force officials release a 231-page report
dismissing long-standing claims of an alien spacecraft crash in Roswell,
New Mexico, almost exactly 50 years earlier. 
Public interest in Unidentified Flying Objects, ... read more





VIETNAM WAR
1970
Senate repeals Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

On an amendment offered by Senator Robert Dole (R-Kansas) to the
Foreign Military Sales Act, the Senate votes 81 to 10 to repeal the
Tonkin Gulf Resolution. In August 1964, after North Vietnamese torpedo
boats attacked U.S. destroyers (in what became known as the Tonkin Gulf ... read more


NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY
1864
Colorado governor orders Native Americans
to Sand Creek reservation

Colorado Governor John Evans warns that all peaceful Native Americans
in the region must report to the Sand Creek reservation or risk being
attacked, creating the conditions that will lead to the Sand Creek Massacre.
Evans’ offer of sanctuary was at best halfhearted. His primary ... read more


ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1997
Disney pulls Insane Clown Posse album on release day

On June 24, 1997, the Walt Disney Corporation orders one of its
subsidiary record labels to recall 100,000 already shipped copies
of an album by a recently signed artist—Insane Clown Posse—on the
day of its planned release. The issue at hand: the graphic nature
of the Detroit ... read more





ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
2005
Tom Cruise raises eyebrows in “Today” show interview

The actor Tom Cruise has an infamous interview with Matt Lauer,
host of NBC’s morning talk show Today, on June 24, 2005. During
the interview, Lauer challenged Cruise about critical comments the
actor had made regarding the actress Brooke Shields’ use
of anti-depressant ... read more





COLD WAR
1948
Soviets blockade West Berlin

One of the most dramatic standoffs in the history of the Cold War begins
as the Soviet Union blocks all road and rail traffic to and from West Berlin.
The blockade turned out to be a terrible diplomatic move by the Soviets,
while the United States emerged from the confrontation ... read more

[IceWizard]

Battle of the Little Bighorn





1876
June 25


On June 25, 1876, Native American forces led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull
defeat the U.S. Army troops of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer in the Battle
of the Little Bighorn near southern Montana’s Little Bighorn River.

Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, Lakota Sioux leaders, strongly resisted the
mid-19th-century efforts of the U.S. government to confine their people to
reservations. In 1875, after gold was discovered in South Dakota’s Black Hills,
the U.S. Army ignored previous treaty agreements and invaded the region.
This betrayal led many Sioux and Cheyenne tribesmen to leave their reservations
and join Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse in Montana. By the late spring of 1876,
more than 10,000 Native Americans had gathered in a camp along the
Little Bighorn River–which they called the Greasy Grass—in defiance of a
U.S. War Department order to return to their reservations or risk being attacked.

In mid-June, three columns of U.S. soldiers lined up against the camp and prepared
to march. A force of 1,200 Native Americans turned back the first column on June 17.
Five days later, General Alfred Terry ordered Custer’s 7th Cavalry to scout ahead
for enemy troops. On the morning of June 25, Custer drew near the camp and
decided to press on ahead rather than wait for reinforcements.

READ MORE: What Really Happened at the Battle of the Little Bighorn?

At mid-day, Custer’s 600 men entered the Little Bighorn Valley. Among the
Native Americans, word quickly spread of the impending attack. The older Sitting Bull
rallied the warriors and saw to the safety of the women and children, while Crazy Horse
set off with a large force to meet the attackers head on. Despite Custer’s desperate
attempts to regroup his men, they were quickly overwhelmed. Custer and some
200 men in his battalion were attacked by as many as 3,000 Native Americans;
within an hour, Custer and every last one of his soldier were dead.


The Battle of the Little Bighorn—also called Custer’s Last Stand—marked the most
decisive Native American victory and the worst U.S. Army defeat in the long
Plains Indian War. The gruesome fate of Custer and his men outraged many white
Americans and confirmed their image of the Native Americans as "wild." Meanwhile,
the U.S. government increased its efforts to subdue the tribes. Within five years,
almost all of the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne would be confined to reservations.




ALSO ON THIS DAY



GAY RIGHTS
1978
First rainbow Pride flag
premieres at San Francisco parade

On June 25, 1978, activists hoist a vibrant rainbow flag
in the midst of the festivities for San Francisco’s Gay and
Lesbian Freedom Day parade. According to its creator,
Gilbert Baker, the crowd immediately recognized the
flat’s significance: “It completely astounded me that ... read more


1990S
1996
Khobar Towers bombing in
Saudi Arabia kills 19 U.S. airmen

On June 25, 1996, a tanker truck loaded with 25,000 pounds
of explosives rips through the U.S. Air Force military housing
complex Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing
19 U.S. airmen and wounding nearly 500 others. The terrorist
attack that blew off much of the ... read more





CIVIL WAR
1864
Union begins tunneling
toward Rebels at Petersburg

Pennsylvania troops begin digging a tunnel toward the Rebels
at Petersburg, Virginia, in order to blow a hole in the Confederate
lines and break the stalemate. The great campaign between
Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia
and Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of ... read more


SPORTS
1950
U.S. World Cup team wins
unlikely victory over England

On June 25, 1950, an American team composed largely of
amateurs defeated its more polished English opponents at
the World Cup, held in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Dubbed the
“Miracle on Green,” the game is considered one of the greatest
soccer upsets of all time. The English team at ... read more





ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1988
Teenager Debbie Gibson earns a #1 hit
with “Foolish Beat”

Contrary to what some critics of teen pop might imagine,
pop sensation Debbie Gibson saw herself not as the next Madonna,
but as the next Carole King. And when her single “Foolish Beat”
reached the top of the Biilboard Hot 100 on this day in 1988,
she achieved something very much ... read more





WOMEN’S HISTORY
1993
Kim Campbell becomes Canada’s
first female prime minister

In Ottawa, Kim Campbell is sworn in as Canada’s 19th prime minister,
becoming the first woman to hold the country’s highest office.
Born in Port Alberni, British Columbia, in 1947, Campbell studied law
and political science before entering Canadian politics during
the 1980s. In ... read more





WORLD WAR II
1942
Eisenhower takes command

Following his arrival in London, Major General Dwight D. Eisenhower
takes command of U.S. forces in Europe. Although Eisenhower had
never seen combat during his 27 years as an army officer, his
knowledge of military strategy and talent for organization were
such that Army Chief ... read more





VIETNAM WAR
1965
Viet Cong blow up a floating restaurant

Two Viet Cong terrorist bombs rip through a floating restaurant on
the Saigon River. Thirty-one people, including nine Americans, were
killed in the explosions. Dozens of other diners were wounded,
including 11 Americans. ... read more





U.S. PRESIDENTS
1942
Eisenhower assumes command
of U.S. troops in Europe

On June 25, 1942, General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes commander
of all U.S. troops in the European theater of World War II, continuing
the steady ascent in military rank that would culminate in his
appointment as supreme Allied commander of all forces in Europe 
in 1943. As U.S. ... read more





ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
2009
“King of Pop” Michael Jackson dies at age 50

On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson, one of the most commercially
successful entertainers in history, dies at the age of 50 at his home
in Los Angeles, California, after suffering from cardiac arrest caused
by a fatal combination of drugs given to him by his
personal doctor. ... read more





CRIME
1910
Congress passes Mann Act,
aimed at curbing sex trafficking

Congress passes the Mann Act, which was ostensibly aimed at keeping
young women from being lured into prostitution, but really offered a
way to make a crime out of many kinds of consensual sexual activity.
The outrage over sex work began with a commission appointed in
1907 to ... read more


1950S
1950
Korean War begins

Armed forces from communist North Korea smash into
South Korea, setting off the Korean War. The United States, acting
under the auspices of the United Nations, quickly sprang to the
defense of South Korea and fought a bloody and frustrating war
for the next three years. Korea, a ... read more





INVENTIONS & SCIENCE
1956
Last Packard
the classic American luxury car
produced

The last Packard—the classic American luxury car with the
famously enigmatic slogan “Ask the Man Who Owns One”—rolls
off the production line at Packard’s plant in Detroit, Michigan
on June 25, 1956. Mechanical engineer James Ward Packard
and his brother, William Dowd Packard, ... read more





WORLD WAR I
1915
Germans release statement on
use of poison gas at Ypres

On June 25, 1915, the German press publishes an official statement
from the country’s war command addressing the German use of
poison gas at the start of the Second Battle of Ypres two months earlier.
The German firing of more than 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas
against two ... read more

[IceWizard]

Former U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond dies






2003
June 26



Strom Thurmond, who served in the United States Senate for a record 46 years,
dies on June 26, 2003. Thurmond’s long and controversial political career had
ended with his retirement one year earlier.

Thurmond was born on December 5, 1902, in Edgefield, South Carolina, where
he also died. He graduated from what is now Clemson University in 1923 with
a degree in horticulture and became a teacher and coach, and, later, a
superintendent of schools. While working in education, he studied law at night,
and passed the bar in 1930. He worked as an attorney and, eventually, a judge,
before serving in WWII, where he participated in D-Day at Normandy with the
Army’s 82nd Airborne division.

Thurmond’s political career began in 1946 when he became governor of
South Carolina, a position he held for one term. As governor, as well as in
the early part of his Congressional career, he was famously pro-segregation,
even saying in a 1948 speech, “I want to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that
there’s not enough troops in the army to force the Southern people to break
down segregation and admit the Negro race into our theaters, into our
swimming pools, into our homes and into our churches.” It was also in 1948
that Thurmond made his one and only run for the presidency, as the candidate
of the Dixiecrat party, in protest of Harry Truman’s nomination by the
Democratic Party, of which he was a member. He was easily defeated, but did
win the states of South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, and
their combined 39 electoral votes.

In 1954, Thurmond ran for the United States Senate as a Democrat on a
pro-segregation platform and became the only candidate ever elected to the
Senate by a write-in vote. Three years into this first term, he notoriously
staged a record-breaking one-man filibuster to defeat a civil rights bill that
lasted more than 24 hours. Although it is unknown whether his personal beliefs
regarding racial equality ever changed, his political behavior became more
moderate in the 1970s, perhaps as part of an effort to extend his political career
in changing times. This change of heart, whether genuine or not, was exemplified
by his endorsement of a renewal of the Voting Rights Act in 1982 and his vote
in favor of creating the Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday in 1983.

Throughout his career Thurmond was by any account a divisive force in American
politics. His critics thought him to be an unabashed racist and condemned his
alleged habit of skirt-chasing. Thurmond was married twice, the second time when
he was 66 years old to a 22-year-old former Miss South Carolina, but also had a
reputation for making frequent advances on a wide variety of women who crossed
his path. His fans, however, seemed amused by his reputation as a “rascal” and
admired his feistiness and personal discipline–Thurmond never smoked or drank
coffee and only rarely indulged in alcohol–as well as his personal strength. Even
in his 90s when his health began to fail, Thurmond refused to use a wheelchair or
hearing aid in public. He was well known for personally helping out his constituents
on a regular basis.

Thurmond retired from the Senate in 2002 and died about a year later in his
South Carolina home. In December 2003, Essie Mae Washington-Williams
announced that she was his illegitimate daughter, born to Thurmond and her
mother Carrie Butler, a Black maid who had worked in his family’s home.
Thurmond was 22 when she was born; Butler was only 16. Although he never
publicly acknowledged her while he was alive, a representative for his family
did confirm Washington-Williams’ statement and it was reported that the two
had a relatively close relationship.




ALSO ON THIS DAY



GAY RIGHTS
2003
Lawrence v. Texas is decided

On June 26, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Texas’
sodomy laws, along with similar laws in 13 other states. The decision
in Lawrence v. Texas is a landmark one, reaffirming the existence
of a “right to privacy” that is not enumerated in the Constitution
and effectively ... read more


GAY RIGHTS
2015
Same-sex marriage is made legal nationwide
with Obergefell v. Hodges decision

June 26, 2015 marks a major milestone for civil rights in the United States,
as the Supreme Court announces its decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.
By one vote, the court rules that same-sex marriage cannot be banned
in the United States and that all same-sex marriages ... read more


CIVIL WAR
1862
Rebels strike Union at the
Battle of Mechanicsville

At the Battle of Mechanicsville, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s
Army of Northern Virginia strikes Union General George B. McClellan’s Army
of the Potomac, beginning the Seven Days’ Battles. Although the
Confederates sustained heavy losses and did not succeed in ... read more


1950S
1959
St. Lawrence Seaway opened

In a ceremony presided over by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower
and Queen Elizabeth II, the St. Lawrence Seaway is officially opened,
creating a navigational channel from the Atlantic Ocean to all the
Great Lakes. The seaway, made up of a system of canals, locks,
and dredged ... read more


1990S
1993
President Clinton punishes Iraq for plot
to kill George H.W. Bush

In retaliation for an Iraqi plot to assassinate former U.S. President
George H.W. Bush during his April visit to Kuwait, President
Bill Clinton orders U.S. warships to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles
at Iraqi intelligence headquarters in downtown Baghdad.
On April 13, 1993, the day ... read more


WORLD WAR II
1945
U.N. Charter signed

In the Herbst Theater auditorium in San Francisco, delegates from
50 nations sign the United Nations Charter, establishing the world
body as a means of saving “succeeding generations from the
scourge of war.” The Charter was ratified on October 24, and the
first U.N. General ... read more


ANCIENT AMERICAS
1541
Francisco Pizarro,
conqueror of the Incas,
assassinated

Francisco Pizarro, the governor of Peru and conqueror of the
Inca civilization, is assassinated in Lima by Spanish rivals. The
illegitimate son of a Spanish gentleman, Pizarro served under
Spanish conquistador Alonso de Ojeda during his expedition to
Colombia in 1510 and was with ... read more


COLD WAR
1948
U.S. begins Berlin Airlift

On June 26, 1948, U.S. and British pilots begin delivering food
and supplies by airplane to Berlin after the city is isolated by a
Soviet Union blockade. When World War II ended in 1945,
defeated Germany was divided into Soviet, American, British
and French zones of occupation. ... read more


WORLD WAR I
1917
First U.S. troops arrive in France

During World War I, the first 14,000 U.S. infantry troops land in France
at the port of Saint-Nazaire. The landing site had been kept secret
because of the menace of German submarines, but by the time the
Americans had lined up to take their first salute on French
soil, an ... read more


U.S. PRESIDENTS
1844
President John Tyler weds his second wife

Fifty-four year old widower President John Tyler marries
21-year-old Julia Gardiner on June 26, 1844. It was his
second marriage. At the time, Julia was the youngest first
lady in history. Tyler had wooed Julia from the time she
was 19, but it took a tragedy and a narrow escape ... read more


U.S. PRESIDENTS
1963
John F. Kennedy claims solidarity
with the people of Berlin

President John F. Kennedy expresses solidarity with democratic
German citizens in a speech on June 26, 1963. In front of the
Berlin Wall that separated the city into democratic and communist
sectors, he declared to the crowd, “Ich bin ein Berliner” or
“I am also a citizen of ... read more


ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1975
Sonny and Cher’s divorce becomes final

With a string of pop hits in the mid-1960s that began with the
career-defining “I Got You Babe” (1965), Sonny and Cher Bono
established themselves as the most prominent and appealing
married couple in the world of popular music. Hipper than
Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, and far ... read more





NATURAL DISASTERS & ENVIRONMENT
1807
Lightning strikes gunpowder factory in
Luxembourg, killing hundreds

On June 26, 1807, lightning hits a gunpowder factory in the small
European country of Luxembourg, killing more than 300 people.
Lightning kills approximately 73 people every year in the
United States alone, but victims are almost always killed one
at a time. The Luxembourg ... read more


CRIME
1957
A serial killer preys upon a woman out for a drive

Margaret Harold is shot and killed while out for a drive with her
boyfriend near Annapolis, Maryland. Her killer swerved in front
of the couple’s car, approached with a .38 revolver, and shot Harold
in the side of the face, while her boyfriend managed to escape.
Investigating ... read more


1948
Berlin Airlift begins

In response to the Soviet blockade of land routes into West Berlin,
the United States begins a massive airlift of food, water, and medicine
to the citizens of the besieged city. For nearly a year, supplies from
American planes sustained the over 2 million people in
West Berlin. ... read more


INVENTIONS & SCIENCE
1956
Congress approves Federal Highway Act

On June 26, 1956, the U.S. Congress approves the Federal Highway Act,
which allocates more than $30 billion for the construction of some 41,000
miles of interstate highways; it will be the largest public construction
project in U.S. history to that date.
Among the pressing ... read more