On This Day In History
Did You Know?
“Toy Story 3″, directed by Lee Unkrich, starring Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, premieres at the Taormina Film Fest in Italy – 1st animated film to earn 1 billion
Today in History in 2010
Would You Believe?
Zimbabwe discards its own currency, offering an exchange of $1 for 35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars
Today in History in 2015
June 13th
1373 Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of Alliance (world’s oldest extant) signed in London
1866 US House of representatives passes 14th Amendment (Civil rights)
1878 Congress of Berlin begins, determines the territories of the states in the Balkan peninsula following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78
1956 The last British troops leave the Suez Canal Zone in Egypt
2000 South Korean President Kim Dae Jung meets leader of North Korea Kim Jong-il, for the beginning of the first ever inter-Korea summit, in the northern capital of Pyongyang
Did You Know?
Longest recorded attack of hiccups begins: Charlie Osborne gets the hiccups and continues for 68 years, dies 11 months after it stops
Today in History in 1922
Would You Believe?
Floods in Tbilisi, Georgia, kill 12 people and free animals from the city’s zoo, including bears and hippos, to roam the city
Today in History in 2015
June 14th
1381 Richard II in England meets leaders of the Peasants’ Revolt on Blackheath. The Tower of London is stormed by rebels who enter without resistance.
1645 Battle of Naseby, Leicestershire: “New Model Army” under Oliver Cromwell & Thomas Fairfax beat royalists forces of English King Charles I
1821 Badi VII, king of Sennar, surrenders his throne and realm to Ismail Pasha, general of the Ottoman Empire, bringing the 300 year old Sudanese kingdom to an end
1940 Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp opens in Nazi controlled Poland with Polish POWs, later expanded to include civilian Jews and gypsies (approx. 3 million would die within its walls)
1941 Estonia loses 11,000 inhabitants as a consequence of mass deportations into Siberia
1982 Argentina surrenders to Great Britain, ending the 74-day Falklands Islands conflict
Did You Know?
US Continental Congress adopts the Stars & Stripes flag, designed by Francis Hopkinson, replacing the Grand Union flag
Today in History in 1777
Would You Believe?
First mammal made extinct by human-induced climate change announced – the Bramble Cay Melomys from Torres Strait
Today in History in 2016
June 15th
763 BC Assyrians record a solar eclipse that will be used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history
1215 King John signs Magna Carta at Runnymede, near Windsor, England
1775 George Washington appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, the day after Congress establishes the force
1896 Tsunami strikes Shinto festival on beach at Sanriku, Japan; 27,000 are killed, 9,000 injured and 13,000 houses destroyed
1940 World War II: France surrenders to NAZI Germany, German troops occupy Paris
1991 Climactic eruption of the Mount Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines, the second-largest volcanic eruption on Earth of the 20th century
Did You Know?
Dannebrog is the flag of Denmark and the oldest national flag in the world. According to legend, it fell from the sky during the Battle of Lyndanisse (now Tallinn) in Estonia, and turned the Danes’ luck
Today in History in 1219
Would You Believe?
Near earth asteroid 2002 MN missed the Earth by 75,000 miles (120,000 km), about one-third of the distance between the Earth and the Moon
Today in History in 2002
June 16th
1779 Spain declares war on Great Britain in support of France and the USA, starting the Great Siege of Gibraltar which goes on to last 3 years, 7 months and 2 weeks
1858 Abraham Lincoln says “A house divided against itself cannot stand” accepting Illinois Republican Party’s nomination for the Senate
1963 Soviet space mission Vostok 6 is launched with Valentina Tereshkova onboard, who becomes the 1st woman in space
2000 Israel complies with UN Security Council Resolution 425 after 22 years, which calls on Israel to completely withdraw from Lebanon. Israel withdraws from all of Lebanon, except the disputed Sheba Farms
June 17th
656 Ali ibn Abu Talib elected the 4th Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate
1579 English navigator Francis Drake lands on the coast of California at Drakes Bay, names it “New Albion”
1631 Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, then spends more than 20 years building her tomb, the Taj Mahal
1789 French Revolution: During the meeting of the Estates-General, the Third Estate proclaims itself the ‘National Assembly’
1837 Charles Goodyear obtains his 1st rubber patent
1856 Republican Party opens its 1st national convention in Philadelphia
Did You Know?
“Things Fall Apart” by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe published by Heinemann – considered most widely read book in African literature
Today in History in 1958
Would You Believe?
Last public guillotining in France. Eugen Weidmann, a convicted murderer, is guillotined in Versailles outside the prison Saint-Pierre
Today in History in 1939
June 18th
618 Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries of the Tang Dynasty’s rule over China
1812 War of 1812 begins as US declares war against Britain
1928 American aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the 1st woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, landing at Burry Port, Wales
1940 Winston Churchill‘s “this was their finest hour” speech urging perseverance during Battle of Britain delivered to British House of Commons
Did You Know?
Richard Martin of London takes out first life insurance policy, on William Gibbons; premium was £383
Today in History in 1583
Would You Believe?
Governor of Louisiana Earl K. Long is committed to a state mental hospital; he responds by having the hospital’s director fired and replaced with a crony who proceeds to proclaim him perfectly sane
Today in History in 1959