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June
in History
June 1,
1774 -
The Boston
Port Act went into effect. Crown forces occupied the town and closed the
port.
June 1,
1813 -
The
commander of the US frigate "Chesapeake," Captain James Lawrence, said,
"Don't give up the ship" during a losing battle with a British frigate.
June 2,
1619 -
A treaty
was signed between England and Holland, regulating the trade in the East
between the English and Dutch East India Companies.
June 2,
1953 -
Queen Elizabeth II
of Britain
was crowned in Westminster Abbey, 16 months after the death of her father,
King George VI.
June 3,
1621 -
The Dutch
West India Company received a charter for New Netherlands, now known as
New York.
June 3, 1972 - Sally Jan Priesand was ordained a
rabbi thus becoming the first woman rabbi in the U.S. She then became an
assistant rabbi at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City.
June 4, 1989 - The Chinese government ordered its troops to open fire
on unarmed protesters in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The protest had
started on April 16 as about 1,000 students marched to mourn the death of
Hu Yaobang, a pro-reform leader within the Chinese government. Despite
government warnings, pro-reform and pro-democracy demonstrations continued
for a month drawing ever-larger crowds of young people, eventually
totaling over one million persons. On May 13, 3,000 students began an
eight day hunger strike. The government imposed martial law on May 20 and
brought in troops. On June 2, in their first clash with the People's Army,
demonstrators turned back an advance of unarmed troops. However, in the
pre-dawn hours of June 4, the People's Army, using tanks, machine-guns,
clubs and tear gas, opened fire on the unarmed protesters. Armored
personnel carriers then rolled into the square crushing students still
sleeping in their tents. The Chinese government later claimed only 300
died in the attack. U.S. estimates put the toll at over 3,000. Following
the massacre, over 1,600 demonstrators were rounded up and jailed, with 27
being executed.
June 5, 1783 - The first sustained flight occurred as a
hot-air balloon was launched at Annonay, France, by brothers Joseph and
Jacques Montgolfier. Their 33-foot-diameter globe aerostatique ascended
about 6,000 feet. In September, they repeated the experiment for King
Louis XVI, using a sheep, rooster and duck as the balloon's passengers.
June 5, 1968 - Robert F. Kennedy was shot and mortally wounded while
leaving the Hotel Ambassador in Los Angeles. The shooting occurred after a
celebration of Kennedy's victory in the California presidential primary.
He died at 1:44 a.m., June 6, at age 42, leaving behind his wife Ethel and
eleven children, the last one born after his death.
June 6, 1872 - Pioneering feminist Susan B. Anthony was fined for
voting in a presidential election at Rochester, New York. After voting
rights had been granted to African American males by the 15th Amendment,
she attempted to extend the same rights to women. She led a group of women
that voted illegally, to test their status as citizens. She was arrested,
tried and sentenced to pay $100, which she refused. Following her death in
1906 after five decades of tireless work, the Democratic and Republican
parties both endorsed women's right to vote. In August of 1920, the 19th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was finally ratified, allowing women to
vote.
June 6, 1944 - D-Day, the largest amphibious landing in history, began
in the early-morning hours as Allied forces landed in Normandy on the
north coast of France. Operation Overlord took months of planning and
involved 1,527,000 soldiers in 47 Allied divisions along with 4,400 ships
and landing craft, and 11,000 aircraft. By the end of the day 150,000
Allied soldiers and their accompanying vehicles had landed with 15,000
killed and wounded.
June 6,
1636 -
Puritan
American colonist Roger Williams, banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony,
founded Providence RI, a colony with complete religious freedom.
June 6,
1683 -
The first
museum in Britain opened: the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford.
June 6,
1844 -
The Young
Men's Christian Association was founded in London.
June 7, 1965 - The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Connecticut law
banning contraception. In Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme
Court guaranteed the right to privacy, including freedom from government
intrusion into matters of birth control.
June 9,
1788 -
English
botanist Sir Joseph Banks founded the Africa Association for arousing
interest in exploration and trade. Banks had sailed with Captain Cook on
one of his voyages of exploration. He founded the Kew Gardens and the
London Zoo.
June 8, 1874 - Apache leader Cochise died on the Chiricahua
Reservation in southeastern Arizona. After a peace treaty had been broken
by the U.S. Army in 1861, he waged war against settlers and soldiers,
forcing them to withdraw from southern Arizona. In 1862, he became
principal chief of the Apaches. He and 200 followers avoided capture by
hiding in the Dragoon Mountains. In June of 1871, Army Gen. George Crook
assumed command in Arizona and managed to win the allegiance of many
Apaches. Cochise then surrendered. He disappeared briefly in the Spring of
1872, but returned and settled on the reservation where he died.
June 9, 1898 - The British signed a 99-year lease for Hong Kong,
located on the southeastern coast of China. Hong Kong, consisting of a
area measuring 400 square miles, was administered as a British Crown
Colony until July 1, 1997, when its sovereignty reverted to the People's
Republic of China.
*June 10, 1652 - In Massachusetts, silversmith John Hull
opened the first mint in America, in defiance of English colonial law. The
first coin issued was the Pine Tree Shilling, designed by Hull.
June 11,
1745 -
I'll be at your Board, when at leisure from cricket.
The Earl of Sandwich's response, on being appointed a Lord Commissioner of
the Admiralty. It was this Lord Sandwich who gave his name to the
sandwich, after he requested finger food during a gambling spree.
June 11, 1991 - Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted
spewing ash into the air, visible over 60 miles. The surrounding areas
were covered with ash and mud created by rainstorms. Nearby U.S. military
bases were also damaged.
June 12, 1963 - Civil rights leader Medgar Evers was
assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi, by a rifle bullet from an ambush. He
had been active in seeking integration of schools and voter registration
for African Americans in the South. Widespread public outrage following
his death led President John F. Kennedy to propose a comprehensive Civil
Rights law. Evers was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
June 13, 1971 - The New York Times began publishing
the Pentagon Papers, a collection of top secret documents exposing U.S.
strategy in the Vietnam war.
June 13, 1966 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled (5-4) in the
case of Miranda v. Arizona that an accused person must be apprised
of certain rights before questioning including the right to remain silent,
the right to know that anything said can be used against the individual in
court, and the right to have a defense attorney present during
interrogation. American police officers now routinely read prisoners their
'Miranda' (constitutional) rights before questioning.
June 13,
1900 -
China's
Boxer Rebellion targeting foreigners, as well as Chinese Christians,
erupted into full-scale violence
June 14,
1775 -
The United
States Army was founded.
June 14,
1801 -
Former
American Revolutionary War General Benedict Arnold died (almost unnoticed)
in London.
June 14, 1775 - The first U.S. Military service, the
Continental Army consisting of six companies of riflemen, was established
by the Second Continental Congress. The next day, George Washington was
appointed by a unanimous vote to command the army.
June 14, 1777 - John Adams introduced a resolution before
Congress mandating a United States flag, stating, "...that the flag of the
thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white;
that the union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a
new constellation." This anniversary is celebrated each year in the U.S.
as Flag Day.
June 14, 1922 - Warren G. Harding became the first U.S.
President to broadcast a message over the radio. The event was the
dedication of the Francis Scott Key Memorial in Baltimore.
June 14, 1951 - Univac 1, the world's first commercial
electronic computer was unveiled in Philadelphia. It was installed at the
Census Bureau and utilized a magnetic tape unit as a buffer memory.
June 15, 1215
- King John set his seal to Magna Carta, the
first charter of English liberties, guaranteeing basic rights that have
since become the foundation of modern democracies around the world.
June 15,
1785 -
In the
first balloon disaster in history, French aviation pioneers Pilatre de
Rosier and M. Romain died when the hot-air balloon that was carrying them
across the English Channel caught fire and crashed to the ground. Two
years earlier, Pilatre de Rosier, along with the Marquis d'Arlandes, had
become the first people to make a successful flight.
June 16, 1963 - Valentina Tereshkova, 26, became the first
woman in space as her Soviet spacecraft, Vostok 6, took off from the
Tyuratam launch site. She manually controlled the spacecraft completing 48
orbits in 71 hours before landing safely.
June 16,
1745 -
New England
troops took Cape Breton Island and subsequently Louisburg, at the mouth of
the St Lawrence River. Louisburg Square on Boston's Beacon Hill was named
to celebrate this battle. In retaliation, France planned to send an armada
to destroy Boston in 1746. Fortunately for New England, the invading fleet
was destroyed by storms. Little wonder then that the French received a
cool reception in Boston when they came to the aid of the Patriots in
1778.
June 17, 1972 - Following a seemingly routine burglary, five
men were arrested at the National Democratic Headquarters in the Watergate
complex in Washington, DC. However, subsequent investigations revealed the
burglars were actually agents hired by the Committee for the Re-election
of President Richard Nixon. A long chain of events then followed in which
the president and top aides became involved in an extensive coverup of
this and other White House sanctioned illegal activities, eventually
leading to the resignation of President Nixon on August 9, 1974.
June 17,
1579 -
Francis
Drake proclaimed England's sovereignty over New Albion (California).
June 17,
1775 -
Battle of
Bunker Hill: The Siege of Boston starts on this day, through March 17,
1776 (Evacuation Day). Bunker Hill was the single bloodiest day of combat
in the entire Revolutionary War. Though the British technically won the
battle, they lost so many men in the process that the Americans would from
then on consider it a patriot victory.
June 17,
1825 -
The
cornerstone was laid of the current Bunker Hill monument.
June 17,
1843 -
Ceremonies
were held to mark the completion of the Bunker Hill monument.
June 18,
1778 -
American
forces entered Philadelphia as the British withdrew during the
Revolutionary War.
June 18, 1812 - After much debate, the U.S. Senate voted 19
to 13 in favor of a declaration of war against Great Britain, prompted by
Britain's violation of America's rights on the high seas and British
incitement of Indian warfare on the Western frontier. The next day,
President James Madison officially proclaimed the U.S. to be in a state of
war. The War of 1812 lasted over two years and ended with the signing of
the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium on December 24, 1814.
June 18, 1983 - Dr. Sally Ride, a 32-year-old physicist and
pilot, became the first American woman in space, beginning a six-day
mission aboard the space shuttle Challenger, launched from Cape
Canaveral, Florida.
June 19, 1953 - Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed by
electrocution at Sing Sing Prison in New York. They had been found guilty
of providing vital information on the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union
during 1944-45. They were the first U.S. civilians to be sentenced to
death for espionage and were also the only married couple ever executed
together in the U.S.
June 19,
1586 -
English
colonists sailed from Roanoke Island, North Carolina, after failing to
establish England's first permanent settlement in America.
June 19,
1754 -
The
Anglo-French war broke out in North America when a force under George
Washington skirmished with French troops near Fort Duquesne.
June 19,
1862 -
Slavery was
outlawed in US territories.
June 20, 1782 - The U.S. Congress officially adopted the
Great Seal of the United States of America.
June 21, 1964 - Three white civil rights workers - James
Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner - left Meridian, Mississippi,
at 9 a.m. to investigate a church burning. They were expected back by 4
p.m. When they failed to return, a search was begun. Their murdered bodies
were discovered on August 4.
June 21,
1788 -
The US
constitution came into force, when ratified by the 9th state, New
Hampshire.
June 23,
1611 -
Mutineers
from English navigator Henry Hudson's ship Discovery set him adrift in the
Hudson Bay. Hudson and his crew were never seen again. Hudson is famous
for attempting to find a route from Europe to Asia via the Arctic Ocean,
and for exploring the location of what is today New York City.
June 23, 1865 - The last formal surrender of Confederate
troops occurred as Cherokee leader and Confederate Brigadier Gen. Watie
surrendered his battalion comprised of American Indians in the Oklahoma
Territory.
June 24,
1497 -
The first
recorded sighting of North America by a European took place as explorer
John Cabot spotted land, probably in present-day Canada.
June 24,
1509 -
Henry VIII
was crowned king of England in a joint coronation ceremony with his
Spanish queen, Catherine of Aragon. Their only surviving child was Mary
(later to become Queen Mary, or "Bloody Mary
June 24,
1647 -
Margaret
Brent, niece of Lord Baltimore, was ejected from the Maryland Assembly
after demanding a place and vote in that governing body.
June 25,
1906 -
A love
triangle came to a violent end atop New York's Madison Square Garden as
architect Stanford White, the building's designer, was shot to death by
Harry Thaw, the jealous husband of Evelyn Nesbit. White was partner in the
prestigious architectural firm of McKim, Meade and White (who designed
many buildings in NYC and Boston, including Madison Square Garden and the
Boston Public Library McKim Building).
June 25, 1862 - During the U.S. Civil War, the Seven Days
Campaign began as Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee launched a series of
assaults to prevent a Union attack on Richmond, Virginia. The Campaign
included battles at Oak Grove, Gaine's Mills, Garnett's Farm, Golding's
Farm, Savage's Station, White Oak Swamp and Malvern Hill, resulting in
over 36,000 casualties on both sides. Despite losing the final assault at
Malvern Hill, the Confederates succeeded in preventing the Union Army from
taking Richmond.
June 25, 1876 - Gen. George A. Custer, leading 250 men,
attacked an encampment of Sioux Indians near Little Bighorn River in
Montana. Custer and his men were then attacked by 2000-4000 Indian braves.
Only one scout and a single horse survived 'Custer's Last Stand' on the
Little Bighorn Battlefield. News of the humiliating defeat infuriated
Americans and led to all out war. Within a year, the Sioux Indians were a
broken and defeated nation.
June 25, 1950
- The Korean War began as North Korean troops,
led by Soviet-built tanks, crossed the 38th parallel and launched a full
scale invasion of South Korea. Five days later, U.S. ground forces entered
the conflict, which lasted until July 27, 1953, when an armistice was
signed at Panmunjon, formally dividing the country at the 38th parallel
into North and South Korea.
June 25, 1991 - Following the collapse of Soviet rule in
Eastern Europe, the republics of Croatia and Slovenia declared their
independence from Yugoslavia. Ethnic rivalries between Serbians and
Croatians soon erupted. In 1992, fighting erupted in Bosnia-Herzegovina
between Serbians and ethnic Muslims. A campaign of terrorism and genocide,
termed 'ethnic cleansing,' was started by the Serbs against the Muslims.
At least two million people became refugees, and about 200,000 were
missing and presumed dead. Violence in the region raged on through 1995
despite economic sanctions and the efforts of U.N. peacekeeping forces in
the area.
June 26, 1945 - The United Nations Charter was signed in San
Francisco by 50 nations. The Charter was ratified on October 24, 1945.
June 27,
1847 -
New York
and Boston were linked by telegraph wires
June 28,
1838 -
Britain's
Queen Victoria was crowned in Westminster Abbey.
June 28, 1862 - During the U.S. Civil War, the siege of the
Confederate city of Vicksburg began as Admiral David Farragut succeeded in
taking a fleet past the Mississippi River stronghold. The siege continued
over a year.
June 28, 1914 - Archduke Francis Ferdinand, Crown Prince of
Austria and his wife were assassinated at Sarajevo, touching off a
conflict between the Austro-Hungarian government and Serbia that escalated
into World War I.
June 28, 1919 - The signing of the Treaty of Versailles
formally ended World War I. According to the terms, Germany was asked to
admit guilt, give up Alsace-Lorraine and overseas colonies, and pay
reparations of $15 Billion. The treaty also prohibited German rearmament.
June 29,
1613 -
London's
Globe Theatre was destroyed by fire.
June 29,
1946 -
British
authorities arrested more than 2700 Jews in Palestine in an attempt to
stamp out terrorism, which included the bombing of a large hotel.
June 29, 1972 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled (5-4) that
capital punishment was a violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibiting
"cruel and unusual punishment." The decision spared the lives of 600
individuals then sitting on death row. Four years later, in another
ruling, the Court reversed itself and determined the death penalty was not
cruel and unusual punishment. On October 4, 1976, the ban was lifted on
the death penalty in cases involving murder.
June 30, 1971 - The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
was enacted, granting the right to vote in all federal, state and local
elections to American citizens 18 years or older. The U.S. thus gained an
additional 11 million voters. The minimum voting age in most states had
been 21.
June 30, 1997 - In Hong Kong, the flag of the British Crown
Colony was officially lowered at midnight and replaced by a new flag
representing China's sovereignty and the official transfer of power
June 30,
1759 -
A lot was
purchased in Newport RI on which was built the Touro Synagogue, which
still stands today. It was designed by architect Peter Harrison.
Interestingly enough, there is no record of him having been paid, so it is
supposed that his work was a labor of love. The RI settlement was the
first established Jewish congregation in America, as those whose religion
was persecuted found a haven in Roger Williams' Rhode Island. The
congregation was established by Sephardim in 1658.
June 30,
1782 -
Spain
completed its conquest of Florida.
June 30,
1894 -
Tower
Bridge opened to traffic.
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