This day in .....

1966 - The Communist Party of China issued the 'May 16 Notice', marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

Cultural Revolution

1966–1976 sociopolitical turmoil in China

This article is about the movement in China. For events elsewhere also called the "Cultural Revolution", see Cultural Revolution (disambiguation). For revolutions in culture generally, see List of cultural, intellectual, philosophical and technological revolutions.

The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his death in 1976. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. Though it failed to achieve its main objectives, the Cultural Revolution marked the effective return of Mao to the center of power. This came after a period of relative absence for Mao, who had been sidelined by the more moderate Seven Thousand Cadres Conference in the aftermath of the Great Leap Forward and the following Great Chinese Famine.

In May 1966, with the help of the Cultural Revolution Group, Mao launched the Revolution and said that bourgeois elements had infiltrated the government and society with the aim of restoring capitalism. Mao called on young people to bombard the headquarters, and proclaimed that "to rebel is justified". Mass upheaval began in Beijing with Red August in 1966. Many young people, mainly students, responded by forming cadres of Red Guards throughout the country. A selection of Mao's sayings were compiled into the Little Red Book, which became revered within his cult of personality. In 1967, emboldened radicals began seizing power from local governments and party branches, establishing new revolutionary committees in their place. These committees often split into rival factions, precipitating armed clashes among the radicals. After the fall of Lin Biao in 1971, the Gang of Four became influential in 1972, and the Revolution continued until Mao's death in 1976, soon followed by the arrest of the Gang of Four.

The Cultural Revolution was characterized by violence and chaos across Chinese society, including a massacre in Guangxi that included acts of cannibalism, as well as massacres in Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Guangdong, Yunnan, and Hunan.^[1] Estimates of the death toll vary widely, typically ranging from 1–2 million. Red Guards sought to destroy the Four Olds (old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits), which often took the form of destroying historical artifacts, cultural and religious sites, and targeting others deemed to be representative of the Four Olds. Tens of millions were persecuted, including senior officials: most notably, president Liu Shaoqi, as well as Deng Xiaoping, Peng Dehuai, and He Long. Millions were persecuted for being members of the Five Black Categories. Intellectuals and scientists were considered to be the Stinking Old Ninth, and many were persecuted. The country's schools and universities were closed, and the National College Entrance Examination were cancelled. Over 10 million youth from urban areas were relocated under the Down to the Countryside Movement policy.

In December 1978, Deng Xiaoping became the new paramount leader of China, replacing Mao's successor Hua Guofeng. Deng and his allies introduced the Boluan Fanzheng program and initiated reforms and opening of China, which gradually dismantled the ideology of Cultural Revolution. In 1981, the Communist Party publicly acknowledged numerous failures of the Cultural Revolution, declaring it "responsible for the most severe setback and the heaviest losses suffered by the people, the country, and the party since the founding of the People's Republic." Given its broad scope and social impact, memories and perspectives of the Cultural Revolution are varied and complex in contemporary China. It is often referred to as the "ten years of chaos" (十年动乱; shí nián dòngluàn) or "ten years of havoc" (十年浩劫; shí nián hàojié).^[2][3]

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Song-2011a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ "Translation Glossary for the CR/10 Project" (PDF). University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
3. ^ Lu, Xing (2004). Rhetoric of the Chinese Cultural Revolution: The Impact on Chinese Thought. p. 2. Known to the Chinese as the ten years of chaos [...]

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17 May: 1792 - The New York Stock Exchange is formed.

New York Stock Exchange

American stock exchange

This article is about the stock exchange. For its parent company, see Intercontinental Exchange. For the headquarters building, see New York Stock Exchange Building.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board")^[4] is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization.^[5][6][7]

The NYSE trading floor is located at the New York Stock Exchange Building on 11 Wall Street and 18 Broad Street and is a National Historic Landmark. A previous trading room, at 30 Broad Street, was closed in February 2007.

The NYSE is owned by Intercontinental Exchange, an American holding company that it also lists (NYSE: ICE). Previously, it was part of NYSE Euronext (NYX), which was formed by the NYSE's 2007 merger with Euronext.^[8] According to a Gallup poll conducted in 2022, approximately 58% of American adults reported having money invested in the stock market, either through individual stocks, mutual funds, or retirement accounts.^[9]

1. ^ "History of the New York Stock Exchange". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
2. ^ "Listings Directory for NYSE Stocks".
3. ^ "Market Statistics – Focus". Focus.world-exchanges.org. World Federation of Exchanges. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
4. ^ "Merriam-Webster Dictionary's definition of "Big Board"". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2012.(subscription required)
5. ^ "The NYSE Makes Stock Exchanges Around The World Look Tiny". Business Insider. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
6. ^ "2016". Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
7. ^ "Is the New York Stock Exchange the Largest Stock Market in the World?". Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
8. ^ Rothwell, Steve (December 19, 2012), "For the New York Stock Exchange, a sell order", San Jose Mercury News, Associated Press
9. ^ LYDIA SAAD and JEFFREY M. JONES (May 12, 2022). "What Percentage of Americans Own Stock?". Gallup, Inc. Retrieved May 12, 2022.

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1910 - The Earth passes through the tail of Comet Halley.

Comet Halley

Redirect to:

• Halley's Comet

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19 May: 1962 - A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe's infamous rendition of Happy Birthday.

Happy_Birthday%2C_Mr._President

 

20 May: 1902 - Cuba gains independence from the United States. Tomás Estrada Palma becomes the first President of Cuba.

List of Presidents of Cuba

Redirect to:

• List of heads of state of Cuba

• From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.

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May 21: 1932 - Amelia Earhart, because of bad weather, lands in a pasture in Derry, Northern Ireland, becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Amelia Earhart

American aviation pioneer and author (1897–1937)

For other uses, see Amelia Earhart (disambiguation).

"Earhart" redirects here. For other uses, see Earhart (disambiguation).

Amelia Mary Earhart (/ˈɛərhɑːrt/ AIR-hart; born July 24, 1897; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her life, she embraced celebrity culture and women's rights, and since her disappearance has become a cultural icon.^[2] Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and she set many other records.^[3] She was one of the first aviators to promote commercial air travel, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences, and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots.^[4]

Born and raised in Atchison, Kansas, Earhart developed a passion for adventure at a young age, steadily gaining flying experience from her twenties. In 1928, Earhart became a celebrity after being the first female passenger to cross the Atlantic by airplane. In 1932, Earhart became the first woman to make a nonstop solo transatlantic flight and received the United States Distinguished Flying Cross.^[5] In 1935, Earhart became a visiting faculty member at Purdue University as an advisor in aeronautical engineering and a career counselor to female students. She was a member of the National Woman's Party and an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment.^[6][7] She was one of the most inspirational American figures from the late 1920s throughout the 1930s. Earhart's legacy is often compared to the early career of pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh, as well as to figures like First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt for their close friendship and lasting impact on the issue of women's causes.

In 1937, during an attempt at becoming the first woman to complete a circumnavigational flight of the globe in a Lockheed Model 10-E Electra aeroplane, Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. The two were last seen in Lae, New Guinea, on the last land stop before Howland Island. It is generally presumed that they ran out of fuel, crashed into the ocean and died near Howland Island.^[8] Nearly one year and six months after she and Noonan disappeared, Earhart was officially declared dead.

The mysterious nature of her disappearance has meant that public interest in her life remains significant. Earhart's aeroplane has never been found and this has led to speculation and conspiracy theories about the outcome of the flight. Decades after her presumed death, Earhart was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1968 and the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1973. She now has several commemorative memorials named in her honor around the United States, including a commemorative US airmail stamp, an airport, museum, bridge, cargo ship, earth-fill dam, playhouse, library, multiple roads and schools, and more. She also has a minor planet, planetary corona, and newly-discovered lunar crater named after her. Numerous films, documentaries and books have recounted her life. She is ranked ninth on Flying's list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation.^[9]

1. ^ Van Pelt 2005, p. 205.
2. ^ "Why does Amelia Earhart still fascinate us?". National Geographic. October 19, 2019.
3. ^ Oakes 1985.
4. ^ Lovell 1989, p. 152.
5. ^ Goldstein & Dillon 1997, pp. 111, 112.
6. ^ "Timeline: Equal Rights Amendment, Phase One: 1921–1972." Archived December 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine feminism101.com. Retrieved: June 4, 2012.
7. ^ Francis, Roberta W."The History Behind the Equal Rights Amendment." equalrightsamendment.org, July 21, 2011. Retrieved: June 4, 2012.
8. ^ De Hart, Jane Sherron (1995). Ware, Susan (ed.). "The Perils of Flying Solo: Amelia Earhart and Feminist Individualism". Reviews in American History. 23 (1): 86–90. doi:10.1353/rah.1995.0004. ISSN 0048-7511. JSTOR 2703241. S2CID 201762326. Archived from the original on October 12, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
9. ^ Cite error: The named reference FlyingMag was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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May 22: 334 BC - The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus.

Battle of the Granicus

Battle fought between Alexander the Great and the Achaemenids

Alexander the Great

1200km
820miles

Babylon

15

Malavas

14

Hydaspes

13

Cophen

12

Cyropolis

11

Persian Gate

10

Uxians

9

Gaugamela

8

Alexandria

7

Gaza

6

Tyre

5

Issus

4

Miletus

3

Granicus

2

Pella

1

  

  current battle

The Battle of the Granicus in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great of Macedon and the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The battle took place on the road from Abydus to Dascylium, at the crossing of the Granicus in the Troad region, which is now called the Biga River in Turkey. In the battle Alexander defeated the field army of the Persian satraps of Asia Minor, which defended the river crossing. After this battle, the Persians were forced on the defensive in the cities that remained under their control in the region.

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May 23: 1998 - The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum, with a high margin of three-fourth 'yes' votes to Northern Ireland.

Good Friday Agreement

1998 agreements between the United Kingdom and Ireland

"British–Irish Agreement" redirects here. For the 1921 treaty, see Anglo-Irish Treaty. For the 1985 treaty, see Anglo-Irish Agreement.

The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement (Irish: Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or Comhaontú Bhéal Feirste; Ulster Scots: Guid Friday Greeance or Bilfawst Greeance)^[1] is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April, Good Friday, 1998, that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict^[2] in Northern Ireland since the late 1960s. It was a major development in the Northern Ireland peace process of the 1990s. It is made up of the Multi-Party Agreement between most of Northern Ireland's political parties, and the British–Irish Agreement between the British and Irish governments. Northern Ireland's present devolved system of government is based on the agreement.

Issues relating to sovereignty, governance, discrimination, military and paramilitary groups, justice and policing were central to the agreement. It restored self-government to Northern Ireland on the basis of "power sharing" and it included acceptance of the principle of consent, commitment to civil and political rights, cultural parity of esteem, police reform, paramilitary disarmament and early release of paramilitary prisoners, followed by demilitarisation. The agreement also created a number of institutions between Northern Ireland and Ireland ("North–South"), and between Ireland and the United Kingdom ("East–West").

The agreement was approved by voters across the island of Ireland in two referendums held on 22 May 1998. In Northern Ireland, voters were asked in the 1998 Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum whether they supported the multi-party agreement. In Ireland, voters were asked whether they would allow the state to sign the agreement and allow necessary constitutional changes (Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland) to facilitate it. The people of both jurisdictions needed to approve the agreement to give effect to it.

The British–Irish Agreement came into force on 2 December 1999. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) was the only major political group in Northern Ireland to oppose the Good Friday Agreement.^[3]

1. ^ "North-South Ministerial Council: Annual Report (2001) in Ulster Scots" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
2. ^ Coakley, John. "Ethnic Conflict and the Two-State Solution: The Irish Experience of Partition". Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2009. ... these attitudes are not rooted particularly in religious belief, but rather in underlying ethnonational identity patterns.
3. ^ "The Good Friday Agreement". BBC History. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2017.

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24 May: 1830 - "Mary Had a Little Lamb" by Sarah Josepha Hale is published.

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Nursery rhyme

This article is about the nursery rhyme. For other uses, see Mary Had a Little Lamb (disambiguation).

"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is an English language nursery rhyme of nineteenth-century American origin, first published by American writer Sarah Josepha Hale in 1830. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7622.

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May 26: 1828 - Mysterious feral child Kaspar Hauser is discovered wandering the streets of Nuremberg.

Kaspar Hauser

German youth kept in total isolation

Kaspar Hauser (30 April 1812 – 17 December 1833) was a German youth who claimed to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell. Hauser's claims, and his subsequent death from a stab wound, sparked much debate and controversy. Theories propounded at the time identified him as a member of the grand ducal House of Baden, hidden away because of royal intrigue. These opinions may or may not have been documented by later investigations.^[1] Other theories proposed that Hauser had been a fraud.

1. ^ d Heydenreuter: König Ludwig I. und der Fall Kaspar Hauser, in: Staat und Verwaltung in Bayern. Festschrift für Wilhelm Volkert zum 75. Geburtstag. Ed. by Konrad Ackermann and Alois Schmid, Munich 2003, pp. 465–476, here p. 465.

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27 May: Jawaharlal Nehru, the founder of modern India and its current prime minister, dies suddenly at the age of 74.

Jawaharlal Nehru

Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964

"Nehru" redirects here. For other uses, see Nehru (disambiguation).

Jawaharlal Nehru (/ˈneɪru/ NAY-roo or /ˈnɛru/ NEH-roo;^[1] Hindi: [ˈdʒəʋɑːɦəɾˈlɑːl ˈneːɦɾuː] ^ⓘ; juh-WAH-hurr-LAHL NE-hǝ-ROO; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, statesman, secular humanist, social democrat,^[2] and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a principal leader of the Indian nationalist movement in the 1930s and 1940s. Upon India's independence in 1947, he served as the country's first prime minister for 16 years.^[3] Nehru promoted parliamentary democracy, secularism, and science and technology during the 1950s, powerfully influencing India's arc as a modern nation. In international affairs, he steered India clear of the two blocs of the Cold War. A well-regarded author, his books written in prison, such as Letters from a Father to His Daughter (1929), An Autobiography (1936) and The Discovery of India (1946), have been read around the world.

The son of Motilal Nehru, a prominent lawyer and Indian nationalist, Jawaharlal Nehru was educated in England—at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge, and trained in the law at the Inner Temple. He became a barrister, returned to India, enrolled at the Allahabad High Court and gradually began to take an interest in national politics, which eventually became a full-time occupation. He joined the Indian National Congress, rose to become the leader of a progressive faction during the 1920s, and eventually of the Congress, receiving the support of Mahatma Gandhi who was to designate Nehru as his political heir. As Congress president in 1929, Nehru called for complete independence from the British Raj.

Nehru and the Congress dominated Indian politics during the 1930s. Nehru promoted the idea of the secular nation-state in the 1937 provincial elections, allowing the Congress to sweep the elections, and to form governments in several provinces. In September 1939, the Congress ministries resigned to protest Viceroy Lord Linlithgow's decision to join the war without consulting them. After the All India Congress Committee's Quit India Resolution of 8 August 1942, senior Congress leaders were imprisoned and for a time the organisation was suppressed. Nehru, who had reluctantly heeded Gandhi's call for immediate independence, and had desired instead to support the Allied war effort during World War II, came out of a lengthy prison term to a much altered political landscape. The Muslim League, under Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had come to dominate Muslim politics in the interim. In the 1946 provincial elections, Congress won the elections but the League won all the seats reserved for Muslims, which the British interpreted to be a clear mandate for Pakistan in some form. Nehru became the interim prime minister of India in September 1946, with the League joining his government with some hesitancy in October 1946.

Upon India's independence on 15 August 1947, Nehru gave a critically acclaimed speech, "Tryst with Destiny"; he was sworn in as the Dominion of India's prime minister and raised the Indian flag at the Red Fort in Delhi. On 26 January 1950, when India became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, Nehru became the Republic of India's first prime minister. He embarked on an ambitious program of economic, social, and political reforms. Nehru promoted a pluralistic multi-party democracy. In foreign affairs, he played a leading role in establishing Non-Aligned Movement, a group of nations that did not seek membership in the two main ideological blocs of the Cold War.

Under Nehru's leadership, the Congress emerged as a catch-all party, dominating national and state-level politics and winning elections in 1951, 1957 and 1962. His premiership, spanning 16 years and 286 days—which is, to date, the longest in India—ended with his death in 1964 from a heart attack. Hailed as the "architect of Modern India", his birthday is celebrated as Children's Day in India.^[4]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ "Nehru". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. 2020. Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
2. ^ —
   • Ganguly, Sumit; Mukherji, Rahul (2011). India Since 1980. Cambridge University Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-139-49866-1. Nehru was a social democrat who believed that liberal political and economic institutions could deliver economic growth with redistribution. The 1950s witnessed greater state control over industrial activity and the birth of the industrial licensing system, which made it necessary for companies to seek the permission of the government before initiating business in permitted areas.
   • Schenk, Hans (2020). Housing India's Urban Poor 1800–1965: Colonial and Post-colonial Studies. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-00-019185-1. The idea that the state should actively and in a planned and 'rational' and 'modern' manner promote development originated abroad. Inspiration came to some extent from the Soviet Russian planned economic development, and for some, including Nehru, from the—at that time still a bit remote—concept of the West European and largely social-democrat idea of the 'Welfare' state.
   • Winiecki, Jan (2016). Shortcut or Piecemeal: Economic Development Strategies and Structural Change. Central European University Press. p. 41. ISBN 9789633860632. Nehru, a Fabian socialist, or social-democrat in modern parlance, either did not read Mill or disregarded the (minimal) institutional requirements outlined by that classical writer. In Nehru's view, it was the state that should direct the economy from the center, as well as decide about the allocation of scarce resources.
   • Chalam, K. S. (2017). Social Economy of Development in India. Sage. p. 325. ISBN 9789385985126. Social democrats advocate peaceful transition from capitalism to socialism. While Jawaharlal Nehru was considered as a social democrat, his colleague in the Constituent Assembly, B. R. Ambedkar, was emphatic about state socialism. It appears that the compromise between these two ideas has been reflected in the Directive Principles of State Policy. The principles of social democracy and/or democratic socialism can be interrogated in the context of the present situation in India.
3. ^ "PANDIT JAWAHARLAL NEHRU". Indian National Congress.
4. ^ "Jawaharlal Nehru: Architect of modern India". Hindustan Times. 14 November 2019.

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May 28: 1937 - The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, DC, who pushes a button signaling the start of vehicle traffic over the span.

Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco Bay suspension bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula—to Marin County, carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait. It also carries pedestrian and bicycle traffic, and is designated as part of U.S. Bicycle Route 95. Recognized by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the Wonders of the Modern World,^[7] the bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco and California.

The idea of a fixed link between San Francisco and Marin had gained increasing popularity during the late 19th century, but it was not until the early 20th century that such a link became feasible. Joseph Strauss served as chief engineer for the project, with Leon Moisseiff, Irving Morrow and Charles Ellis making significant contributions to its design. The bridge opened to the public in 1937 and has undergone various retrofits and other improvement projects in the decades since.

The Golden Gate Bridge is described in Frommer's travel guide as "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world."^[8][9] At the time of its opening in 1937, it was both the longest and the tallest suspension bridge in the world, titles it held until 1964 and 1998 respectively. Its main span is 4,200 feet (1,280 m) and its total height is 746 feet (227 m).^[10]

1. ^ "About Us". goldengate.org. Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
2. ^ Golden Gate Bridge at Structurae
3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Denton was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. ^ "Annual Vehicle Crossings and Toll Revenues". Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
5. ^ "Golden Gate Bridge". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
6. ^ "City of San Francisco Designated Landmarks". City of San Francisco. Archived from the original on March 25, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
7. ^ "American Society of Civil Engineers Seven Wonders". Asce.org. July 19, 2010. Archived from the original on August 2, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
8. ^ Levine, Dan (1993). Frommer's comprehensive travel guide, California '93. New York: Prentice Hall Travel. p. 118. ISBN 0-671-84674-4.
9. ^ McGrath, Nancy (1985). Frommer's 1985-86 guide to San Francisco. New York: Frommer/Pasmantier Pub. p. 10. ISBN 0-671-52654-5.
10. ^ "Golden Gate Bridge". history.com. 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2020.

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May 29: 1953 - Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay are the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on Tenzing Norgay's (adopted) 39th birthday

Edmund Hillary

New Zealand mountaineer (1919–2008)

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary KG ONZ KBE (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. From 1985 to 1988 he served as New Zealand's High Commissioner to India and Bangladesh and concurrently as Ambassador to Nepal.

Hillary became interested in mountaineering while in secondary school. He made his first major climb in 1939, reaching the summit of Mount Ollivier.^[2] He served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a navigator during World War II and was wounded in an accident. Prior to the Everest expedition, Hillary had been part of the British reconnaissance expedition to the mountain in 1951 as well as an unsuccessful attempt to climb Cho Oyu in 1952.

As part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition he reached the South Pole overland in 1958. He subsequently reached the North Pole, making him the first person to reach both poles and summit Everest. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.^[3]

Beginning in 1960, Hillary devoted himself to assisting the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust, which he established. His efforts are credited with the construction of many schools and hospitals in Nepal. Hillary had numerous honours conferred upon him, including the Order of the Garter in 1995. Upon his death in 2008, he was given a state funeral in New Zealand.

1. ^ "Edmund Percival Hillary". Online Cenotaph. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
2. ^ "Sir Edmund Hillary Biography and Interview". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
3. ^ "Time 100 Persons of the Century". Time. 6 June 1999. Retrieved 31 May 2017.

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May 30: 1953 - The Auckland Harbour Bridge was officially opened today in Auckland, New Zealand.

Auckland Harbour Bridge

Road bridge in Auckland, New Zealand

The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane motorway bridge over the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. It joins St Marys Bay on the Auckland city side with Northcote on the North Shore side. It is part of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Northern Motorway. The bridge is operated by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA).^[4] It is the second-longest road bridge in New Zealand, and the longest in the North Island.^[5]

The original inner four lanes, opened in 1959, are of box truss construction. Two lanes were added to each side in 1968–1969 are of orthotropic box structure construction^[6] are cantilevered off the original piers. The bridge is 1,020 m (3,348 ft) long, with a main span of 243.8 metres (800 feet) rising 43.27 metres (142 feet) above high water,^[7] allowing ships access to the deepwater wharf at the Chelsea Sugar Refinery, one of the few such wharves west of the bridge.

While often considered an Auckland icon, many see the construction of the bridge without walking, cycling, and rail facilities as a big oversight. In 2016, an add-on structure providing a walk-and-cycleway called SkyPath received Council funding approval and planning consent, but was not built.^[8][9] In 2021, a stand-alone walking and cycling bridge called the Northern Pathway was announced by the New Zealand Government, but also was not built.^[10]

About 170,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day (as of 2019), including more than 1,000 buses, which carry 38% of all people crossing during the morning peak.^[11]

1. ^ "General operating requirements that apply to all overdimension vehicles – Factsheet 53: Overdimension vehicles and loads – New Zealand Transport Agency". July 2005. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
2. ^ Engineering to 1990, IPENZ, Engineering Publications Co Ltd, Page 11
3. ^ Opening day and ceremonies New Zealand Government. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
4. ^ "Auckland Harbour Bridge". NZ Transport Agency. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
5. ^ What is the longest bridge in New Zealand? Archived 19 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine (from the Transit New Zealand FAQ webpage. Retrieved 9 June 2008.)
6. ^ "Auckland Harbour Bridge". Engineering New Zealand. 2019. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
7. ^ 1951–1961 The Auckland Harbour Bridge Authority Archived 7 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine (Auckland Harbour Board publication, 1960s)
8. ^ "Auckland Council vote 'yes' on SkyPath". 21 July 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
9. ^ "SkyPath over Auckland Harbour Bridge gets green light". Radio New Zealand. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
11. ^ "The next harbour crossing: road and rail, or just rail". The New Zealand Herald. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.

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30 May: 1998: Geri Halliwell, aka Ginger Spice, leaves the phenomenally successful Spice Girls band.

Geri Halliwell

English singer (born 1972)

Geraldine Estelle Halliwell-Horner^[1][2] (née Halliwell; born 6 August 1972) is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, author, and actress. She was a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Ginger Spice. With over 100 million records sold worldwide,^[3] the Spice Girls are the best-selling female group of all time. Their slogan "girl power" was most closely associated with Halliwell^[4] and her Union Jack dress from the 1997 Brit Awards also became an enduring symbol.^[5][6] Halliwell left the Spice Girls in 1998, citing exhaustion and creative differences, but rejoined when they reunited in 2007.^[7]

In 1999, Halliwell released her debut solo album, Schizophonic, which produced the UK number-one singles "Mi Chico Latino", "Lift Me Up" and "Bag It Up"; the lead single, "Look at Me", reached number two. In 2001, she released her second album, Scream If You Wanna Go Faster; the lead single, "It's Raining Men", reached number one in the UK. "Scream If You Wanna Go Faster" and "Calling" were also top-ten singles. Halliwell's third album, Passion, was released in 2005 and produced the top five single "Ride It".

In 2002, Halliwell was a judge on the television talent show Popstars: The Rivals. In 2010 and 2012, she was a guest judge on the seventh and ninth series of the television singing competition The X Factor UK, and in 2013, she was a judge on the seventh series of the television talent show Australia's Got Talent.^[8] In September 2013, it was announced that Halliwell would return to the music industry in Australia with the release of her first solo single in eight years, "Half of Me".^[9] She has also appeared in films, including Spice World (1997), Crank: High Voltage (2009), and Gran Turismo (2023).

Halliwell is also an author and has released two autobiographies, If Only (1999) and Just for the Record (2002), as well as a series of children's novels titled Ugenia Lavender (2008). Her latest children’s book, Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen, was published in 2023.

1. ^ "Discover the Rosie Frost series". rosiefrostbooks.com. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
2. ^ Kit, Borys (4 November 2022). "'Gran Turismo': Djimon Hounsou, Spice Girls' Geri Halliwell-Horner Join Sony's Racing Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
3. ^ "Magic Radio sign Melanie C". Bauer Media (Press release). Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
4. ^ Leonard, Marion (2007). Gender in the Music Industry: Rock, Discourse and Girl Power. Ashgate Publishing. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-7546-3862-9.
5. ^ "Geri Halliwell Performs With Spice Girls In Union Jack Dress". Capital FM. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
6. ^ "Geri revisits Spice Girls' heyday in Union Jack dress". Hello. 2 February 2012. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
7. ^ Sherman, Heidi. "Ginger Spice's Departure Marks 'End of the Beginning'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
8. ^ "Geri Halliwell". Agt.ninemsn.com.au. 5 August 2013. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
9. ^ Brandle, Lisa (12 September 2013). "Geri Halliwell Readies New Music, Signs to Sony Music Australia". Billboard. Retrieved 12 September 2013.

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1 June: 2003 - The People's Republic of China begins filling the reservoir behind the Three Gorges Dam.

Three Gorges Dam

Dam in Sandouping, Yiling District, Hubei, China

Dam in Yiling District, Hubei

The Three Gorges Dam (simplified Chinese: 三峡大坝; traditional Chinese: 三峽大壩; pinyin: Sānxiá Dàbà) is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River near Sandouping in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, central China, downstream of the Three Gorges. The world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500 MW),^[5][6] the Three Gorges Dam generates 95±20 TWh of electricity per year on average, depending on the amount of precipitation in the river basin.^[7] After the extensive monsoon rainfalls of 2020, the dam's annual production reached nearly 112 TWh, breaking the previous world record of ~103 TWh set by Itaipu Dam in 2016.^[8][9]

The dam's body was completed in 2006; the power plant was completed and fully operational by 2012,^[10][11] when the last of the main water turbines in the underground plant began production. Each of the main water turbines has a capacity of 700 MW.^[12][13] Combining the capacity of the dam's 32 main turbines with the two smaller generators (50 MW each) that provide power to the plant itself, the total electric generating capacity of the Three Gorges Dam is 22,500 MW.^[12][14][15] The last major component of the project, the ship lift, was completed in 2015.^[16]

In addition to generating electricity, the dam was designed to increase the Yangtze River's shipping capacity. By providing flood storage space, the dam reduces the potential for flooding downstream, which historically plagued the Yangtze Plain. In 1931, floods on the river caused the deaths of up to 4 million people. As a result, China regards the project as a monumental social and economical success,^[17] with the design of state-of-the-art large turbines^[18] and a move toward limiting greenhouse gas emissions.^[19] However, the dam has led to some ecological changes, including an increased risk of landslides,^[20][21] which have made it controversial domestically and abroad.^{[22][23][24][25]}

1. ^ Ma, Yue (November 26, 2010). "Three Gorges Dam". large.stanford.edu. Stanford University. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
2. ^ "Three Gorges Dam Hydro Electric Power Plant, China". Power Technology. February 21, 2020. Archived from the original on May 28, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
3. ^ ^{a b} "Three Gorges Project" (PDF). chincold.org.cn. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
4. ^ Engineering Geology for Society and Territory – Volume 2: Landslide Processes. Springer. 2014. p. 1415. ISBN 978-3-319-09057-3.
5. ^ Cleveland, Cutler J.; Morris, Christopher G. (2013). Handbook of Energy: Chronologies, Top Ten Lists, and Word Clouds. Elsevier Science. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-12-417019-3.
6. ^ Ehrlich, Robert (2013). Renewable Energy: A First Course. CRC Press. p. 219. ISBN 978-1-4665-9944-4 – via Google Books.
7. ^ 三峡工程2018年发电量、过闸货运量刷新历史纪录 [The Three Gorges Project's 2018 power generation and cargo volume through the gate set new historical records]. news.china.com.cn (in Chinese). China News Service. January 10, 2019. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019.
8. ^ Kirong, Nephele (January 2, 2021). "China's Three Gorges Dam sets world hydropower production record – China Daily". spglobal.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021.
9. ^ "Itaipu Ends 2016 with a Historic Production of 103.09 Million MWh". Itaipu Bunacional. January 3, 2017. Archived from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
10. ^ 三峡工程最后一台机组结束72小时试运行 [The last unit of the Three Gorges Project has completed its 72-hour test run]. ctg.com.cn (in Chinese). China Three Gorges Corporation. May 24, 2012. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
11. ^ 三峡地下电站机电设备全面移交投产 [The mechanical and electrical equipment of the Three Gorges Underground Power Station is fully handed over and put into operation]. ctg.com.cn (in Chinese). China Three Gorges Corporation. July 5, 2012. Archived from the original on April 5, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
12. ^ ^{a b} Acker, Fabian (March 2, 2009). "Taming the Yangtze". IET magazine. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018.
13. ^ 三峡工程左右岸电站26台机组全部投入商业运行 [All 26 units of power stations on left and right banks of the Three Gorges Project have been put into commercial operation]. ctgpc.com.cn (in Chinese). China Three Gorges Corporation. October 30, 2008. Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
14. ^ "Three Gorges reservoir raises water to target level". news.xinhuanet.com. Xinhua News Agency. October 7, 2008. Archived from the original on January 10, 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
15. ^ "Final Turbine at China's Three Gorges Dam Begins Testing". InventorSpot.com. April 27, 2011. Archived from the original on May 4, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
16. ^ 世界最大“升船电梯”三峡大坝试验成功 [The world's largest "ship lift" Three Gorges Dam successfully tested]. news.cnhubei.com (in Chinese). Chutian Jinbao. January 14, 2016. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
17. ^ 中国长江三峡工程开发总公司 [The Three Gorges Hydropower Station has brought huge economic benefits and the cumulative power generation has exceeded 300 billion kWh]. ctgpc.com.cn (in Chinese). China Three Gorges Corporation. April 8, 2009. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
18. ^ 中国长江三峡工程开发总公司 [Our country's large-scale hydropower unit manufacturing has reached the world's advanced level]. ctgpc.com.cn (in Chinese). China Three Gorges Corporation. March 10, 2009. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
19. ^ 一座自主创新历史丰碑 三峡工程的改革开放之路 [The road to reform and the opening up of the Three Gorges Project, a historical monument of independent innovation] (in Chinese). Xinhua News Agency. February 3, 2009. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
20. ^ 重庆云阳长江右岸现360万方滑坡险情-地方-人民网 [There are 3.6 million square meters of landslides on the right bank of the Yangtze River in Yunyang, Chongqing]. People's Daily Online (in Chinese). April 10, 2009. Archived from the original on April 13, 2009. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
21. ^ 探访三峡库区云阳故陵滑坡险情 [Visiting the Yunyang Guling Landslide Danger in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area] (in Chinese). Xinhua News Agency. April 9, 2009. Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
22. ^ Yang, Lin (October 12, 2007). "China's Three Gorges Dam Under Fire". Time. Archived from the original on March 31, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2009. The giant Three Gorges Dam across China's Yangtze River has been mired in controversy ever since it was first proposed
23. ^ Laris, Michael (August 17, 1998). "Untamed Waterways Kill Thousands Yearly". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2009. Officials now use the deadly history of the Yangtze, China's longest river, to justify the country's riskiest and most controversial infrastructure project – the enormous Three Gorges Dam.
24. ^ Grant, Stan (June 18, 2005). "Global Challenges: Ecological and Technological Advances Around the World". CNN. Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2009. China's engineering marvel is unleashing a torrent of criticism. [...] When it comes to global challenges, few are greater or more controversial than the construction of the massive Three Gorges Dam in Central China.
25. ^ Gerin, Roseanne (December 11, 2008). "Rolling on A River". Beijing Review. Archived from the original on September 22, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2009. ...the 180-billion yuan ($26.3 billion) Three Gorges Dam project has been highly contentious.

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2 June: 1800 - First smallpox vaccination in North America, at Trinity, Newfoundland.

Smallpox

Eradicated viral disease

"Variola" redirects here. For other uses, see Variola (disambiguation).

Medical condition

Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus.^[7][11] The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) certified the global eradication of the disease in 1980,^[10] making smallpox the only human disease to have been eradicated to date.^[12]

The initial symptoms of the disease included fever and vomiting.^[5] This was followed by formation of ulcers in the mouth and a skin rash.^[5] Over a number of days, the skin rash turned into the characteristic fluid-filled blisters with a dent in the center.^[5] The bumps then scabbed over and fell off, leaving scars.^[5] The disease was transmitted from one person to another primarily through prolonged face-to-face contact with an infected person or (rarely) via contaminated objects.^[6][13][14] Prevention was achieved mainly through the smallpox vaccine.^[9] Once the disease had developed, certain antiviral medications could potentially have helped, but such medications did not become available until after the disease was eradicated.^[9] The risk of death was about 30%, with higher rates among babies.^[6][15] Often, those who survived had extensive scarring of their skin, and some were left blind.^[6]

The earliest evidence of the disease dates to around 1500 BC in Egyptian mummies.^[16][17] The disease historically occurred in outbreaks.^[10] In 18th-century Europe, it is estimated that 400,000 people died from the disease per year, and that one-third of all cases of blindness were due to smallpox.^[10][18] Smallpox is estimated to have killed up to 300 million people in the 20th century^[19][20] and around 500 million people in the last 100 years of its existence.^[21] Earlier deaths included six European monarchs, including Louis XV of France in 1774.^[10][18] As recently as 1967, 15 million cases occurred a year.^[10]

Inoculation for smallpox appears to have started in China around the 1500s.^[22][23] Europe adopted this practice from Asia in the first half of the 18th century.^[24] In 1796, Edward Jenner introduced the modern smallpox vaccine.^[25][26] In 1967, the WHO intensified efforts to eliminate the disease.^[10] Smallpox is one of two infectious diseases to have been eradicated, the other being rinderpest (a disease of even-toed ungulates) in 2011.^[27][28] The term "smallpox" was first used in England in the 16th century to distinguish the disease from syphilis, which was then known as the "great pox".^[29][30] Other historical names for the disease include pox, speckled monster, and red plague.^[3][4][30]

1. ^ Barton LL, Friedman NR (2008). The Neurological Manifestations of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunodeficiency Syndromes. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 151. ISBN 978-1-59745-391-2.
2. ^ Schaller KF (2012). Colour Atlas of Tropical Dermatology and Venerology. Springer Science & Business Media. p. Chapter 1. ISBN 978-3-642-76200-0.
3. ^ ^{a b} Fenner F, Henderson DA, Arita I, Ježek Z, Ladnyi ID (1988). "The History of Smallpox and its Spread Around the World" (PDF). Smallpox and its eradication. History of International Public Health. Vol. 6. Geneva: World Health Organization. pp. 209–44. hdl:10665/39485. ISBN 978-92-4-156110-5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
4. ^ ^{a b} Medicine: The Definitive Illustrated History. Pengui. 2016. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-4654-5893-3.
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} "Signs and Symptoms". CDC. 7 June 2016. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
6. ^ ^{a b c d e} "What is Smallpox?". CDC. 7 June 2016. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
7. ^ ^{a b} Ryan KJ, Ray CG, eds. (2004). Sherris Medical Microbiology (4th ed.). McGraw Hill. pp. 525–28. ISBN 978-0-8385-8529-0.
8. ^ ^{a b} "Diagnosis & Evaluation". CDC. 25 July 2017. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
9. ^ ^{a b c} "Prevention and Treatment". CDC. 13 December 2017. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
10. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Smallpox". WHO Factsheet. Archived from the original on 21 September 2007.
11. ^ Babkin, I, Babkina, I (March 2015). "The Origin of the variola Virus". Viruses. 7 (3): 1100–1112. doi:10.3390/v7031100. PMC 4379562. PMID 25763864.
12. ^ "Smallpox - Symptoms and causes". Mayo Clinic. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
13. ^ Lebwohl MG, Heymann WR, Berth-Jones J, Coulson I (2013). Treatment of Skin Disease E-Book: Comprehensive Therapeutic Strategies. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-7020-5236-1.
14. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2012Spread was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
15. ^ Riedel S (January 2005). "Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination". Proceedings. 18 (1): 21–25. doi:10.1080/08998280.2005.11928028. PMC 1200696. PMID 16200144.
16. ^ "History of Smallpox". CDC. 25 July 2017. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
17. ^ Thèves C, Crubézy E, Biagini P (2016). "History of Smallpox and Its Spread in Human Populations". Microbiology Spectrum. 4 (4). doi:10.1128/microbiolspec.PoH-0004-2014. ISSN 2165-0497. PMID 27726788. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
18. ^ ^{a b} Hays JN (2005). Epidemics and Pandemics: Their Impacts on Human History. ABC-CLIO. pp. 151–52. ISBN 978-1-85109-658-9.
19. ^ Koprowski H, Oldstone MB (1996). Microbe hunters, then and now. Medi-Ed Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-936741-11-6.
20. ^ Henderson DA (December 2011). "The eradication of smallpox – an overview of the past, present, and future". Vaccine. 29 (Suppl 4): D7–9. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.06.080. PMID 22188929.
21. ^ Henderson D (2009). Smallpox : the death of a disease. Prometheus Books. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-61592-230-7.
22. ^ Needham J (2000). Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 6, Biology and Biological Technology, Part 6, Medicine. Cambridge University Press. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-521-63262-1. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
23. ^ Silverstein AM (2009). A History of Immunology (2nd ed.). Academic Press. p. 293. ISBN 978-0080919461..
24. ^ Strathern P (2005). A Brief History of Medicine. London: Robinson. p. 179. ISBN 978-1-84529-155-6.
25. ^ Wolfe RM, Sharp LK (August 2002). "Anti-vaccinationists past and present". BMJ. 325 (7361): 430–32. doi:10.1136/bmj.325.7361.430. PMC 1123944. PMID 12193361.
26. ^ "Smallpox vaccines". WHO. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
27. ^ Guidotti TL (2015). Health and Sustainability: An Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. T290. ISBN 978-0-19-932568-9.
28. ^ Roossinck MJ (2016). Virus: An Illustrated Guide to 101 Incredible Microbes. Princeton University Press. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-4008-8325-7.
29. ^ Harper D. "Smallpox". Online Etymology Dictionary.
30. ^ ^{a b} Barquet N, Domingo P (October 1997). "Smallpox: the triumph over the most terrible of the ministers of death". Annals of Internal Medicine. 127 (8 Pt 1): 635–42. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.695.883. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-127-8_Part_1-199710150-00010. PMID 9341063. S2CID 20357515.

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3 June: 1989 - The government of China sends troops to force protesters out of Tiananmen Square after seven weeks of occupation.

Tiananmen Square

Public square in Beijing, China

This article is about the city square. For the historical event, see 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.

Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (/ˈtjɛnənmən/^[1]) is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen ("Gate of Heavenly Peace") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China, and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China in the square on October 1, 1949; the anniversary of this event is still observed there.^[2] The size of Tiananmen Square is 765 x 282 meters (215,730 m² or 53.31 acres).^[3] It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several important events in Chinese history.

Outside China, the square is best known for the 1989 protests and massacre that ended with a military crackdown due to international media coverage, internet and global connectivity, its political implications, and other factors.^[4][5][6] Within China, little, if anything about the massacre is known by most Chinese due to strict censorship of knowledge of the crackdowns by the Chinese Communist Party.^[7]

1. ^ "Tiananmen Square". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021.
2. ^ The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed
3. ^ "Tiananmen Square incident". Britannica. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
4. ^ Miles, James (2 June 2009). "Tiananmen killings: Were the media right?". BBC News. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
5. ^ "Tiananmen Square protest death toll 'was 10,000'". BBC News. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
6. ^ "The Truth Behind The Tiananmen Square Massacre - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2009-06-04. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
7. ^ Pu, Bao (2015-06-03). "Tiananmen and the Chinese Way of Censorship". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2023-07-31.

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4 June: 1989 - Tiananmen Square protests were violently ended in Chinese capital city - Beijing with People's Liberation Army soldiers and tanks, many innocent people were killed.

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

Redirect to:

• 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre

• From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.

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5 June: 1959 - The first government of the State of Singapore is sworn in

Singapore

City-state in maritime Southeast Asia

This article is about the country. For other uses, see Singapore (disambiguation).

Singapore,^[e] officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It is located about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south along with the Riau Islands in Indonesia, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor along with the State of Johor in Malaysia to the north. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet; the combined area of these has increased by approximately 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects. It has the second highest population density of any country in the world, although there are numerous green and recreational spaces as a result of urban planning. With a multicultural population and in recognition of the cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the lingua franca, with its exclusive use in numerous public services. Multi-racialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies in education, housing, and politics.

Singapore's history dates back at least eight hundred years, having been a maritime emporium known as Temasek and subsequently a major constituent part of several successive thalassocratic empires. Its contemporary era began in 1819, when Stamford Raffles established Singapore as an entrepôt trading post of the British Empire. In 1867, the colonies in Southeast Asia were reorganised, and Singapore came under the direct control of Britain as part of the Straits Settlements. During World War II, Singapore was occupied by Japan in 1942 and returned to British control as a separate Crown colony following Japan's surrender in 1945. Singapore gained self-governance in 1959 and, in 1963, became part of the new federation of Malaysia, alongside Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak. Ideological differences, most notably the perceived encroachment of the egalitarian "Malaysian Malaysia" political ideology led by Lee Kuan Yew into the other constituent entities of Malaysia—at the perceived expense of the bumiputera and the policies of Ketuanan Melayu—eventually led to Singapore's expulsion from the federation two years later; Singapore became an independent sovereign country in 1965.

After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers. With its growth based on international trade and economic globalisation, it integrated itself with the world economy through free trade with minimal-to-no trade barriers or tariffs, export-oriented industrialisation, and the large accumulation of received foreign direct investments, foreign exchange reserves, and assets held by sovereign wealth funds. As a highly developed country, it has one of the highest GDP per capita (PPP) in the world. Identified as a tax haven, Singapore is the only country in Asia with a AAA sovereign credit rating from all major rating agencies. It is a major aviation, financial, and maritime shipping hub and has consistently been ranked as one of the most expensive cities to live in for expatriates and foreign workers. Singapore ranks highly in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety, infrastructure, and housing, with a home-ownership rate of 88 percent. Singaporeans enjoy one of the longest life expectancies, fastest Internet connection speeds, lowest infant mortality rates, and lowest levels of corruption in the world.

Singapore is a unitary parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government, and its legal system is based on common law. While the country is a multi-party democracy with free elections, the government under the People's Action Party (PAP) wields significant control and dominance over politics and society. The PAP has governed the country continuously since full internal self-government was achieved in 1959, currently holding 79 out of 93 elected seats in Parliament. One of the five founding members of ASEAN, Singapore is also the headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council Secretariat, and is the host city of many international conferences and events. Singapore is also a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the East Asia Summit, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth of Nations.

1. ^ "Singapore". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2019. The city, once a distinct entity, so came to dominate the island that the Republic of Singapore essentially became a city-state.
2. ^ "Singapore Department of Statistics population report for 2022". Singstat. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
3. ^ ^{a b} "Census 2020" (PDF). Singapore Department of Statistics. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
4. ^ "Environment - Latest Data". Singapore Department of Statistics. 31 January 2023. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
5. ^ "Population and Population Structure". Department of Statistics Singapore. Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
6. ^ ^{a b c d} "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Singapore)". International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
7. ^ "Distribution of Family Income – GINI Index". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
8. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

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June 6: 1944 - World War II: Battle of Normandy begins. D-Day, code named Operation Overlord, commences with the landing of 155,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy in France. The allied soldiers quickly break through the Atlantic Wall and push inland in the largest amphibious military operation in history.

D-Day

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• Normandy landings

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7 June: 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins.

First Crusade

1096–1099 Christian conquest of the Holy Land

The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the middle ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic rule. While Jerusalem had been under Muslim rule for hundreds of years, by the 11th century the Seljuk takeover of the region threatened local Christian populations, pilgrimages from the West, and the Byzantine Empire itself. The earliest initiative for the First Crusade began in 1095 when Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos requested military support from the Council of Piacenza in the empire's conflict with the Seljuk-led Turks. This was followed later in the year by the Council of Clermont, during which Pope Urban II supported the Byzantine request for military assistance and also urged faithful Christians to undertake an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

This call was met with an enthusiastic popular response across all social classes in western Europe. Mobs of predominantly poor Christians numbering in the thousands, led by Peter the Hermit, a French priest, were the first to respond. What has become known as the People's Crusade passed through Germany and indulged in wide-ranging anti-Jewish activities, including the Rhineland massacres. On leaving Byzantine-controlled territory in Anatolia, they were annihilated in a Turkish ambush led by the Seljuk Kilij Arslan I at the Battle of Civetot in October 1096.

In what has become known as the Princes' Crusade, members of the high nobility and their followers embarked in late-summer 1096 and arrived at Constantinople between November and April the following year. This was a large feudal host led by notable Western European princes: southern French forces under Raymond IV of Toulouse and Adhemar of Le Puy; men from Upper and Lower Lorraine led by Godfrey of Bouillon and his brother Baldwin of Boulogne; Italo-Norman forces led by Bohemond of Taranto and his nephew Tancred; as well as various contingents consisting of northern French and Flemish forces under Robert Curthose of Normandy, Stephen of Blois, Hugh of Vermandois, and Robert II of Flanders. In total and including non-combatants, the forces are estimated to have numbered as many as 100,000.

The crusader forces gradually arrived in Anatolia. With Kilij Arslan absent, a Frankish attack and Byzantine naval assault during the Siege of Nicaea in June 1097 resulted in an initial crusader victory. In July, the crusaders won the Battle of Dorylaeum, fighting Turkish lightly armoured mounted archers. After a difficult march through Anatolia, the crusaders began the Siege of Antioch, capturing the city in June 1098. Jerusalem, then under the Fatimids, was reached in June 1099 and the Siege of Jerusalem resulted in the city being taken by assault from 7 June to 15 July 1099, during which its residents were ruthlessly massacred. A Fatimid counterattack was repulsed later that year at the Battle of Ascalon, ending the First Crusade. Afterwards, the majority of the crusaders returned home.

Four Crusader states were established in the Holy Land: the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, and the County of Tripoli. The Crusader presence remained in the region in some form until the loss of the last major Crusader stronghold in the Siege of Acre in 1291. After this loss of all Crusader territory in the Levant, there were no further substantive attempts to recover the Holy Land.

Cite error: There are <ref group=upper-alpha> tags or {{efn-ua}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=upper-alpha}} template or {{notelist-ua}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ Asbridge 2012, p. 42, The Call of the Cross.

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8 June: World Ocean Day.

World Ocean Day

Redirect to:

• World Oceans Day

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9 June: 1983: Margaret Thatcher leads the Conservatives to a landslide second term election victory.

Margaret Thatcher

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990

"Iron Lady" redirects here. For other uses, see Iron Lady (disambiguation) and Margaret Thatcher (disambiguation).

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, DStJ, PC, FRS, HonFRSC (née Roberts; 13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013), was a British stateswoman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the position. As prime minister, she implemented economic policies known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.

Thatcher studied chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, and worked briefly as a research chemist before becoming a barrister. She was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959. Edward Heath appointed her secretary of state for education and science in his 1970–1974 government. In 1975, she defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election to become leader of the opposition, the first woman to lead a major political party in the UK.

On becoming prime minister after winning the 1979 general election, Thatcher introduced a series of economic policies intended to reverse high inflation and Britain's struggles in the wake of the Winter of Discontent and an oncoming recession.^{[nb 1]} Her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised greater individual liberty, the privatisation of state-owned companies, and reducing the power and influence of trade unions. Her popularity in her first years in office waned amid recession and rising unemployment. Victory in the 1982 Falklands War and the recovering economy brought a resurgence of support, resulting in her landslide re-election in 1983. She survived an assassination attempt by the Provisional IRA in the 1984 Brighton hotel bombing and achieved a political victory against the National Union of Mineworkers in the 1984–85 miners' strike. In 1986, Thatcher oversaw the deregulation of UK financial markets, leading to an economic boom, in what came to be known as the Big Bang.

Thatcher was re-elected for a third term with another landslide in 1987, but her subsequent support for the Community Charge (also known as the "poll tax") was widely unpopular, and her increasingly Eurosceptic views on the European Community were not shared by others in her cabinet. She resigned as prime minister and party leader in 1990, after a challenge was launched to her leadership, and was succeeded by John Major, the chancellor of the Exchequer.^{[nb 2]} After retiring from the Commons in 1992, she was given a life peerage as Baroness Thatcher (of Kesteven in the County of Lincolnshire) which entitled her to sit in the House of Lords. In 2013, she died of a stroke at the Ritz Hotel, London, at the age of 87.

A polarising figure in British politics, historians nonetheless view Thatcher as one of the greatest prime ministers in British history. Her tenure constituted a realignment towards neoliberal policies in Britain; the complex legacy attributed to this shift continues to be debated into the 21st century.

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference PoliticalStuff.co.uk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Heffer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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10 June: 1692 - Salem witch trials: Bridget Bishop is hanged at Gallows Hill near Salem, Massachusetts, for "certaine Detestable Arts called Witchcraft & Sorceries".

Bridget Bishop

Woman executed during Salem witch trials

Bridget Bishop (c. 1632 – 10 June 1692) was the first person executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials in 1692. Nineteen were hanged, and one, Giles Corey, was pressed to death. Altogether, about 200 people were tried.

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11 June: 1963 - Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam.

Thich Quang Duc

Redirect to:

• Thích Quảng Đức

• From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.

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12 June: 1990 - Russia Day – The parliament of the Russian Federation formally declares its sovereignty.

Russia Day

National holiday of the Russian Federation (June 12)

Russia Day (Russian: День России, Den' Rossii) called Day of adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of RSFSR (Russian: День принятия Декларации о государственном суверенитете РСФСР, Den' prinyatia Declaratsii o gosudarstvennom suvernitete RSFSR) before 2002, is the national holiday of the Russian Federation. It has been celebrated annually on 12 June since 1992.^[1] The day commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) on 12 June 1990. The passage of this Declaration by the First Congress of People's Deputies marked the beginning of constitutional reform in the Russian Soviet state.

1. ^ Постановление Верховного Совета российской Федерации от 11 июня 1992 г. N 2981-I «О праздничном дне 12 июня» (in Russian). Retrieved 14 June 2009.

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13 June: 1994 - A jury in Anchorage, Alaska, blames recklessness by Exxon and Captain Joseph Hazelwood for the Exxon Valdez disaster, allowing victims of the oil spill to seek $15 billion in damages.

Exxon Valdez

Oil tanker, launched 1986, scrapped 2012

This article is about the oil tanker. For the spill, see Exxon Valdez oil spill.

The Exxon Valdez was an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince William Sound, spilling its cargo of crude oil into the sea. On 24 March 1989, while owned by the former Exxon Shipping Company, captained by Joseph Hazelwood and First Mate James Kunkel,^[3] and bound for Long Beach, California, the vessel ran aground on the Bligh Reef, resulting in the second largest oil spill in United States history.^[4] The size of the spill is estimated to have been 40,900 to 120,000 m³ (10.8 to 31.7 million US gal; 257,000 to 755,000 bbl).^[5][6] In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil spill was listed as the 54th-largest spill in history.^[7]

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Marine Accident Report: Grounding of the U.S. Tankship Exxon Valdez on Bligh Reef, Prince William Sound Near Valdez, Alaska March 24, 1989, National Transportation Board, p. 15 (July 31, 1990)
2. ^ "ABS Record: Dong Fang Ocean". American Bureau of Shipping. 2010. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
3. ^ "09/11/89 - Records Detail Long Hours Worked by Crew of Exxon Valdez ... Work Load May Point to Possible Violations". Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
4. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions About the Spill". Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
5. ^ Bluemink, Elizabeth (June 27, 2016). "Size of Exxon spill remains disputed". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
6. ^ Riki Ott (June 18, 2010). "How Much Oil Really Spilled From the Exxon Valdez?". On The Media (Interview: audio/transcript). Interviewed by Brooke Gladstone. National Public Radio. Archived from the original on June 24, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
7. ^ "Exxon Valdez | Oil Spills | Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program". darrp.noaa.gov. Retrieved April 25, 2022.

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14 June: 1789 - Mutiny on the Bounty: Bounty mutiny survivors including Captain William Bligh and 18 others reach Timor after a nearly 7,400 km (4,000-mile) journey in an open boat.

Mutiny on the Bounty

1789 mutiny aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty

This article is about the historical event. For other uses, see Mutiny on the Bounty (disambiguation).

The mutiny on the Royal Navy vessel HMS Bounty occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship from their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and set him and eighteen loyalists adrift in the ship's open launch. The reasons behind the mutiny are still debated. Bligh and his crew stopped for supplies on Tofua, losing a man to natives. Bligh navigated more than 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) in the launch to reach safety and began the process of bringing the mutineers to justice. The mutineers variously settled on Tahiti or on Pitcairn Island.

Bounty had left England in 1787 on a mission to collect and transport breadfruit plants from Tahiti to the West Indies. A five-month layover in Tahiti, during which many of the men lived ashore and formed relationships with native Polynesians, led those men to be less amenable to military discipline. Relations between Bligh and his crew deteriorated after he reportedly began handing out increasingly harsh punishments, criticism, and abuse, Christian being a particular target. After three weeks back at sea, Christian and others forced Bligh from the ship. Twenty-five men remained on board afterwards, including loyalists held against their will and others for whom there was no room in the launch.

After Bligh reached England in April 1790, the Admiralty despatched HMS Pandora to apprehend the mutineers. Fourteen were captured in Tahiti and imprisoned on board Pandora, which then searched without success for Christian's party that had hidden on Pitcairn Island. After turning back towards England, Pandora ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef, with the loss of 31 crew and four Bounty prisoners. The ten surviving detainees reached England in June 1792 and were court-martialled; four were acquitted, three were pardoned, and three were hanged.

Christian's group remained undiscovered on Pitcairn until 1808, by which time only one mutineer, John Adams, remained alive. His fellow mutineers, including Christian, were dead, killed either by one another or by their Polynesian companions. No action was taken against Adams; descendants of the mutineers and their accompanying Tahitians live on Pitcairn into the 21st century.

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15 June: 1752 - Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity

Benjamin Franklin

Founding Father of the United States (1706–1790)

"Ben Franklin" redirects here. For other uses, see Benjamin Franklin (disambiguation).

Benjamin Franklin FRS FRSA FRSE (January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705]^{[Note 1]} – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath, a leading writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher.^[1] Among the most influential intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States; a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence; and the first postmaster general.^[2]

Franklin became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies, publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette at age 23.^[3] He became wealthy publishing this and Poor Richard's Almanack, which he wrote under the pseudonym "Richard Saunders".^[4] After 1767, he was associated with the Pennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper known for its revolutionary sentiments and criticisms of the policies of the British Parliament and the Crown.^[5]

He pioneered and was the first president of the Academy and College of Philadelphia, which opened in 1751 and later became the University of Pennsylvania. He organized and was the first secretary of the American Philosophical Society and was elected its president in 1769. He was appointed deputy postmaster-general for the British colonies in 1753,^[6] which enabled him to set up the first national communications network.

He was active in community affairs and colonial and state politics, as well as national and international affairs. Franklin became a hero in America when, as an agent in London for several colonies, he spearheaded the repeal of the unpopular Stamp Act by the British Parliament. An accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired as the first U.S. ambassador to France and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco–American relations. His efforts proved vital for the American Revolution in securing French aid.

From 1785 to 1788, he served as President of Pennsylvania. At some points in his life, he owned slaves and ran "for sale" ads for slaves in his newspaper, but by the late 1750s, he began arguing against slavery, became an active abolitionist, and promoted the education and integration of African Americans into U.S. society.

As a scientist, his studies of electricity made him a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics. He also charted and named the Gulf Stream current. His numerous important inventions include the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove.^[7] He founded many civic organizations, including the Library Company, Philadelphia's first fire department,^[8] and the University of Pennsylvania.^[9] Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity. Foundational in defining the American ethos, Franklin has been called "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become".^[10]

His life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, and his status as one of America's most influential Founding Fathers, have seen Franklin honored for more than two centuries after his death on the $100 bill and in the names of warships, many towns and counties, educational institutions, and corporations, as well as in numerous cultural references and a portrait in the Oval Office. His more than 30,000 letters and documents have been collected in The Papers of Benjamin Franklin.

Cite error: There are <ref group=Note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=Note}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021
2. ^ Morris, Richard B. (1973). Seven Who Shaped Our Destiny: The Founding Fathers as Revolutionaries. New York: Harper & Row. pp. 1, 5–30. ISBN 978-0-06-090454-8.
3. ^ Brands, H.W. (2010). The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin. Knopf Doubleday Publishing. p. 390. ISBN 978-0-307-75494-3.
4. ^ Goodrich, Charles A. (1829). Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence. W. Reed & Company. p. 267. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
5. ^ "William Goddard and the Constitutional Post". Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
6. ^ "Benjamin Franklin, Postmaster General" (PDF). United States Postal Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
7. ^ Franklin Institute, Essay
8. ^ Burt, Nathaniel (1999). The Perennial Philadelphians: The Anatomy of an American Aristocracy. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-8122-1693-6.
9. ^ Isaacson, 2004, p. ^{[page needed]}
10. ^ Isaacson, 2004, pp. 491–492.

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16 June: 1903 - Ford Motor Company incorporates.

Ford Motor Company

American multinational automobile manufacturer

"FORD" redirects here. For other uses, see Ford (disambiguation).

Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand, and luxury cars under its Lincoln brand. Ford also owns a 32% stake in China's Jiangling Motors.^[7] It also has joint ventures in China (Changan Ford), Taiwan (Ford Lio Ho), Thailand (AutoAlliance Thailand), and Turkey (Ford Otosan). The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family; they have minority ownership but the majority of the voting power.^[5][8]

Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines; by 1914, these methods were known around the world as Fordism. Ford's former UK subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover, acquired in 1989 and 2000, respectively, were sold to the Indian automaker Tata Motors in March 2008. Ford owned the Swedish automaker Volvo from 1999 to 2010.^[9] In the third quarter of 2010, Ford discontinued the Mercury brand, under which it had marketed upscale cars in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East since 1938.^[10]

Ford is the second-largest U.S.-based automaker (behind General Motors) and the sixth-largest in the world (behind Toyota, Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motor Group, Stellantis, and General Motors) based on 2022 vehicle production.^[11] At the end of 2010, Ford was the fifth-largest automaker in Europe.^[12] The company went public in 1956 but the Ford family, through special Class B shares, still retain 40 percent of the voting rights.^[5][13] During the financial crisis of 2007–08, the company struggled financially but did not have to be rescued by the federal government, unlike the other two major US automakers.^[14][15] Ford Motors has since returned to profitability,^[16] and was the eleventh-ranked overall American-based company in the 2018 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2017 of $156.7 billion.^[17] In 2008, Ford produced 5.532 million automobiles^[18] and employed about 213,000 employees at around 90 plants and facilities worldwide.

1. ^ Hyde, Charles K. (June 2005). "National Historic Landmark Nomination – Ford Piquette Avenue Plant" (PDF). National Park Service. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
2. ^ "Ford Motor Company 2021 Annual Form 8-K Report" (PDF). cloudfront.net. December 31, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
3. ^ "Ford Motor Company 2023 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 7, 2024. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
4. ^ "Ford Motor Company: Shareholders, managers and business summary". 4-Traders. France. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Rogers, Christina (May 12, 2016). "Shareholders Again Back Ford Family". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
6. ^ Howard, Phoebe Wall (March 2, 2022). "Ford reveals radical plan to restructure automaker into three business units". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
7. ^ "Jiangling Motors Corporation, Ltd. 2017 Annual Report" (PDF). JMC. pp. 27, 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 12, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2019 – via Sohu.
8. ^ Muller, Joann (December 2, 2010). "Ford Family's Stake Is Smaller, But They're Richer And Still Firmly In Control". Forbes. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
9. ^ "Ford Motor Company Completes Sale of Volvo to Geely" (Press release). Ford Motor Company. August 2, 2010. Archived from the original on August 3, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
10. ^ Maynard, Micheline (June 2, 2010). "Ford to End Production of Its Mercury Line". The New York Times.
11. ^ "Worldwide car sales by manufacturer".
12. ^ "New Passenger Car Registrations by Manufacturer European Union (EU)". ACEA. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
13. ^ Muller, Joann (March 9, 2014). "William Clay Ford's Legacy Cemented Family's Dynasty". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
14. ^ "Bush announces $17.4 billion auto bailout". Politico. December 19, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
15. ^ "Stopgap auto bailout to help GM, Chrysler". CNN Money. December 19, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
16. ^ Hammond, Lou Ann (January 13, 2011). "How Ford stayed strong through the financial crisis". Fortune. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
17. ^ "Ford Motor". Fortune. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
18. ^ "Ford Motor Company / 2008 Annual Report, Operating Highlights" (PDF). p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 19, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2010.

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17 June: 1991 - Apartheid: The South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act, which had required all racial classification of all South Africans at birth.

Population Registration Act

Redirect to:

• Population Registration Act, 1950

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18 June: 1858 - Charles Darwin receives from Alfred Russel Wallace a paper that included nearly identical conclusions about evolution as Darwin's own. This prompts Darwin to publish his theory.

Charles Darwin

English naturalist and biologist (1809–1882)

For other people named Charles Darwin, see Charles Darwin (disambiguation).

Charles Robert Darwin FRS FRGS FLS FZS JP^[6] (/ˈdɑːrwɪn/^[7] DAR-win; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist and biologist,^[8] widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended from a common ancestor is now generally accepted and considered a fundamental concept in science.^[9] In a joint publication with Alfred Russel Wallace, he introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding.^[10] Darwin has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history and was honoured by burial in Westminster Abbey.^[11][12]

Darwin's early interest in nature led him to neglect his medical education at the University of Edinburgh; instead, he helped to investigate marine invertebrates. His studies at the University of Cambridge's Christ's College from 1828 to 1831 encouraged his passion for natural science.^[13] His five-year voyage on HMS Beagle from 1831 to 1836 established Darwin as an eminent geologist, whose observations and theories supported Charles Lyell's concept of gradual geological change. Publication of his journal of the voyage made Darwin famous as a popular author.^[14]

Puzzled by the geographical distribution of wildlife and fossils he collected on the voyage, Darwin began detailed investigations and, in 1838, devised his theory of natural selection.^[15] Although he discussed his ideas with several naturalists, he needed time for extensive research, and his geological work had priority.^[16] He was writing up his theory in 1858 when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him an essay that described the same idea, prompting immediate joint submission of both their theories to the Linnean Society of London.^[17] Darwin's work established evolutionary descent with modification as the dominant scientific explanation of diversification in nature.^[18] In 1871, he examined human evolution and sexual selection in The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, followed by The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872). His research on plants was published in a series of books, and in his final book, The Formation of Vegetable Mould, through the Actions of Worms (1881), he examined earthworms and their effect on soil.

Darwin published his theory of evolution with compelling evidence in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species.^[19][20] By the 1870s, the scientific community and a majority of the educated public had accepted evolution as a fact. However, many favoured competing explanations that gave only a minor role to natural selection, and it was not until the emergence of the modern evolutionary synthesis from the 1930s to the 1950s that a broad consensus developed in which natural selection was the basic mechanism of evolution.^[18][21] Darwin's scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, explaining the diversity of life.

1. ^ "Search Results: Record – Darwin; Charles Robert". The Royal Society Collections Catalogues. 20 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Freeman 2007, p. 106.
3. ^ "Darwin Endless Forms » Darwin in Cambridge". Archived from the original on 23 March 2017.
4. ^ Freeman 2007, p. 76.
5. ^ "Charles Darwin's personal finances revealed in new find". 22 March 2009. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
6. ^ van Wyhe, John; Chua, Christine. Charles Darwin: Justice of the Peace: The Complete Records (1857–1882) (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
7. ^ "Darwin" Archived 18 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine entry in Collins English Dictionary.
8. ^ Desmond, Moore & Browne 2004.
9. ^ Coyne, Jerry A. (2009). Why Evolution is True. Viking. pp. 8–11. ISBN 978-0-670-02053-9.
10. ^ Larson 2004, pp. 79–111.
11. ^ "Special feature: Darwin 200". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 11 February 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Westminster Abbey-2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
13. ^ Leff 2000, About Charles Darwin.
14. ^ Desmond & Moore 1991, pp. 210, 284–285.
15. ^ Desmond & Moore 1991, pp. 263–274.
16. ^ van Wyhe 2007, pp. 184, 187
17. ^ Beddall, B. G. (1968). "Wallace, Darwin, and the Theory of Natural Selection". Journal of the History of Biology. 1 (2): 261–323. doi:10.1007/BF00351923. S2CID 81107747.
18. ^ ^{a b} van Wyhe 2008.
19. ^ Coyne, Jerry A. (2009). Why Evolution is True. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-19-923084-6. In The Origin, Darwin provided an alternative hypothesis for the development, diversification, and design of life. Much of that book presents evidence that not only supports evolution but at the same time refutes creationism. In Darwin's day, the evidence for his theories was compelling but not completely decisive.
20. ^ Glass, Bentley (1959). Forerunners of Darwin. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. iv. ISBN 978-0-8018-0222-5. Darwin's solution is a magnificent synthesis of evidence ... a synthesis ... compelling in honesty and comprehensiveness.
21. ^ Bowler 2003, pp. 178–179, 338, 347.

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19 June: 1978: Botham bowls into cricket history. Cricketing star Ian Botham becomes the first man in the history of the game to score a century and take eight wickets in one innings of a Test match.

Ian Botham

English cricketer (born 1955)

Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham, OBE (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser. Hailed as one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of the game,^[2] Botham represented England in both Test and One-Day International cricket. He was a part of the English squads which finished as runners-up at the 1979 Cricket World Cup and as runners-up at the 1992 Cricket World Cup.

He played most of his first-class cricket for Somerset, at other times competing for Worcestershire, Durham and Queensland. He was an aggressive right-handed batsman and, as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, was noted for his swing bowling. He generally fielded close to the wicket, predominantly in the slips. In Test cricket, Botham scored 14 centuries with a highest score of 208, and from 1986 to 1988 held the world record for the most Test wickets until overtaken by fellow all-rounder Sir Richard Hadlee. He took five wickets in an innings 27 times, and 10 wickets in a match four times. In 1980, he became the second player in Test history to complete the "match double" of scoring 100 runs and taking 10 wickets in the same match. On the occasion of England's 1000th Test in August 2018, he was named in the country's greatest Test XI by the ECB.^[3]

Botham has at times been involved in controversies, including a highly publicised court case involving rival all-rounder Imran Khan and an ongoing dispute with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). These incidents, allied to his on-field success, have attracted media attention, especially from the tabloid press. Botham has used his fame to raise money for research into childhood leukaemia. These efforts have realised millions of pounds for Bloodwise, of which he became president.^[4][5] On 8 August 2009, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. In July 2020, it was announced that Botham would be elevated to the House of Lords and that he would sit as a crossbench peer.^[6]

Botham has a wide range of sporting interests outside cricket. He was a talented footballer at school and had to choose between cricket and football as a career. He chose cricket but, even so, he played professional football for a few seasons and made eleven appearances in the Football League for Scunthorpe United, becoming the club's president in 2017.^[7] He is a keen golfer, and his other pastimes include angling and shooting. He has been awarded both a knighthood and a life peerage.

1. ^ "Ian Botham". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
2. ^ Bermange, Benedict (30 November 2016). "100 Greatest Cricketers: Sir Ian Botham included in players 20–11". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
3. ^ "England's greatest Test XI revealed". ICC. 30 July 2018. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
4. ^ "Blood Cancer UK | Beefy's Foundation". www.beefysfoundation.org. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
5. ^ "Ian Botham: Charity Work & Causes". Look to the Stars. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
6. ^ "Botham and PM's brother to join House of Lords". BBC News. 31 July 2020. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
7. ^ "Botham named Scunthorpe club president". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2021.

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20 June: 1963 - The so-called "red telephone" is established between Soviet Union and United States following the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Red telephone

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21 June: 2004 - Go Skateboarding Day is introduced

Go Skateboarding Day

Annual promotional event organized by the IASC

Go Skateboarding Day (GSD) is an annual promotional event organized by the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC). It grew from the All Star City Skate Jam held by Kerel "SriKala" Roach and Bryan Chin in 2002 in New York City, and was renamed Go Skate Day in 2004.

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22 June: 1633 - The Holy Office in Rome forces Galileo Galilei to recant his scientific view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe.

Galileo Galilei

Italian physicist and astronomer (1564–1642)

"Galileo" redirects here. For other uses, see Galileo (disambiguation) and Galileo Galilei (disambiguation).

Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei (/ˌɡælɪˈleɪoʊ ˌɡælɪˈleɪ/ GAL-il-AY-oh GAL-il-AY, US also /ˌɡælɪˈliːoʊ -/ GAL-il-EE-oh -⁠, Italian: [ɡaliˈlɛːo ɡaliˈlɛːi]) or simply Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. He was born in the city of Pisa, then part of the Duchy of Florence.^[3] Galileo has been called the father of observational astronomy,^[4] modern-era classical physics,^[5] the scientific method,^[6] and modern science.^[7]

Galileo studied speed and velocity, gravity and free fall, the principle of relativity, inertia, projectile motion and also worked in applied science and technology, describing the properties of the pendulum and "hydrostatic balances". He was one of the earliest Renaissance developers of the thermoscope^[8] and the inventor of various military compasses, and used the telescope for scientific observations of celestial objects. With an improved telescope he built, he observed the stars of the Milky Way, the phases of Venus, the four largest satellites of Jupiter, Saturn's rings, lunar craters and sunspots. He also built an early microscope.

Galileo's championing of Copernican heliocentrism was met with opposition from within the Catholic Church and from some astronomers. The matter was investigated by the Roman Inquisition in 1615, which concluded that heliocentrism was foolish, absurd, and heretical since it contradicted the Ptolemaic system.^[9][10][11]

Galileo later defended his views in Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632), which appeared to attack Pope Urban VIII and thus alienated both the Pope and the Jesuits, who had both supported Galileo up until this point.^[9] He was tried by the Inquisition, found "vehemently suspect of heresy", and forced to recant. He spent the rest of his life under house arrest.^[12][13] During this time, he wrote Two New Sciences (1638), primarily concerning kinematics and the strength of materials, summarizing work he had done around forty years earlier.^[14]

1. ^ Science: The Definitive Visual Guide. United Kingdom: DK Publishing. 2009. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-7566-6490-9.
2. ^ Drake 1978, p. 1.
3. ^ Modinos, A. (2013). From Aristotle to Schrödinger: The Curiosity of Physics, Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics (illustrated ed.). Springer Science & Business Media. p. 43. ISBN 978-3-319-00750-2.
4. ^ Singer, C. (1941). A Short History of Science to the Nineteenth Century. Clarendon Press. p. 217.
5. ^ Whitehouse, D. (2009). Renaissance Genius: Galileo Galilei & His Legacy to Modern Science. Sterling Publishing. p. 219. ISBN 978-1-4027-6977-1.
6. ^ Thomas Hobbes: Critical Assessments, Volume 1. Preston King. 1993. p. 59
7. ^ Disraeli, I. (1835). Curiosities of Literature. W. Pearson & Company. p. 371.
8. ^ Valleriani, Matteo (2010). Galileo Engineer. Dordrecht Heidelberg; London; New York: Springer. p. 160. ISBN 978-90-481-8644-0.
9. ^ ^{a b} Hannam 2009, pp. 329–344.
10. ^ Sharratt 1994, pp. 127–131.
11. ^ Finocchiaro 2010, p. 74.
12. ^ Finocchiaro 1997, p. 47.
13. ^ Hilliam 2005, p. 96.
14. ^ Carney, J. E. (2000). Renaissance and Reformation, 1500–1620: a.

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23 June: 1985 - A terrorist bomb aboard Air India flight 182 brings the Boeing 747 down off the coast of Ireland; killing all 329 people aboard.

Air India flight 182

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24 June: 1901 - First exhibition of Pablo Picasso's work opens.

Pablo Picasso

Spanish painter and sculptor (1881–1973)

"Picasso" redirects here. For other uses, see Picasso (disambiguation).

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ruiz and the second or maternal family name is Picasso.

Pablo Ruiz Picasso^[a][b] (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is known for co-founding the Cubist movement, the invention of constructed sculpture,^[8][9] the co-invention of collage, and for the wide variety of styles that he helped develop and explore. Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) and the anti-war painting Guernica (1937), a dramatic portrayal of the bombing of Guernica by German and Italian air forces during the Spanish Civil War.

Picasso demonstrated extraordinary artistic talent in his early years, painting in a naturalistic manner through his childhood and adolescence. During the first decade of the 20th century, his style changed as he experimented with different theories, techniques, and ideas. After 1906, the Fauvist work of the older artist Henri Matisse motivated Picasso to explore more radical styles, beginning a fruitful rivalry between the two artists, who subsequently were often paired by critics as the leaders of modern art.^{[10][11][12][13]}

Picasso's output, especially in his early career, is often periodized. While the names of many of his later periods are debated, the most commonly accepted periods in his work are the Blue Period (1901–1904), the Rose Period (1904–1906), the African-influenced Period (1907–1909), Analytic Cubism (1909–1912), and Synthetic Cubism (1912–1919), also referred to as the Crystal period. Much of Picasso's work of the late 1910s and early 1920s is in a neoclassical style, and his work in the mid-1920s often has characteristics of Surrealism. His later work often combines elements of his earlier styles.

Exceptionally prolific throughout the course of his long life, Picasso achieved universal renown and immense fortune for his revolutionary artistic accomplishments, and became one of the best-known figures in 20th-century art.

1. ^ Daix, Pierre (1988). Picasso, 1900–1906: catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint (in French). Editions Ides et Calendes. pp. 1–106.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Cabanne, Pierre (1977). Pablo Picasso: His Life and Times. Morrow. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-688-03232-6.
3. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference fullname was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. ^ Lyttle, Richard B. (1989). Pablo Picasso: The Man and the Image. Atheneum. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-689-31393-6.
5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Collins was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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