Events
of the day
World
Young Doctors' Day
109
– Roman emperor Trajan
inaugurates the Aqua
Traiana, an aqueduct
that channels water
from Lake Bracciano,
40 kilometres (25 miles)
north-west of Rome.
474 – Julius Nepos forces
Roman usurper Glycerius
to abdicate the throne
and proclaims himself
Emperor of the Western
Roman Empire.
637 – The Battle of
Moira is fought between
the High King of Ireland
and the Kings of Ulster
and Dalriada. It is
the largest battle in
the history of Ireland.
972 – Battle of Cedynia,
the first documented
victory of Polish forces,
takes place.
1128 – Battle of São
Mamede, near Guimarães:
forces led by Alfonso
I defeat forces led
by his mother Teresa
of León and her lover
Fernando Pérez de Traba.
After this battle, the
future king calls himself
"Prince of Portugal",
the first step towards
"official independence"
that will be reached
in 1139 after the Battle
of Ourique.
1314 – First War of
Scottish Independence:
the Battle of Bannockburn
concludes with a decisive
victory by Scottish
forces led by Robert
the Bruce, though England
did not recognize Scottish
independence until 1328
with the signing of
the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton.
1340 – Hundred Years'
War: Battle of Sluys
– The French fleet is
almost destroyed by
the English Fleet commanded
in person by King Edward
III.
1374 – A sudden outbreak
of St. John's Dance
causes people in the
streets of Aachen, Germany,
to experience hallucinations
and begin to jump and
twitch uncontrollably
until they collapse
from exhaustion.
1497 – John Cabot lands
in North America at
Newfoundland leading
the first European exploration
of the region since
the Vikings.
1509 – Henry VIII and
Catherine of Aragon
are crowned King and
Queen of England.
1535 – The Anabaptist
state of Münster is
conquered and disbanded.
1571 – Miguel Lopez
de Legazpi founds Manila,
the capital of the Republic
of the Philippines.
1597 – The first Dutch
voyage to the East Indies
reaches Bantam (on Java).
1604 – Samuel de Champlain
discovers the mouth
of the Saint John River,
site of Reversing Falls
and the present day
city of Saint John,
New Brunswick, Canada.
1622 – Battle of Macau:
The Dutch attempt but
fail to capture Macau.
1717 – The Premier Grand
Lodge of England, the
first Masonic Grand
Lodge in the world (now
the United Grand Lodge
of England), is founded
in London, England.
1779 – American Revolutionary
War: The Great Siege
of Gibraltar begins.
1793 – The first Republican
constitution in France
is adopted.
1812 – Napoleonic Wars:
Napoleon's Grande Armée
crosses the Neman River
beginning the invasion
of Russia.
1813 – Battle of Beaver
Dams: a British and
Indian combined force
defeats the United States
Army.
1821 – The Battle of
Carabobo takes place.
It is the decisive battle
in the war of independence
of Venezuela from Spain.
1859 – Battle of Solferino
(Battle of the Three
Sovereigns): Sardinia
and France defeat Austria
in Solferino, northern
Italy.
1866 – Battle of Custoza:
an Austrian army defeats
the Italian army during
the Austro-Prussian
War.
1880 – First performance
of O Canada, the song
that would become the
national anthem of Canada,
at the Congrès national
des Canadiens-Français.
1894 – Marie Francois
Sadi Carnot is assassinated
by Sante Geronimo Caserio.
1902 – King Edward VII
of the United Kingdom
develops appendicitis,
delaying his coronation.
1913 – Greece and Serbia
annul their alliance
with Bulgaria.
1916 – Mary Pickford
becomes the first female
film star to sign a
million dollar contract.
1916 – World War I:
the Battle of the Somme
begins with a week-long
artillery bombardment
on the German Line.
1918 – First airmail
service in Canada from
Montreal to Toronto.
1932 – A bloodless Revolution
instigated by the People's
Party ends the absolute
power of King Prajadhipok
of Siam (now Thailand).
1938 – Pieces of a meteor,
estimated to have weighed
450 metric tons when
it hit the Earth's atmosphere
and exploded, land near
Chicora, Pennsylvania.
1939 – Siam is renamed
Thailand by Plaek Pibulsonggram,
the country's third
prime minister.
1947 – Kenneth Arnold
makes the first widely
reported UFO sighting
near Mount Rainier,
Washington.
1948 – Start of the
Berlin Blockade: the
Soviet Union makes overland
travel between West
Germany and West Berlin
impossible.
1949 – The first television
western, Hopalong Cassidy,
is aired on NBC starring
William Boyd.
1957 – In Roth v. United
States, the U.S. Supreme
Court rules that obscenity
is not protected by
the First Amendment.
1963 – The United Kingdom
grants Zanzibar internal
self-government.
1981 – The Humber Bridge
is opened to traffic,
connecting Yorkshire
and Lincolnshire. It
would be the world's
longest single-span
suspension bridge for
17 years.
1982 – "The Jakarta
Incident": British
Airways Flight 9 flies
into a cloud of volcanic
ash thrown up by the
eruption of Mount Galunggung,
resulting in the failure
of all four engines.
1985 – STS-51-G Space
Shuttle Discovery completes
its mission, best remembered
for having Sultan bin
Salman bin Abdulaziz
Al Saud, the first Arab
and first Muslim in
space, as a Payload
Specialist.
2002 – The Igandu train
disaster in Tanzania
kills 281, the worst
train accident in African
history.
2004 – In New York,
capital punishment is
declared unconstitutional.
2010 – John Isner of
the United States defeats
Nicolas Mahut of France
at Wimbledon, in the
longest match in professional
tennis history.
Holidays
and observances
Bannockburn
Day (Scotland)
Battle of Carabobo Day
(Venezuela)
Christian Feast Day:
Nativity of St. John
the Baptist
June 24 (Eastern Orthodox
liturgics)
Day of the Caboclo (Amazonas
State, Brazil)
Discovery Day, observed
on the nearest Monday
(Newfoundland and Labrador)
Earliest day on which
Mother's Day can fall,
while June 30 is the
latest; celebrated on
the last Sunday in June.
(Kenya)
Feast of Raḥmat (Bahá'í
Faith)
Inti Raymi, a winter
solstice festival and
a New Year in the Andes
of the Southern Hemisphere
(Sacsayhuamán)
St John's Day and the
second day of the Midsummer
celebrations (although
this is not the astronomical
summer solstice, see
June 20) (Roman Catholic
Church, Northern Europe),
and its related observances:
Jaanipäev (Estonia)
Jāņi (Latvia)
Midsummer Day (England)
National Holiday (Quebec)
Saint Jonas' Festival
or Joninės (Lithuania)
Sânziene (western Carpathian
Mountains of Romania)
For details, contact
Datacentre
