On This Day In History
4 June 1923. American jockey, Frank Hayes, suffered a fatal heart attack, while riding Sweet Kiss, in a steeplechase at Elmont. The horse crossed the winning line first, making Hayes the only dead jockey to have won a horse race. The result of the race stood. pic.twitter.com/3Yheq9bUiS
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 4, 2022
4 June 1939. The MS St. Louis, a ship carrying 963 Jewish refugees, was denied permission to dock in Florida, USA, after having already been denied entry into Cuba. The ship was then forced to return to Europe, and 264 of its passengers would later die in the Holocaust. pic.twitter.com/dAqke7eWKF
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 4, 2022
4 June 1944. Rome was liberated from Axis rule by victorious Allied troops, led by American General Mark Clark. Rome was the first of the three Axis powers’ capitals to be captured by the Allies. The task was made easier by the German Army deciding to abandon the city beforehand. pic.twitter.com/AvXmlViZ4Y
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 4, 2022
4 June 1968. Robert F. Kennedy began his last speech in the Ambassador Hotel in LA just before midnight after victory in the California Democratic Presidential Primary. Within minutes of the speech ending, he was shot three times (once in the head) as he walked through a kitchen. pic.twitter.com/EVKXXGO2Rf
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 4, 2022
4 June 1997. Ronnie Lane died (aged 51). He rose to fame as the bass guitarist with The Small Faces from 1965 to 1969, and then joined The Faces between 1969 and 1973, who recorded 4 albums, and they also contributed to Rod Stewart’s solo albums and tours in the early 1970s. pic.twitter.com/SffIuLXsx9
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 4, 2022
PHOTO OF THE DAY. The Tollund Man, a naturally mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 4th century BC. He was found in 1950, preserved in a peat bog on the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. pic.twitter.com/NvJh6mNPiT
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 4, 2022
June 5th
1873 Sultan Bargash bin Said under British pressure closes the infamous slave market of Zanzibar in modern day Tanzania
1947 US Secretary of State George Marshall outlines the "Marshall Plan" to rebuild Western Europe
1963 State of siege proclaimed in Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini arrested
1967 Six-Day War begins between Israel and the neighboring Arab states of Egypt, Jordan and Syria
1968 Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan shoots Robert F. Kennedy three times, who dies the next day. and wounds 5 others at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California
1981 AIDS Epidemic officially begins when US Centers for Disease Control reports on pneumonia affecting five homosexual men in Los Angeles
1981 World's first today in history program with editable data "TODAY", invented by Michael Butler runs for the first time on a mainframe computer
1984 Indira Gandhi orders an attack on Sikh's holiest site, the Golden Temple in Amritsar
This day 223 years ago – 5 June 1798 – the Battle of New Ross was fought, the bloodiest battle of the United Irishmen rebellion.
The British Army garrison was led by General Henry Johnston, while the rebels – who were ultimately forced to retreat – were led by Bagenal Harvey. pic.twitter.com/aqlsSQUVYb
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) June 5, 2021
#OTD in 1929, Margaret Bondfield became the UK's first female Cabinet Minister: Minister for Labour during the 1930s Depression. She had co-founded the National Federation of Women Workers—with Mary MacArthur—and was the first ever female Chair of the TUC. https://t.co/9IW8JGDG6x pic.twitter.com/TyG1NfKuRE
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) June 5, 2022
On this day in 1910, a white mob in Orange County, Texas, targeted and killed two Black men while they were walking home from a festival To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/HUUrGkR8Vq
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) June 5, 2022
5 June 755. English missionary, Boniface (“the Apostle of Germany”), was murdered by a group of Germanic “unbelievers” along with 53 of his companions. His remains were buried in the church of Fulda and are now entombed within a shrine beneath the high altar of Fulda Cathedral. pic.twitter.com/fktKaopnAq
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 5, 2022
5 June 1844. The landmark Factory Act became law. It restricted female workers to a maximum 12-hour day but with 1 hour lunch breaks and children between 9 and 13 to 9 hours a day but with a 1 hour lunch break. pic.twitter.com/tDh0FBtJvS
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 5, 2022
5 June 1883. The first Express d’Orient left Paris for Vienna. The train was officially renamed Orient Express in 1891. The glamour and rich history of the Orient Express has frequently lent itself to the plot of books and films and as the subject of TV documentaries. pic.twitter.com/1Db2zpGYJ6
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 5, 2022
5 June 1963. Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, resigned, after admitting he had lied to parliament about the nature of his relationship with model, Christine Keeler. On 22 March 1963, Profumo said: “There was no impropriety whatever in my acquaintance with Miss Keeler.” pic.twitter.com/PmlZo3XaSP
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 5, 2022
5 June 1968. Robert F Kennedy (aged 42), was shot 3 times, once in the head, while walking through the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, USA at 12:15 AM. He was rushed to hospital, but died at 1:44 AM on 6 June 1968 without ever regaining consciousness. pic.twitter.com/cnjWQrWdXC
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 5, 2022
5 June 1967. The "Six Day War" between Israel and Egypt, Syria and Jordan began. Israel emerged with a comprehensive victory and seized the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and the West Bank of the Jordan River during the conflict. These territorial adjustments remain disputed. pic.twitter.com/HiTnZEZXT5
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 5, 2022
5 June 1989. The Tiananmen Square democracy protests were violently suppressed in Beijing by the People’s Liberation Army. The protests were symbolised by a man (“Tank Man”), who stood in the way of a column of tanks. He has never been identified. His fate is unknown. pic.twitter.com/fd59mmRjla
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 5, 2022
June 6th
1523 Gustav Vasa is elected King of Sweden, marking the end of the Kalmar Union
1716 French transport the 1st African slaves to Louisiana
1916 The death of Yuan Shikai, ruler of much of China since 1912, causes the central government to virtually collapse in the face of warlords, including Sun Yat-sen
1944 Operation Overlord: D-Day begins as the 156,000-strong Allied Expeditionary Force lands in Normandy, France, during World War II
1982 30,000 Israeli troops invade Lebanon to drive out the PLO
Did You Know?
Electric iron patented by Henry W Seely, NYC
Today in History in 1882
Would You Believe?
A near-Earth asteroid estimated at 10 metres diameter explodes over the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Libya. Resulting explosion estimated to have a force of 26 kilotons, more powerful than the Nagasaki atomic bomb.
Today in History in 2002