TODAY IN HISTORY: JUNE 24

 

June 24

 

June 24th is the 175th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 190 days remaining (191 in leap years). It is also the first day of the fourth quarter of the fiscal year in many countries.

Historical events on June 24th

• 1410: The Battle of Grunwald is fought between the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic armies, resulting in a decisive Polish-Lithuanian victory.
• 1497: John Cabot lands in Newfoundland, becoming the first European to explore North America since the Vikings.
• 1535: Jacques Cartier sails up the St. Lawrence River, becoming the first European to explore the area that is now Canada.
• 1783: The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the American Revolutionary War.
• 1812: The War of 1812 begins between the United States and the United Kingdom.
• 1864: The Battle of Petersburg begins during the American Civil War, resulting in a Confederate victory.
• 1898: The Spanish-American War begins.
• 1914: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, sparks World War I.
• 1940: France surrenders to Germany during World War II.
• 1945: The United Nations Charter is signed in San Francisco, California.
• 1960: The Soviet Union shoots down an American U-2 spy plane over Siberia, sparking the U-2 Crisis.
• 1967: The Six-Day War begins between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
• 1975: The United States withdraws its last troops from South Vietnam, ending the Vietnam War.
• 1997: TWA Flight 800 explodes and crashes off the coast of Long Island, New York, killing all 230 people on board.

People born on June 24th

• 1478: John the Baptist (feast day)
• 1795: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (d. 1901)
• 1821: William Holman Hunt, English painter (d. 1910)
• 1832: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer (d. 1893)
• 1864: Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter (d. 1918)
• 1883: Alfonsina Storni, Swiss-Argentine poet (d. 1938)
• 1907: Juan Rulfo, Mexican writer (d. 1986)
• 1933: Jean Chrétien, Canadian politician and 20th Prime Minister of Canada
• 1937: Rodney Dangerfield, American comedian and actor (d. 2004)
• 1940: Lee Harvey Oswald, American assassin of President John F. Kennedy (d. 1963)
• 1943: Carly Simon, American singer-songwriter
• 1947: Judy Blume, American author

Holidays and observances on June 24th

• International Day of the Tropics
• National HIV Testing Day (United States)
• St. John the Baptist's Day (Christian)
• Independence Day (Ecuador)
• Statehood Day (North Dakota)

Fun facts about June 24th

• June 24th is the day on which the first commercial flight of the Boeing 747 jumbo jet took place in 1970.
• June 24th is the day on which the first episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" aired in 1987.
• June 24th is the day on which the first successful launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia took place in 1981.
• June 24th is the day on which the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed in 1990.
• June 24th is the day on which the first commercial flight of the Airbus A340 wide-body airliner took place in 1993.

Conclusion

June 24th is a day with a rich history, culture, and natural significance. It is a day to remember the important events that have taken place on this date, to celebrate the diverse cultures of the world, and to appreciate the beauty of nature.

Here are some additional events:

1312 BC – Mursili II launches a campaign against the Kingdom of Azzi-Hayasa.

109 – Roman emperor Trajan inaugurates the Aqua Traiana, an aqueduct that channels water from Lake Bracciano, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest 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 Dál Riata. It is claimed to be the largest battle in the history of Ireland.

843 – The Vikings sack the French city of Nantes.

972 – Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces, takes place.

1128 – Battle of São Mamede, near Guimarães: Forces led by Afonso I defeat forces led by his mother Teresa of León and her lover Fernando Pérez de Traba.

1230 – The Siege of Jaén begins, in the context of the Spanish Reconquista.

1314 – First War of Scottish Independence: The Battle of Bannockburn concludes with a decisive victory by Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce.

1340 – Hundred Years' War: Battle of Sluys: The French fleet is almost completely 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.

1540 – English King Henry VIII commands his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, to leave the court.

1571 – Miguel López de Legazpi founds Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

1593 – The Dutch city of Geertruidenberg held by the Spanish, capitulates to a besieging Dutch and English army led by Maurice of Nassau.

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 make a failed attempt to capture Macau.

1663 – The Spanish garrison of Évora capitulates, following the Portuguese victory at the Battle of Ameixial.

1717 – The Premier Grand Lodge of England is founded in London, the first Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (now the United Grand Lodge of England).

1762 – Battle of Wilhelmsthal: The British-Hanoverian army of Ferdinand of Brunswick defeats French forces in Westphalia.

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 – Battle of Carabobo: 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 at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français. The song would later become the national anthem of Canada.

1894 – Marie François Sadi Carnot, President of France, is assassinated by Sante Geronimo Caserio.

1913 – Greece and Serbia annul their alliance with Bulgaria.

1916 – Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to sign a million-dollar contract.

1918 – First airmail service in Canada from Montreal to Toronto.

1922 – The American Professional Football Association is renamed the National Football League.

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 meteorite land near Chicora, Pennsylvania. The meteorite is estimated to have weighed 450 metric tons when it hit the Earth's atmosphere and exploded.

1939 – Siam is renamed Thailand by Plaek Phibunsongkhram, the country's third prime minister.

1940 – World War II: Operation Collar, the first British Commando raid on occupied France, by No 11 Independent Company.

1943 – US military police attempt to arrest a black soldier in Bamber Bridge, England, sparking the Battle of Bamber Bridge mutiny that leaves one dead and seven wounded.

1947 – Kenneth Arnold makes the first widely reported UFO sighting near Mount Rainier, Washington.

1948 – Cold War: 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, starring William Boyd, is aired on NBC.

1950 – Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed, formally segregating races.

1954 – First Indochina War: Battle of Mang Yang Pass: Viet Minh troops belonging to the 803rd Regiment ambush G.M. 100 of France in An Khê.

1957 – In Roth v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.

1960 – Assassination attempt of Venezuelan President Rómulo Betancourt.

1963 – The United Kingdom grants Zanzibar internal self-government.

1973 – The UpStairs Lounge arson attack takes place at a gay bar located on the second floor of the three-story building at 141 Chartres Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Thirty-two people die as a result of fire or smoke inhalation.

1975 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 encounters severe wind shear and crashes on final approach to New York's JFK Airport killing 113 of the 124 passengers on board, making it the deadliest U.S. plane crash at the time. This accident led to decades of research into downburst and microburst phenomena and their effects on aircraft.

1981 – The Humber Bridge opens to traffic, connecting Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It remained the world's longest bridge span for 17 years.

1982 – "The Jakarta Incident": British Airways Flight 009 flies into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four engines.

1989 – Jiang Zemin succeeds Zhao Ziyang to become the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.

1994 – A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress crashes at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Washington, killing four.

1995 – Rugby World Cup: South Africa defeats New Zealand and Nelson Mandela presents Francois Pienaar with the Webb Ellis Cup in an iconic post-apartheid moment.

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 – At Wimbledon, John Isner of the United States defeats Nicolas Mahut of France, in the longest match in professional tennis history.

2010 – Julia Gillard assumes office as the first female Prime Minister of Australia.

2012 – Death of Lonesome George, the last known individual of Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii, a subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise.

2013 – Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is found guilty of abusing his power and engaging in sex with an underage prostitute, and is sentenced to seven years in prison.

2021 – The Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida suffers a sudden partial collapse, killing 98 people inside.

2022 – In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion is not protected by the U.S. Constitution, overturning the court's prior decisions in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).