On This Day In History
19 June 1975. An inquest jury decided that the missing peer, Lord Lucan, had brutally murdered Sandra Rivett (pictured), the 29-year-old nanny of his three children. Lucan has never been found. pic.twitter.com/fZzbdtCNxS
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 19, 2022
19 June 1971. The first episode of chat show, Parkinson, was broadcast on BBC1. It was presented by Michael Parkinson. It was a staple of Saturday night TV, until 10 April 1982. It was revived on BBC1 from 1998 to 2004, and then on ITV from 2004 to 2007. pic.twitter.com/UaXT3stKhv
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 19, 2022
19 June 1993. Leading novelist, William Golding, died (aged 81). He’s best known for the novel, Lord of the Flies. He also won a Nobel Prize in Literature and was awarded the Booker Prize for fiction in 1980 for his novel Rites of Passage. pic.twitter.com/wOUPww92Vx
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 19, 2022
June 20th
451 Battle of the Catalaunian Plains: Roman and Visigoths forces defeat Attila the Hun in north east France, alting Hun invasion of Roman Gaul (exact date disputed)
1214 The University of Oxford receives its charter
1789 French Revolution: The Third Estate of the French Estates-General swears the Tennis Court Oath at the Palace of Versailles, swearing not to disband until a new constitution is formed
1840 Samuel Morse patents his telegraph
1895 1st female PhD from an American University, earned by Caroline Willard Baldwin (in Science) at Cornell University
2020 Highest-ever temperature recorded in the Arctic circle, 38C (100F) in Verkhoyansk, Siberia
Did You Know?
Black Hole of Calcutta: 146 British soldiers, Anglo-Indian soldiers and Indian civilians are imprisoned in a small dungeon in Calcutta, India where most die from suffocation and heat exhaustion
Today in History in 1756
Would You Believe?
The SS Savannah reaches Cork in Ireland after a 29 day and 11 hour voyage from Savannah, Georgia to become the 1st steamship to cross the Atlantic or any other ocean
Today in History in 1819
This day 389 years ago – 20 June 1631 – the village of Baltimore, Co Cork was attacked by Barbary pirates, led by Dutchman Murat Reis, the worst-ever such attack in either Ireland or Great Britain.
108 people - most of them settlers from England – were abducted to North Africa. pic.twitter.com/wSZbfyHBoh
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) June 20, 2020
#otd in 2005 Massouma al-Mubarak became Kuwait's first female government minister, one month after Kuwaiti women were finally granted the vote. https://t.co/xuvD7KthmI pic.twitter.com/NyW8rRRP59
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) June 20, 2022
On this day in 1940, a group of white men, including the local sheriff, in Brownsville, Tennessee, abducted and lynched NAACP leader and voting rights activist Elbert Williams. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/1o7n84WQ8V
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) June 20, 2022
20 June 1819. US vessel, SS Savannah, arrived at Liverpool. It was the first steam-propelled sail ship to cross the Atlantic, even though most of the journey was made under sail. The space taken up by its large engine and fuel tanks made steam ships initially unprofitable. pic.twitter.com/ZoF6T2HFve
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 20, 2022
20 June 1943. Race-related rioting erupted in Detroit, Michigan, USA. A total of 34 people were killed, 25 of them were black, at the hands of local white police officers, a further 433 were wounded, and 75 per cent of those were also black. pic.twitter.com/QXW2hz9O4h
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 20, 2022
20 June 1945. The US Secretary of State approved the transfer of former SS officer Wernher von Braun and his team of Nazi rocket scientists to the USA, under Operation Paperclip. They would play a key role in the US Space programme that led to the moon landing in 1969. pic.twitter.com/BBXpJYUxDR
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 20, 2022
20 June 1949. US woman tennis star, “Gorgeous” Gussie Moran’s short skirt outfit caused a sensation at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships. Nothing like this had been seen at Wimbledon before and it created a press sensation. pic.twitter.com/6ugrQZiO7E
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 20, 2022
20 June 1972. On this day an 18½-minute gap appeared in the tape recording of conversations between, President Richard Nixon, and his advisers regarding recent arrests after the break-in of the Watergate complex. This became central to Nixon’s cover up of the Watergate Scandal. pic.twitter.com/RRpRkibaku
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 20, 2022
20 June 1975. The shark attack blockbuster film, Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg, was released in the USA. At the time, it was the highest grossing film of all time. It started a trend of summer blockbusters in the 1970s. pic.twitter.com/GrQf3CbX0p
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 20, 2022
PHOTO OF THE DAY. Steven Spielberg on the set of Jaws (1974). pic.twitter.com/KPw7Q9BNR3
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 20, 2022
20th June 1837 - The teenage Victoria ascends the British throne on the death of her uncle, William IV
20th June 1893 - Lizzie Borden is acquitted of the murder of her father and stepmother, the day after her 33rd birthday
Quote from Forrest on June 20, 2022, 9:09 pm20th June 1837 – The teenage Victoria ascends the British throne on the death of her uncle, William IV
20th June 1893 – Lizzie Borden is acquitted of the murder of her father and stepmother, the day after her 33rd birthday
20 June 1893. Lizzie Borden, charged with the axe murders of her father and stepmother, in Fall River, Massachusetts, USA on 4 August 1892, was surprisingly acquitted. Many members of the public continued to believe she was guilty. No one else was ever charged. pic.twitter.com/vXeYNh43zj
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) June 20, 2022
June 21st
1788 US Constitution comes into effect when New Hampshire is the 9th state to ratify it
1854 First Victoria Cross won during bombardment of Bomarsund in the Aland Islands (Crimean War)
1948 Lord Mountbatten resigns as Governor General of India (formerly the last Viceroy)
1990 7.7 Manjil-Rudbar Earthquake with hundreds of aftershocks hits Iran; killing about 50,000
1993 English mathematician Andrew Wiles proves last theorem of Fermat
Did You Know?
American inventor and businessman Cyrus McCormick patents the reaping machine
Today in History in 1834
Would You Believe?
Frank W. Woolworth opens his 1st successful "F. W. Woolworth Great Five Cent Store" on North Queen Street, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Today in History in 1879
This day 16 years ago – 21 June 2003 – the first-ever Special Olympics World Games held outside the U.S. took place in Croke Park, Dublin.
7,000 athletes from 168 countries participated.
The games were officially opened by Nelson Mandela, with performances by U2 and The Corrs. pic.twitter.com/M7U68gtfpa
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) June 21, 2019