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28 May 1937 – Volkswagen, the German automobile manufacturer is founded.

Volkswagen

Automotive brand manufacturing subsidiary of Volkswagen Group

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

This article is about Volkswagen Passenger Cars. For the parent group, see Volkswagen Group. For Volkswagen vans, trucks and buses, see Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

Logo history

Volkswagen (German: [ˈfɔlksˌvaːɡn̩] (listen); English: /ˈvoʊksvɑːɡən, ˈvɒlkswɑːɡən, -wæɡən, ˈfɒlksvɑːɡən/), shortened to VW (German: [faʊ̯ ˈveː] (listen)), is a German automaker founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front, known for the iconic Beetle and headquartered in Wolfsburg. It is the flagship marque of the Volkswagen Group, the largest automaker by worldwide sales in 2016 and 2017.^[1] The group's biggest market is in China, which delivers 40% of its sales and profits.^[2][3]

Volkswagen translates to "people's car" in German. The company's current international advertising slogan is just "Volkswagen", referencing the name's meaning.^[4][5]

1. ^ Bomey, Nathan (30 January 2017). "Volkswagen passes Toyota as world's largest automaker despite scandal". USA Today. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
2. ^ "China car sales slump ripples globally". BBC News. 12 October 2018. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
3. ^ "Economic Superpower: Chinese Expansion Has Germany on the Defensive". Spiegel Online. 24 May 2018. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
4. ^ Rodriguez, Ashley (23 December 2015). "'Das Auto' No More – Volkswagen's new slogan is a lesson in humility". Quartz. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
5. ^ Cremer, Andreas (22 December 2015). "'Das Auto' no more: Volkswagen plans image offensive". Berlin. Reuters. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.

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28 May 1937 – Volkswagen, the German automobile manufacturer is founded.

Volkswagen

Automotive brand manufacturing subsidiary of Volkswagen Group

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

This article is about Volkswagen Passenger Cars. For the parent group, see Volkswagen Group. For Volkswagen vans, trucks and buses, see Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

Logo history

Volkswagen (German: [ˈfɔlksˌvaːɡn̩] (listen); English: /ˈvoʊksvɑːɡən, ˈvɒlkswɑːɡən, -wæɡən, ˈfɒlksvɑːɡən/), shortened to VW (German: [faʊ̯ ˈveː] (listen)), is a German automaker founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front, known for the iconic Beetle and headquartered in Wolfsburg. It is the flagship marque of the Volkswagen Group, the largest automaker by worldwide sales in 2016 and 2017.^[1] The group's biggest market is in China, which delivers 40% of its sales and profits.^[2][3]

Volkswagen translates to "people's car" in German. The company's current international advertising slogan is just "Volkswagen", referencing the name's meaning.^[4][5]

1. ^ Bomey, Nathan (30 January 2017). "Volkswagen passes Toyota as world's largest automaker despite scandal". USA Today. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
2. ^ "China car sales slump ripples globally". BBC News. 12 October 2018. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
3. ^ "Economic Superpower: Chinese Expansion Has Germany on the Defensive". Spiegel Online. 24 May 2018. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
4. ^ Rodriguez, Ashley (23 December 2015). "'Das Auto' No More – Volkswagen's new slogan is a lesson in humility". Quartz. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
5. ^ Cremer, Andreas (22 December 2015). "'Das Auto' no more: Volkswagen plans image offensive". Berlin. Reuters. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.

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29 May 1935 – First flight of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aeroplane.

Messerschmitt Bf 109

German WWII fighter aircraft family

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force.^[3] The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War and was still in service at the dawn of the jet age at the end of World War II in 1945.^[3] It was one of the most advanced fighters when it first appeared, with an all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, and retractable landing gear. It was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine.^[4] From the end of 1941, the Bf 109 was steadily supplemented by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It was called the Me 109 by Allied aircrew and some German aces, even though this was not the official German designation.^[5]

It was designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser who worked at Bayerische Flugzeugwerke during the early to mid-1930s.^[4] It was conceived as an interceptor, although later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter-bomber, day-, night-, all-weather fighter, ground-attack aircraft, and reconnaissance aircraft. It was supplied to several states during World War II, and served with several countries for many years after the war. The Bf 109 is the most produced fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 airframes produced from 1936 to April 1945.^[2][3] Some of the Bf 109 production took place in Nazi concentration camps through slave labor.

The Bf 109 was flown by the three top-scoring fighter aces of all time, who claimed 928 victories among them while flying with Jagdgeschwader 52, mainly on the Eastern Front. The highest-scoring, Erich Hartmann, was credited with 352 victories. The aircraft was also flown by Hans-Joachim Marseille, the highest-scoring ace in the North African Campaign who shot down 158 enemy aircraft (in about a third of the time). It was also flown by many aces from other Axis nations, notably the Finn Ilmari Juutilainen, the highest-scoring non-German ace. Pilots from Italy, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Hungary also flew the Bf 109. Through constant development, the Bf 109 remained competitive with the latest Allied fighter aircraft until the end of the war.^[6]

1. ^ Forsgren, Jan (2017). Messerschmitt Bf 109: The Design and Operational History. Fonthill Media. p. 41.
2. ^ ^{a b} U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, Aircraft Division Industry Report, Exhibit I – German Airplane Programs vs Actual Production.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Nowarra 1993, p. 189.
4. ^ ^{a b} Green 1980, pp. 7, 13.
5. ^ Wagner, Ray; Nowarra, Heinz (1971). German Combat Planes: A Comprehensive Survey and History of the Development of German Military Aircraft from 1914 to 1945. New York City: Doubleday & Company. p. 229.
6. ^ Radinger and Otto 1999, pp. 35–37.

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29 May 1935 – First flight of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aeroplane.

Messerschmitt Bf 109

German WWII fighter aircraft family

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force.^[3] The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War and was still in service at the dawn of the jet age at the end of World War II in 1945.^[3] It was one of the most advanced fighters when it first appeared, with an all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, and retractable landing gear. It was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine.^[4] From the end of 1941, the Bf 109 was steadily supplemented by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It was called the Me 109 by Allied aircrew and some German aces, even though this was not the official German designation.^[5]

It was designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser who worked at Bayerische Flugzeugwerke during the early to mid-1930s.^[4] It was conceived as an interceptor, although later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter-bomber, day-, night-, all-weather fighter, ground-attack aircraft, and reconnaissance aircraft. It was supplied to several states during World War II, and served with several countries for many years after the war. The Bf 109 is the most produced fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 airframes produced from 1936 to April 1945.^[2][3] Some of the Bf 109 production took place in Nazi concentration camps through slave labor.

The Bf 109 was flown by the three top-scoring fighter aces of all time, who claimed 928 victories among them while flying with Jagdgeschwader 52, mainly on the Eastern Front. The highest-scoring, Erich Hartmann, was credited with 352 victories. The aircraft was also flown by Hans-Joachim Marseille, the highest-scoring ace in the North African Campaign who shot down 158 enemy aircraft (in about a third of the time). It was also flown by many aces from other Axis nations, notably the Finn Ilmari Juutilainen, the highest-scoring non-German ace. Pilots from Italy, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Hungary also flew the Bf 109. Through constant development, the Bf 109 remained competitive with the latest Allied fighter aircraft until the end of the war.^[6]

1. ^ Forsgren, Jan (2017). Messerschmitt Bf 109: The Design and Operational History. Fonthill Media. p. 41.
2. ^ ^{a b} U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, Aircraft Division Industry Report, Exhibit I – German Airplane Programs vs Actual Production.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Nowarra 1993, p. 189.
4. ^ ^{a b} Green 1980, pp. 7, 13.
5. ^ Wagner, Ray; Nowarra, Heinz (1971). German Combat Planes: A Comprehensive Survey and History of the Development of German Military Aircraft from 1914 to 1945. New York City: Doubleday & Company. p. 229.
6. ^ Radinger and Otto 1999, pp. 35–37.

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30 May 1588 – The last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel.

Spanish Armada

This article is about the Spanish fleet that sailed against England in 1588. For the Armada Española, the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish Navy.

Fleet of Spanish ships, intended to attack England in 1588

The Spanish Armada (Spanish: Grande y Felicísima Armada, lit. 'Great and Most Fortunate Navy') was a Habsburg Spanish fleet of 130 ships that sailed from Corunna in late May 1588, under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, with the purpose of escorting an army from Flanders to invade England. Medina Sidonia was an aristocrat without naval command experience but was made commander by King Philip II. The aim was to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I and her establishment of Protestantism in England, to stop English interference in the Spanish Netherlands and to stop the harm caused by English and Dutch privateering ships that interfered with Spanish interests in the Americas.

English ships sailed from Plymouth to attack the Armada and were faster and more manoeuvrable than the larger Spanish galleons, enabling them to fire on the Armada without loss as it sailed east off the south coast of England. The Armada could have anchored in The Solent between the Isle of Wight and the English mainland and occupied the Isle of Wight, but Medina Sidonia was under orders from King Philip II to meet up with the Duke of Parma's forces in the Netherlands so England could be invaded by Parma's soldiers and other soldiers carried in ships of the Armada. English guns damaged the Armada and a Spanish ship was captured by Sir Francis Drake in the English Channel.

The Armada anchored off Calais.^[25] While awaiting communications from the Duke of Parma, the Armada was scattered by an English fireship night attack and abandoned its rendezvous with Parma's army, that was blockaded in harbour by Dutch flyboats. In the ensuing Battle of Gravelines, the Spanish fleet was further damaged and was in risk of running aground on the Dutch coast when the wind changed. The Armada, driven by southwest winds, withdrew north, with the English fleet harrying it up the east coast of England. On return to Spain round the north of Scotland and south around Ireland, the Armada was disrupted further by storms. Many ships were wrecked on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland and more than a third of the initial 130 ships failed to return.^[26] As Martin and Parker explain, "Philip II attempted to invade England, but his plans miscarried. This was due to his own mismanagement, including the appointment of an aristocrat without naval experience as commander of the Armada, but also to unfortunate weather, and the opposition of the English and their Dutch allies, which included the use of fireships sailed into the anchored Armada."^[27]

The expedition was the largest engagement of the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604). The following year, England organised a similar large-scale campaign against Spain, the English Armada, sometimes called the "counter-Armada of 1589", which was also unsuccessful.^[28]

1. ^ Mattingly p. 401: "the defeat of the Spanish armada really was decisive"
2. ^ Parker & Martin p. 5: "an unmitigated disaster"
3. ^ Vego p. 148: "the decisive defeat of the Spanish armada"
4. ^ Lucy Hughes-Hallett notes the action off Gravelines "was the fight which would enter English history books as 'the defeat of the Spanish Armada', but to those who took part in it the engagement appeared inconclusive. By the end of it the Armada was battered but still battleworthy, while the English were almost entirely out of ammunition". Hughes-Hallett, Lucy: Heroes: A History of Hero Worship. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2010. ISBN 9780307485908, p. 327.
5. ^ "The 1588 campaign was a major English propaganda victory, but in strategic terms it was essentially indecisive". Holmes, Richard; Marix Evans, Martin: Battlefield: Decisive Conflicts in History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN 9780191501173, p. 108.
6. ^ According to José Alcalá-Zamora Queipo de Llano, "the confused and partial news of the indecisive naval actions fought between both naval formations in the English Channel were transformed into adulatory, courtier and political victorious reports". Alcalá-Zamora, José N.: La empresa de Inglaterra: (la "Armada invencible": fabulación y realidad). Madrid: Real Academia de la Historia, 2004. ISBN 9788495983374, p. 20.
7. ^ Parker & Martin p. 245
8. ^ Alcalá-Zamora p 56
9. ^ Richard Holmes 2001, Battlefield: Decisive Conflicts in History, p. 858: "The 1588 campaign was a major English propaganda victory, but in strategic terms it was essentially indecisive"
10. ^ Mattingly 362
11. ^ ^{a b} Colin Martin, Geoffrey Parker, The Spanish Armada, Penguin Books, 1999, ISBN 1-901341-14-3, p. 40.
12. ^ Colin Martin, Geoffrey Parker,The Spanish Armada, Penguin Books, 1999, ISBN 1-901341-14-3, pp. 10, 13, 19, 26.
13. ^ Kinard, Jeff. Artillery: An Illustrated History of Its Impact. p. 92.
14. ^ Burke, Peter. The New Cambridge Modern History: Volume 13, Companion Volume.
15. ^ Kamen, Henry (2014). Spain, 1469-1714: A Society of Conflict. Routledge. p. 123.
16. ^ Lewis, Michael.The Spanish Armada, New York: T.Y. Crowell Co., 1968, p. 184.
17. ^ John Knox Laughton,State Papers Relating to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada, Anno 1588, printed for the Navy Records Society, MDCCCXCV, Vol. II, pp. 8–9, Wynter to Walsyngham: indicates that the ships used as fireships were drawn from those at hand in the fleet and not hulks from Dover.
18. ^ Lewis, p. 182.
19. ^ Aubrey N. Newman, David T. Johnson, P.M. Jones (1985) The Eighteenth Century Annual Bulletin of Historical Literature 69 (1), 108 doi:10.1111/j.1467-8314.1985.tb00698.
20. ^ Casado Soto, José L.: Atlantic shipping in sixteenth-century Spain and the 1588 Armada, in Rodríguez-Salgado, M. J. and Simon Adams (eds.): England, Spain and the Gran Armada, 1585–1604. Edinburgh: John Donald, 1991. ISBN 9780859763004, p. 122.
21. ^ Garrett Mattingly rejects old estimations, makes a recount and concludes: "So, lost, at most, 31 ships (not 41), 10 pinnaces at most (not 20), two galleasses (not three), one galley. Total, not more than 44 (not 65), probably five or six and perhaps a doze less." Mattingly, Garrett: The Armada. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987. ISBN 9780395083666, p. 426.
22. ^ Lewis p. 208
23. ^ Lewis pp. 208–09
24. ^ Hanson p. 563
25. ^ "The Safeguard of the Sea, A Naval History of Britain, 660–1649", N. A. M. Rodgers, Penguin, 2004, pp. 263–269
26. ^ John A. Wagner (2010). Voices of Shakespeare's England: Contemporary Accounts of Elizabethan Daily Life: Contemporary Accounts of Elizabethan Daily Life. ABC-CLIO. p. 91. ISBN 9780313357411.
27. ^ Colin Martin; Geoffrey Parker (1999). The Spanish Armada (revised ed.). Manchester University Press. p. 5. ISBN 9781901341140.
28. ^ Elliott p.333

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31 May 2005 – Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was "Deep Throat".

Mark Felt

For the 2017 film, see Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House.

William Mark Felt Sr. (August 17, 1913 – December 18, 2008) was an American law enforcement officer who worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1942 to 1973 and was known for his role in the Watergate scandal. Felt was an FBI special agent who eventually rose to the position of Associate Director, the Bureau's second-highest-ranking post. Felt worked in several FBI field offices prior to his promotion to the Bureau's headquarters. In 1980 he was convicted of having violated the civil rights of people thought to be associated with members of the Weather Underground, by ordering FBI agents to break into their homes and search the premises as part of an attempt to prevent bombings. He was ordered to pay a fine, but was pardoned by President Ronald Reagan during his appeal.

In 2005, at age 91, Felt revealed that during his tenure as associate director of the FBI he had been the notorious anonymous source known as "Deep Throat" who provided The Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein with critical information about the Watergate scandal, which ultimately led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974. Though Felt's identity as Deep Throat was suspected, including by Nixon himself,^[1] it had generally remained a secret for 30 years. Felt finally acknowledged that he was Deep Throat after being persuaded by his daughter to reveal his identity before his death.^[2]

Felt published two memoirs: The FBI Pyramid in 1979 (updated in 2006), and A G-Man's Life, written with John O'Connor, in 2006. In 2012 the FBI released Felt's personnel file, covering the period from 1941 to 1978. It also released files pertaining to an extortion threat made against Felt in 1956.^[3]

1. ^ Robert Yoon and Stephen Bach (June 3, 2005). "Tapes: Nixon suspected Felt". CNN.com.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference i'm the guy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ "40 years later, remembering Watergate scandal's 'Deep Throat'". CNN. June 15, 2012.

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31 May 2005 – Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was "Deep Throat".

Mark Felt

For the 2017 film, see Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House.

William Mark Felt Sr. (August 17, 1913 – December 18, 2008) was an American law enforcement officer who worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1942 to 1973 and was known for his role in the Watergate scandal. Felt was an FBI special agent who eventually rose to the position of Associate Director, the Bureau's second-highest-ranking post. Felt worked in several FBI field offices prior to his promotion to the Bureau's headquarters. In 1980 he was convicted of having violated the civil rights of people thought to be associated with members of the Weather Underground, by ordering FBI agents to break into their homes and search the premises as part of an attempt to prevent bombings. He was ordered to pay a fine, but was pardoned by President Ronald Reagan during his appeal.

In 2005, at age 91, Felt revealed that during his tenure as associate director of the FBI he had been the notorious anonymous source known as "Deep Throat" who provided The Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein with critical information about the Watergate scandal, which ultimately led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974. Though Felt's identity as Deep Throat was suspected, including by Nixon himself,^[1] it had generally remained a secret for 30 years. Felt finally acknowledged that he was Deep Throat after being persuaded by his daughter to reveal his identity before his death.^[2]

Felt published two memoirs: The FBI Pyramid in 1979 (updated in 2006), and A G-Man's Life, written with John O'Connor, in 2006. In 2012 the FBI released Felt's personnel file, covering the period from 1941 to 1978. It also released files pertaining to an extortion threat made against Felt in 1956.^[3]

1. ^ Robert Yoon and Stephen Bach (June 3, 2005). "Tapes: Nixon suspected Felt". CNN.com.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference i'm the guy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ "40 years later, remembering Watergate scandal's 'Deep Throat'". CNN. June 15, 2012.

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1 June 2009 – Air France Flight 447 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 passengers and crew are killed.

Air France Flight 447

2009 mid-Atlantic plane crash

Air France Flight 447 (AF447 or AFR447^[a]) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France. On 1 June 2009, the Airbus A330 serving the flight stalled and did not recover, eventually crashing into the Atlantic Ocean at 02:14 UTC, killing all 228 passengers and crew.

The Brazilian Navy removed the first major wreckage and two bodies from the sea within five days of the accident, but the initial investigation by France's Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA, French: Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'aviation civile) was hampered because the aircraft's flight recorders were not recovered from the ocean floor until May 2011, nearly two years later.

The BEA's final report, released at a news conference on 5 July 2012, concluded that the aircraft crashed after temporary inconsistencies between the airspeed measurements—likely due to the aircraft's pitot tubes being obstructed by ice crystals—caused the autopilot to disconnect, after which the crew reacted incorrectly and ultimately caused the aircraft to enter an aerodynamic stall, from which it did not recover.^[2][3]:7[4] The accident is the deadliest in the history of Air France, as well as the deadliest aviation accident involving the Airbus A330.^[5]

1. ^ BEA first 2009.
2. ^ BEA final 2012, §4.1 p. 79. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFBEA_final2012 (help)
3. ^ BEA third 2011.
4. ^ Clark, Nicola (29 July 2011). "Report on Air France Crash Points to Pilot Training Issues". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ASN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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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1 June 2009 – Air France Flight 447 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 passengers and crew are killed.

Air France Flight 447

2009 mid-Atlantic plane crash

Air France Flight 447 (AF447 or AFR447^[a]) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France. On 1 June 2009, the Airbus A330 serving the flight stalled and did not recover, eventually crashing into the Atlantic Ocean at 02:14 UTC, killing all 228 passengers and crew.

The Brazilian Navy removed the first major wreckage and two bodies from the sea within five days of the accident, but the initial investigation by France's Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA, French: Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'aviation civile) was hampered because the aircraft's flight recorders were not recovered from the ocean floor until May 2011, nearly two years later.

The BEA's final report, released at a news conference on 5 July 2012, concluded that the aircraft crashed after temporary inconsistencies between the airspeed measurements—likely due to the aircraft's pitot tubes being obstructed by ice crystals—caused the autopilot to disconnect, after which the crew reacted incorrectly and ultimately caused the aircraft to enter an aerodynamic stall, from which it did not recover.^[2][3]:7[4] The accident is the deadliest in the history of Air France, as well as the deadliest aviation accident involving the Airbus A330.^[5]

1. ^ BEA first 2009.
2. ^ BEA final 2012, §4.1 p. 79. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFBEA_final2012 (help)
3. ^ BEA third 2011.
4. ^ Clark, Nicola (29 July 2011). "Report on Air France Crash Points to Pilot Training Issues". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ASN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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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2 June 1692 – Bridget Bishop is the first person to be tried for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts; she was found guilty and later hanged.

Salem witch trials

Series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts

"Salem Witches" redirects here. For the minor league baseball team, see Salem Witches (baseball).

For the 1878 lawsuit, see Salem witchcraft trial (1878).

For the film, see Salem Witch Trials (film).

The central figure in this 1876 illustration of the courtroom is usually identified as Mary Walcott.

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than two hundred people were accused. Thirty were found guilty, nineteen of whom were executed by hanging (fourteen women and five men). One other man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death for refusing to plead, and at least five people died in jail.^[1]

Arrests were made in numerous towns beyond Salem and Salem Village (known today as Danvers), notably Andover and Topsfield. The grand juries and trials for this capital crime were conducted by a Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692 and by a Superior Court of Judicature in 1693, both held in Salem Town, where the hangings also took place. It was the deadliest witch hunt in the history of colonial North America. Only fourteen other women and two men had been executed in Massachusetts and Connecticut during the 17th century.^[2]

The episode is one of Colonial America's most notorious cases of mass hysteria. It has been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as a vivid cautionary tale about the dangers of isolationism, religious extremism, false accusations, and lapses in due process.^[3] It was not unique, but a Colonial American example of the much broader phenomenon of witch trials in the early modern period, which took place also in Europe. Many historians consider the lasting effects of the trials to have been highly influential in subsequent United States history. According to historian George Lincoln Burr, "the Salem witchcraft was the rock on which the theocracy shattered."^[4]

At the 300th anniversary events in 1992 to commemorate the victims of the trials, a park was dedicated in Salem and a memorial in Danvers. In November 2001, an act passed by the Massachusetts legislature exonerated five people,^[5] while another one, passed in 1957, had previously exonerated six other victims.^[6] As of 2004, there was still talk about exonerating all the victims,^[7] though some think that happened in the 19th century as the Massachusetts colonial legislature was asked to reverse the attainders of "George Burroughs and others".^[8] In January 2016, the University of Virginia announced its Gallows Hill Project team had determined the execution site in Salem, where the 19 "witches" had been hanged. The city dedicated the Proctor's Ledge Memorial to the victims there in 2017.^[9][10]

1. ^ Snyder, Heather. "Giles Corey". Salem Witch Trials.
2. ^ Demos, John (1983). Entertaining Satan : Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 11, 401-409. ISBN 9780195033786.
3. ^ Adams 2009
4. ^ Burr, George Lincoln, ed. (1914). Narratives of the Witchcraft Cases, 1648–1706. C. Scribner's Sons. p. 197.
5. ^ "Massachusetts Clears 5 From Salem Witch Trials". The New York Times. November 2, 2001.
6. ^ admin (December 2, 2015). "Six Victims of 1692 Salem Witch Trials "Cleared" by Massachusetts..."
7. ^ "Salem may pardon accused witches of 1692". archive.boston.com. The Boston Globe.
8. ^ Vaughan, Alden (1997). The Puritan Tradition in America. UP of New England. p. 283. ISBN 978-0874518528.
9. ^ Writer, Dustin Luca Staff. "On 325th anniversary, city dedicates Proctor's Ledge memorial to Salem Witch Trials victims". Salem News. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
10. ^ Caroline Newman, "X Marks the Spot", UVA Today, 16 January 2016, accessed 28 April 2016

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2 June 1692 – Bridget Bishop is the first person to be tried for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts; she was found guilty and later hanged.

Salem witch trials

Series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts

"Salem Witches" redirects here. For the minor league baseball team, see Salem Witches (baseball).

For the 1878 lawsuit, see Salem witchcraft trial (1878).

For the film, see Salem Witch Trials (film).

The central figure in this 1876 illustration of the courtroom is usually identified as Mary Walcott.

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than two hundred people were accused. Thirty were found guilty, nineteen of whom were executed by hanging (fourteen women and five men). One other man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death for refusing to plead, and at least five people died in jail.^[1]

Arrests were made in numerous towns beyond Salem and Salem Village (known today as Danvers), notably Andover and Topsfield. The grand juries and trials for this capital crime were conducted by a Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692 and by a Superior Court of Judicature in 1693, both held in Salem Town, where the hangings also took place. It was the deadliest witch hunt in the history of colonial North America. Only fourteen other women and two men had been executed in Massachusetts and Connecticut during the 17th century.^[2]

The episode is one of Colonial America's most notorious cases of mass hysteria. It has been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as a vivid cautionary tale about the dangers of isolationism, religious extremism, false accusations, and lapses in due process.^[3] It was not unique, but a Colonial American example of the much broader phenomenon of witch trials in the early modern period, which took place also in Europe. Many historians consider the lasting effects of the trials to have been highly influential in subsequent United States history. According to historian George Lincoln Burr, "the Salem witchcraft was the rock on which the theocracy shattered."^[4]

At the 300th anniversary events in 1992 to commemorate the victims of the trials, a park was dedicated in Salem and a memorial in Danvers. In November 2001, an act passed by the Massachusetts legislature exonerated five people,^[5] while another one, passed in 1957, had previously exonerated six other victims.^[6] As of 2004, there was still talk about exonerating all the victims,^[7] though some think that happened in the 19th century as the Massachusetts colonial legislature was asked to reverse the attainders of "George Burroughs and others".^[8] In January 2016, the University of Virginia announced its Gallows Hill Project team had determined the execution site in Salem, where the 19 "witches" had been hanged. The city dedicated the Proctor's Ledge Memorial to the victims there in 2017.^[9][10]

1. ^ Snyder, Heather. "Giles Corey". Salem Witch Trials.
2. ^ Demos, John (1983). Entertaining Satan : Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 11, 401-409. ISBN 9780195033786.
3. ^ Adams 2009
4. ^ Burr, George Lincoln, ed. (1914). Narratives of the Witchcraft Cases, 1648–1706. C. Scribner's Sons. p. 197.
5. ^ "Massachusetts Clears 5 From Salem Witch Trials". The New York Times. November 2, 2001.
6. ^ admin (December 2, 2015). "Six Victims of 1692 Salem Witch Trials "Cleared" by Massachusetts..."
7. ^ "Salem may pardon accused witches of 1692". archive.boston.com. The Boston Globe.
8. ^ Vaughan, Alden (1997). The Puritan Tradition in America. UP of New England. p. 283. ISBN 978-0874518528.
9. ^ Writer, Dustin Luca Staff. "On 325th anniversary, city dedicates Proctor's Ledge memorial to Salem Witch Trials victims". Salem News. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
10. ^ Caroline Newman, "X Marks the Spot", UVA Today, 16 January 2016, accessed 28 April 2016

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3 June 2017 – London Bridge attack: Eight people are murdered and dozens of civilians are wounded by Islamist terrorists. Three of the attackers are shot dead by the police.

2017 London Bridge attack

For the similar March 2017 attack in London starting on Westminster Bridge, see 2017 Westminster attack. For the November 2019 attack in London in the same area, see 2019 London Bridge stabbing.

Terror attack in London

Coordinates: 51°30′29″N 0°05′16″W / 51.50806°N 0.08778°W / 51.50806; -0.08778

On 3 June 2017, a terrorist vehicle-ramming and stabbing took place in London, England. A van was deliberately driven into pedestrians on London Bridge, and then crashed on the south bank of the River Thames. Its three occupants then ran to the nearby Borough Market area and began stabbing people in and around restaurants and pubs. The attackers were Islamists inspired by Islamic State (ISIS).^[8] They were shot dead by City of London Police officers, and were found to be wearing fake explosive vests.^[9] Eight people were killed and 48 were injured, including members of the public and four unarmed police officers who attempted to stop the assailants.

The attack took place almost three months after a similar vehicle-ramming and stabbing attack at Westminster Bridge in London.

1. ^ Mark Chandler (11 June 2017). "London Bridge killers' fake suicide belts revealed". Evening Standard. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
2. ^ "London terror attack: what we know so far". The Guardian. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
3. ^ "Three Australians caught up in London Bridge attack, Julie Bishop says". The Guardian. 4 June 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
4. ^ "Attacker named as Khuram Butt". BBC. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
5. ^ "Second London attacker was chef who lived in Dublin, say sources". The Guardian. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
6. ^ "Third London Bridge attacker named". BBC. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
7. ^ UK's Rudd says London attackers probably "radical Islamist terrorists", Reuters, 4 June
8. ^ "Isis claims responsibility for London terror attack". 4 June 2017.
9. ^ "London terror attack: who was Khuram Shazad Butt?".

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3 June 2017 – London Bridge attack: Eight people are murdered and dozens of civilians are wounded by Islamist terrorists. Three of the attackers are shot dead by the police.

2017 London Bridge attack

For the similar March 2017 attack in London starting on Westminster Bridge, see 2017 Westminster attack. For the November 2019 attack in London in the same area, see 2019 London Bridge stabbing.

Terror attack in London

Coordinates: 51°30′29″N 0°05′16″W / 51.50806°N 0.08778°W / 51.50806; -0.08778

On 3 June 2017, a terrorist vehicle-ramming and stabbing took place in London, England. A van was deliberately driven into pedestrians on London Bridge, and then crashed on the south bank of the River Thames. Its three occupants then ran to the nearby Borough Market area and began stabbing people in and around restaurants and pubs. The attackers were Islamists inspired by Islamic State (ISIS).^[8] They were shot dead by City of London Police officers, and were found to be wearing fake explosive vests.^[9] Eight people were killed and 48 were injured, including members of the public and four unarmed police officers who attempted to stop the assailants.

The attack took place almost three months after a similar vehicle-ramming and stabbing attack at Westminster Bridge in London.

1. ^ Mark Chandler (11 June 2017). "London Bridge killers' fake suicide belts revealed". Evening Standard. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
2. ^ "London terror attack: what we know so far". The Guardian. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
3. ^ "Three Australians caught up in London Bridge attack, Julie Bishop says". The Guardian. 4 June 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
4. ^ "Attacker named as Khuram Butt". BBC. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
5. ^ "Second London attacker was chef who lived in Dublin, say sources". The Guardian. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
6. ^ "Third London Bridge attacker named". BBC. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
7. ^ UK's Rudd says London attackers probably "radical Islamist terrorists", Reuters, 4 June
8. ^ "Isis claims responsibility for London terror attack". 4 June 2017.
9. ^ "London terror attack: who was Khuram Shazad Butt?".

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4 June 1896 – Henry Ford completes the Ford Quadricycle, his first gasoline-powered automobile, and gives it a successful test run.

Ford Quadricycle

This article is about the pioneering automobile. For other uses, see Quadricycle.

The Ford Quadricycle was the first vehicle developed by Henry Ford. Ford's first car was a simple frame with a gas-powered engine and four bicycle wheels mounted on it.^[3]

The earliest cars were hand built, one by one, and very expensive. The peculiar machines were seen as toys for the rich.^[3] In the 1890s, the "horseless carriage" was a relatively new idea, with no one having a fixed, universal idea of what a car should look like or how it should work. Most of the first car builders were inventors, rather than businessmen, working with their imaginations and the parts they had on hand.^[3] Thus, the invention of the Quadricycle marks an important innovation as a proto-automobile that would lay the foundation for the future, with more practical designs to follow.

On June 4, 1896 in a tiny workshop behind his home on 58 Bagley Avenue, Detroit,^[2][4] where the Michigan Building now stands, Ford put the finishing touches on his pure ethanol-powered motor. After more than two years of experimentation, Ford, at the age of 32, had completed his first experimental automobile. He dubbed his creation the "Quadricycle," so named because it ran on four bicycle tires, and because of the means through which the engine drove the back wheels.^[5] The success of the little vehicle led to the founding of the Henry Ford Company and then later the Ford Motor Company in 1903.^[6]

The two cylinder engine could produce 4 horsepower.^[7] The Quadricycle was driven by a chain. The transmission had only two gears (first for 10 mph (16 km/h), 2nd for 20 mph (32 km/h)), but did not have a reverse gear. The tiller-steered machine had wire wheels and a 3 US gal (11 L) fuel tank under the seat.^[2] Ford test drove it on June 4, 1896, after various test drives, achieving a top speed of 20 mph (32 km/h).^[2] Ford would later go on to found the Ford Motor Company and become one of the world's richest men.^[3]

Today the original Quadricycle resides at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

1. ^ Herndon, Ford: An Unconventional Biography of the Men and Their Times, (New York: Weybright & Talley, 1969), p. 62; also Flammang et al., Ford Chronicle, (Publications International, 1992), p.9 (as cited in Brinkley, David, Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress, (New York: Penguin Group, 2003), p.23
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.58.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Doeden, Matt (2007). Crazy Cars. Lerner Publications. ISBN 978-0-8225-6565-9.
4. ^ "Henry Ford Story Timeline - Henry Ford Heritage Association". hfha.org. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
5. ^ Brinkley, David, Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress, (New York: Penguin Group, 2003), p.22
6. ^ The Showroom of Automotive History: 1896 Quadricycle Archived 2010-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
7. ^ 1896 Ford Quadricycle RemarkableCars.com

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5 June 1997 – The Second Republic of the Congo Civil War begins.

Republic of the Congo Civil War (1997–1999)

For the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, see Second Congo War.

The Second Republic of the Congo Civil War was the second of two ethnopolitical civil conflicts in the Republic of the Congo, beginning on 5 June 1997 and continuing until 29 December 1999. The war served as the continuation of the civil war of 1993–94 and involved militias representing three political candidates. The conflict ended following the intervention of the Angolan army, which reinstated former president Denis Sassou Nguesso to power.

1. ^ ^{a b c} Cite error: The named reference Last was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Cite error: The named reference Rups was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Uan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. ^ ^{a b c} Cite error: The named reference MuR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ "Congo". UCDP Encyclopedia. Retrieved 6 May 2015.

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6 June 1981 – Bihar train disaster: A passenger train travelling between Mansi and Saharsa, India, jumps the tracks at a bridge crossing the Bagmati River. The government places the official death toll at 268 plus another 300 missing; however, it is generally believed that the death toll is closer to 1,000.

Bihar train derailment

In Bihar on June 6, 1981, a passenger train carrying more than 800 passengers^[1] between Mansi (Dhamara Pul) and Saharsa, India derailed and plunged into the river Bagmati while it was crossing a bridge.

After five days, more than 200 bodies were recovered, with hundreds more missing that were feared washed away by the river.^[1][2] Estimates of total deaths range from 500 to 800 or more.^[1] By the afternoon of June 12, the government had completed its recovery efforts and had issued an official death toll of 235 passengers (including the bodies of 3 passengers which had not been recovered), with 88 survivors.^[3]

The accident is among the deadliest-ever rail accidents on record.

The cause of the accident is uncertain as the accident was not well documented. There are multiple theories:

• a cyclone ^[4]
• flash flooding ^[5]
• brake failure while trying to avoid hitting a cow ^[6]

1. ^ ^{a b c} Spignesi, Stephen J. (2004). Catastrophe!: the 100 greatest disasters of all time. Citadel Press. p. 182.
2. ^ REUTERS (June 9, 1981). "AROUND THE WORLD; Toll From Train Crash Reaches 215 in India". New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
3. ^ "Diving Operations to Extricate Dead Bodies Completed - Samastipur Rail Disaster" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 12 June 1981. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
4. ^ BBC, Iran mourns train blast victims See sidebar at bottom of page
5. ^ ^{[dead link]}CBS Archived 2005-09-12 at the Wayback Machine
6. ^ Emergency Disaster Management, Inc., Train Wrecks in India Archived 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine

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7 June 1967 – Six-Day War: Israeli soldiers enter Jerusalem.

Six-Day War

This article is about the Arab–Israeli war in 1967. For the Rwandan–Ugandan conflict around Kisangani, see Six-Day War (2000). For the insurgency in the New Territories, Hong Kong, see Six-Day War (1899).

1967 war between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria

The Six-Day War (Hebrew: מִלְחֶמֶת שֵׁשֶׁת הַיָּמִים, Milhemet Sheshet Ha Yamim; Arabic: النكسة, an-Naksah, "The Setback" or حرب 1967, Ḥarb 1967, "War of 1967"), also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War, or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between 5 and 10 June 1967 by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt (known at the time as the United Arab Republic), Jordan, and Syria.

Relations between Israel and its neighbours were not normalised after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. In 1956 Israel invaded the Sinai peninsula in Egypt, with one of its objectives being the reopening of the Straits of Tiran that Egypt had blocked to Israeli shipping since 1950. Israel was eventually forced to withdraw, but was guaranteed that the Straits of Tiran would remain open. A United Nations Emergency Force was deployed along the border, but there was no demilitarisation agreement.^[25]

In the months prior to June 1967, tensions became dangerously heightened. Israel reiterated its post-1956 position that the closure of the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping would be a cause for war (a casus belli). In May Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser announced that the straits would be closed to Israeli vessels and then mobilised its Egyptian forces along its border with Israel and ejecting UNEF. On 5 June, Israel launched a series of preemptive airstrikes against Egyptian airfields, asserting imminent attack from the Egyptians. The question of which side caused the war is one of a number of controversies relating to the conflict.

The Egyptians were caught by surprise, and nearly the entire Egyptian air force was destroyed with few Israeli losses, giving the Israelis air supremacy. Simultaneously, the Israelis launched a ground offensive into the Gaza Strip and the Sinai, which again caught the Egyptians by surprise. After some initial resistance, Nasser ordered the evacuation of the Sinai. Israeli forces rushed westward in pursuit of the Egyptians, inflicted heavy losses, and conquered the Sinai.

Jordan had entered into a defence pact with Egypt a week before the war began; the agreement envisaged that in the event of war Jordan would not take an offensive role but would attempt to tie down Israeli forces to prevent them making territorial gains.^[26] About an hour after the Israeli air attack, the Egyptian commander of the Jordanian army was ordered by Cairo to begin attacks on Israel; in the initially confused situation, the Jordanians were told that Egypt had repelled the Israeli air strikes.

Egypt and Jordan agreed to a ceasefire on 8 June, and Syria agreed on 9 June; a ceasefire was signed with Israel on 11 June. In the aftermath of the war, Israel had crippled the Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian militaries, having killed over 20,000 troops while losing fewer than 1,000 of its own. The Israeli success was the result of a well-prepared and enacted strategy, the poor leadership of the Arab states, and their poor military leadership and strategy. Israel seized the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, from Jordan and the Golan Heights from Syria. Israel's international standing greatly improved in the following years. Its victory humiliated Egypt, Jordan and Syria, leading Nasser to resign in shame; he was later reinstated after protests in Egypt against his resignation. The speed and ease of Israel's victory would later lead to a dangerous overconfidence within the ranks of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), contributing to initial Arab successes in the subsequent 1973 Yom Kippur War, although ultimately Israeli forces were successful and defeated the Arab militaries. The displacement of civilian populations resulting from the war would have long-term consequences, as 300,000 Palestinians fled the West Bank and about 100,000 Syrians left the Golan Heights. Across the Arab world, Jewish minority communities fled or were expelled, with refugees going mainly to Israel or Europe.

1. ^ Krauthammer 2007.
2. ^ Oren, p. 237
3. ^ "Milestones: 1961–1968". Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018. Between June 5 and June 10, Israel defeated Egypt, Jordan, and Syria and occupied the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights
4. ^ Weill, Sharon (2007). "The judicial arm of the occupation: the Israeli military courts in the occupied territories". International Review of the Red Cross. 89 (866): 401. doi:10.1017/s1816383107001142. ISSN 1816-3831. On 7 June 1967, the day the occupation started, Military Proclamation No. 2 was issued, endowing the area commander with full legislative, executive, and judicial authorities over the West Bank and declaring that the law in force prior to the occupation remained in force as long as it did not contradict new military orders.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
5. ^ Oren, Michael B. (2002). Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East. Oxford University Press. p. 171. ISBN 9780195151749.
6. ^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2015). Wars That Changed History: 50 of the World's Greatest Conflicts: 50 of the World's Greatest Conflicts. ABC-CLIO. pp. 540–541. ISBN 9781610697866.
7. ^ ^{a b} Tucker 2004, p. 176.
8. ^ ^{a b} Griffin 2006, p. 336.
9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
10. ^ ^{a b} Gawrych 2000, p. 3
11. ^ Zaloga, Steven (1981). Armour of the Middle East Wars 1948–78 (Vanguard). Osprey Publishing.
12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gammasy p.79 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chaim Herzog 1982, p. 165 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
14. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference Israel Ministry 2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
15. ^ The Six Day War 1967: Jordan and Syria. Simon Dunstan. Bloomsbury Publishing. 20 February 2013. ISBN 9781472801975. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
16. ^ Warfare since the Second World War, By Klaus Jürgen Gantzel, Torsten Schwinghammer, p. 253
17. ^ Wars in the Third World since 1945, (NY 1991) Guy Arnold
18. ^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2010). The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars. The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts. ABC-CLIO. p. 1198. ISBN 978-1-85109-947-4.
19. ^ Woolf, Alex (2012). Arab–Israeli War Since 1948. Heinemann-Raintree. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-4329-6004-9.
20. ^ Sachar, Howard M. (2013). A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time. Random House. ISBN 978-0-8041-5049-1.
21. ^ Cite error: The named reference Oren, p. 185-187 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
22. ^ Gerhard, William D.; Millington, Henry W. (1981). "Attack on a SIGINT Collector, the USS Liberty" (PDF). NSA History Report, U.S. Cryptologic History series. National Security Agency. partially declassified 1999, 2003.
23. ^ Both USA and Israel officially attributed the USS Liberty incident as being due to mistaken identification.
24. ^ Cite error: The named reference ginor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
25. ^ Major General Indar Jit Rikhye (28 October 2013). The Sinai Blunder: Withdrawal of the United Nations Emergency Force Leading... Taylor & Francis. pp. 8–. ISBN 978-1-136-27985-0.
26. ^ Mutawi 2002, p. 183: “It is clear that King Hussein joined forces with Egypt in the knowledge that there was no possibility of overrunning Israel. Instead he sought to preserve the status quo. He believed that he could not stand aside at a time when Arab co-operation and solidarity were vital and he was convinced that any Arab confrontation with Israel would be greatly enhanced if the Arabs fought as a unified body. The plan of action devised at his meeting with Nasser in Cairo on 30 May was established on this basis. It was envisaged that Jordan would not take an offensive role but would tie down a proportion of Israel's forces and so prevent it from using its full weight against Egypt and Syria. By forcing Israel to fight a war on three fronts simultaneously King Hussein believed that the Arabs stood a chance of preventing it from making any territorial gains while allowing the Arabs a chance of gaining a political victory, which may, eventually, lead to peace. King Hussein was also convinced that even if Jordan did not participate in the war Israel would take the opportunity to seize the West Bank once it had dealt with Syria and Egypt. He decided that for this reason the wisest course of action was to bring Jordan into the total Arab effort. This would provide his army with two elements which were essential for its efficient operation – additional troops and air cover. When King Hussein met Nasser in Cairo it was agreed that these requirements would be met.”

Read More

 

7 June 1967 – Six-Day War: Israeli soldiers enter Jerusalem.

Six-Day War

This article is about the Arab–Israeli war in 1967. For the Rwandan–Ugandan conflict around Kisangani, see Six-Day War (2000). For the insurgency in the New Territories, Hong Kong, see Six-Day War (1899).

1967 war between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria

The Six-Day War (Hebrew: מִלְחֶמֶת שֵׁשֶׁת הַיָּמִים, Milhemet Sheshet Ha Yamim; Arabic: النكسة, an-Naksah, "The Setback" or حرب 1967, Ḥarb 1967, "War of 1967"), also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War, or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between 5 and 10 June 1967 by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt (known at the time as the United Arab Republic), Jordan, and Syria.

Relations between Israel and its neighbours were not normalised after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. In 1956 Israel invaded the Sinai peninsula in Egypt, with one of its objectives being the reopening of the Straits of Tiran that Egypt had blocked to Israeli shipping since 1950. Israel was eventually forced to withdraw, but was guaranteed that the Straits of Tiran would remain open. A United Nations Emergency Force was deployed along the border, but there was no demilitarisation agreement.^[25]

In the months prior to June 1967, tensions became dangerously heightened. Israel reiterated its post-1956 position that the closure of the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping would be a cause for war (a casus belli). In May Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser announced that the straits would be closed to Israeli vessels and then mobilised its Egyptian forces along its border with Israel and ejecting UNEF. On 5 June, Israel launched a series of preemptive airstrikes against Egyptian airfields, asserting imminent attack from the Egyptians. The question of which side caused the war is one of a number of controversies relating to the conflict.

The Egyptians were caught by surprise, and nearly the entire Egyptian air force was destroyed with few Israeli losses, giving the Israelis air supremacy. Simultaneously, the Israelis launched a ground offensive into the Gaza Strip and the Sinai, which again caught the Egyptians by surprise. After some initial resistance, Nasser ordered the evacuation of the Sinai. Israeli forces rushed westward in pursuit of the Egyptians, inflicted heavy losses, and conquered the Sinai.

Jordan had entered into a defence pact with Egypt a week before the war began; the agreement envisaged that in the event of war Jordan would not take an offensive role but would attempt to tie down Israeli forces to prevent them making territorial gains.^[26] About an hour after the Israeli air attack, the Egyptian commander of the Jordanian army was ordered by Cairo to begin attacks on Israel; in the initially confused situation, the Jordanians were told that Egypt had repelled the Israeli air strikes.

Egypt and Jordan agreed to a ceasefire on 8 June, and Syria agreed on 9 June; a ceasefire was signed with Israel on 11 June. In the aftermath of the war, Israel had crippled the Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian militaries, having killed over 20,000 troops while losing fewer than 1,000 of its own. The Israeli success was the result of a well-prepared and enacted strategy, the poor leadership of the Arab states, and their poor military leadership and strategy. Israel seized the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, from Jordan and the Golan Heights from Syria. Israel's international standing greatly improved in the following years. Its victory humiliated Egypt, Jordan and Syria, leading Nasser to resign in shame; he was later reinstated after protests in Egypt against his resignation. The speed and ease of Israel's victory would later lead to a dangerous overconfidence within the ranks of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), contributing to initial Arab successes in the subsequent 1973 Yom Kippur War, although ultimately Israeli forces were successful and defeated the Arab militaries. The displacement of civilian populations resulting from the war would have long-term consequences, as 300,000 Palestinians fled the West Bank and about 100,000 Syrians left the Golan Heights. Across the Arab world, Jewish minority communities fled or were expelled, with refugees going mainly to Israel or Europe.

1. ^ Krauthammer 2007.
2. ^ Oren, p. 237
3. ^ "Milestones: 1961–1968". Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018. Between June 5 and June 10, Israel defeated Egypt, Jordan, and Syria and occupied the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights
4. ^ Weill, Sharon (2007). "The judicial arm of the occupation: the Israeli military courts in the occupied territories". International Review of the Red Cross. 89 (866): 401. doi:10.1017/s1816383107001142. ISSN 1816-3831. On 7 June 1967, the day the occupation started, Military Proclamation No. 2 was issued, endowing the area commander with full legislative, executive, and judicial authorities over the West Bank and declaring that the law in force prior to the occupation remained in force as long as it did not contradict new military orders.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
5. ^ Oren, Michael B. (2002). Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East. Oxford University Press. p. 171. ISBN 9780195151749.
6. ^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2015). Wars That Changed History: 50 of the World's Greatest Conflicts: 50 of the World's Greatest Conflicts. ABC-CLIO. pp. 540–541. ISBN 9781610697866.
7. ^ ^{a b} Tucker 2004, p. 176.
8. ^ ^{a b} Griffin 2006, p. 336.
9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
10. ^ ^{a b} Gawrych 2000, p. 3
11. ^ Zaloga, Steven (1981). Armour of the Middle East Wars 1948–78 (Vanguard). Osprey Publishing.
12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gammasy p.79 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chaim Herzog 1982, p. 165 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
14. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference Israel Ministry 2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
15. ^ The Six Day War 1967: Jordan and Syria. Simon Dunstan. Bloomsbury Publishing. 20 February 2013. ISBN 9781472801975. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
16. ^ Warfare since the Second World War, By Klaus Jürgen Gantzel, Torsten Schwinghammer, p. 253
17. ^ Wars in the Third World since 1945, (NY 1991) Guy Arnold
18. ^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2010). The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars. The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts. ABC-CLIO. p. 1198. ISBN 978-1-85109-947-4.
19. ^ Woolf, Alex (2012). Arab–Israeli War Since 1948. Heinemann-Raintree. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-4329-6004-9.
20. ^ Sachar, Howard M. (2013). A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time. Random House. ISBN 978-0-8041-5049-1.
21. ^ Cite error: The named reference Oren, p. 185-187 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
22. ^ Gerhard, William D.; Millington, Henry W. (1981). "Attack on a SIGINT Collector, the USS Liberty" (PDF). NSA History Report, U.S. Cryptologic History series. National Security Agency. partially declassified 1999, 2003.
23. ^ Both USA and Israel officially attributed the USS Liberty incident as being due to mistaken identification.
24. ^ Cite error: The named reference ginor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
25. ^ Major General Indar Jit Rikhye (28 October 2013). The Sinai Blunder: Withdrawal of the United Nations Emergency Force Leading... Taylor & Francis. pp. 8–. ISBN 978-1-136-27985-0.
26. ^ Mutawi 2002, p. 183: “It is clear that King Hussein joined forces with Egypt in the knowledge that there was no possibility of overrunning Israel. Instead he sought to preserve the status quo. He believed that he could not stand aside at a time when Arab co-operation and solidarity were vital and he was convinced that any Arab confrontation with Israel would be greatly enhanced if the Arabs fought as a unified body. The plan of action devised at his meeting with Nasser in Cairo on 30 May was established on this basis. It was envisaged that Jordan would not take an offensive role but would tie down a proportion of Israel's forces and so prevent it from using its full weight against Egypt and Syria. By forcing Israel to fight a war on three fronts simultaneously King Hussein believed that the Arabs stood a chance of preventing it from making any territorial gains while allowing the Arabs a chance of gaining a political victory, which may, eventually, lead to peace. King Hussein was also convinced that even if Jordan did not participate in the war Israel would take the opportunity to seize the West Bank once it had dealt with Syria and Egypt. He decided that for this reason the wisest course of action was to bring Jordan into the total Arab effort. This would provide his army with two elements which were essential for its efficient operation – additional troops and air cover. When King Hussein met Nasser in Cairo it was agreed that these requirements would be met.”

Read More

 

8 June 2014 – At least 28 people are killed in an attack at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan.

2014 Jinnah International Airport attack

Coordinates: 24°54′24″N 67°09′39″E / 24.90667°N 67.16083°E / 24.90667; 67.16083

On 8 June 2014, 10 militants armed with automatic weapons, a rocket launcher, suicide vests, and grenades attacked Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan. 36 people were killed, including all 10 attackers, and 18 others were wounded.^[2] The militant organisation Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) initially claimed responsibility for the attack. According to state media, the attackers were foreigners of Uzbek origin who belonged to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), an Al Qaeda-linked militant organisation that works closely with TTP.^[3][4] The TTP later confirmed that the attack was a joint operation they executed with the IMU, who independently admitted to having supplied personnel for the attack.^[5][6]

Following the attack, the Pakistani military conducted a series of aerial strikes on militant hideouts in the tribal areas along the Afghan border. At least 25 militants were killed on 10 June, including foreign fighters.^[7] Two drone attacks on 12 June also killed Uzbek, Afghan and some local militants.^[8] On 15 June, the Pakistani military intensified air strikes in North Waziristan, and bombed eight foreign militant hideouts. At least 105 insurgents were reported killed, a majority of whom were Uzbeks, including those linked to the airport attack.^[9][10] Some other foreign militants were also reported killed. According to military sources, a key Uzbek commander and mastermind of the attack, Abu Abdur Rehman Almani, was killed in the operation.^[11] These military responses culminated in Operation Zarb-e-Azb, a comprehensive Pakistan Armed Forces operation against militants in North Waziristan.^[12]

1. ^ "Pakistan: karachi airport training center attacked". Associated Press. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference aje was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ Drone strike in Pakistan days after airport attack, sources say. CNN.
4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Reuters was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Uzbeks was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Uzbeks2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
7. ^ Cite error: The named reference 25 militants was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
8. ^ Cite error: The named reference drone was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
9. ^ Cite error: The named reference 105 militants was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
10. ^ Cite error: The named reference 150 militants was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Almani was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
12. ^ "Zarb-e-Azb operation: 120 suspected militants killed in N Waziristan – Pakistan". Dawn.Com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014.

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9 June 1959 – The USS George Washington is launched. It is the first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.

USS George Washington (SSBN-598)

George Washington class submarine

For other ships with the same name, see USS George Washington.

USS George Washington (SSBN-598) was the United States's first operational ballistic missile submarine. It was the lead ship of her class of nuclear ballistic missile submarines, was the third^[5] United States Navy ship of the name, in honor of George Washington (1732–1799), first President of the United States, and the first of that name to be purpose-built as a warship.

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q} "SSBN-598 George Washington-Class FBM Submarines" from the FAS
2. ^ Hickman, Kennedy (2012). "Cold War: USS George Washington (SSBN-598)". About.com. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
3. ^ Adcock, Al. U.S. Ballistic Missile Submarines (Carrolltown, Texas: Squadron Signal, 1993), p.12. Adcock, p.4, also credits mythical interwar Albacore and Trout classes, however.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Adcock, p.12.
5. ^ Several other U.S. Navy ships have been named USS Washington in his honor.

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10 June 1838 – Myall Creek massacre: Twenty-eight Aboriginal Australians are murdered.

Myall Creek massacre

Killing of 28 Indigenous Australians in New South Wales

"Myall Creek" redirects here. For the early Queensland settlement formerly known by this name, see Dalby, Queensland.

The Myall Creek massacre involved the killing of at least twenty-eight unarmed Indigenous Australians by twelve colonists on 10 June 1838 at the Myall Creek near the Gwydir River, in northern New South Wales.^[1][2] After two trials, seven of the twelve colonists were found guilty of murder and hanged.^[2] One—the settler John Fleming—evaded arrest and was never tried and four were never retried following the not guilty verdict of the first trial.^[1]

1. ^ ^{a b} "Myall Creek massacre". National Museum of Australia. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Myall Creek Massacre and Memorial Site". Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. 25 June 2008. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013.

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11 June 2001 – Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Timothy McVeigh

For the United States Navy sailor, see Timothy R. McVeigh.

American domestic anti-government terrorist

Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist who carried out the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people and injured more than 680 others, and destroyed one third of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.^[5][6] The bombing was the deadliest act of terrorism in the United States prior to the September 11 attacks. It is the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in United States history.

A Gulf War veteran, McVeigh sought revenge against the federal government for the 1993 Waco siege that ended in the deaths of 86 people, many of whom were children, as well as the 1992 Ruby Ridge incident and American foreign policy. He hoped to inspire a revolution against the federal government, and defended the bombing as a legitimate tactic against what he saw as a tyrannical government.^[7] He was arrested shortly after the bombing and indicted on 160 state offenses and 11 federal offenses, including the use of a weapon of mass destruction. He was found guilty on all counts in 1997 and sentenced to death.^[8]

McVeigh was executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001 at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. His execution was carried out in a considerably shorter time than most inmates awaiting the death penalty. Terry Nichols and Michael Fortier were convicted as conspirators in the plot. Nichols was sentenced to eight life terms for the deaths of eight federal agents, and to 161 life terms without parole by the state of Oklahoma for the deaths of the others. Michael Fortier was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment and has since been released. Lori Fortier was given immunity in exchange for her testimony against the others.

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference washingtonpost was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference trutv7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ Cite error: The named reference McVeigh word essay was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. ^ "Resilience: Five forgotten facts about the Oklahoma City bombing". NewsOK.com.
5. ^ Shariat, Sheryll; Mallonee, Sue; Stephens-Stidham, Shelli (December 1998). "Oklahoma City Bombing Injuries" (PDF). Injury Prevention Service, Oklahoma State Department of Health. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-05-18. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
6. ^ "McVeigh biographers share 'chilling' audiotapes: Authors Michel and Herbeck reflect on McVeigh, OKC anniversary". NBC News. April 15, 2010. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
7. ^ Cite error: The named reference mcveigh_dead was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
8. ^ Cite error: The named reference cnn 3-29-01 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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12 June 1997 – Queen Elizabeth II reopens the Globe Theatre in London.

Globe Theatre

16th/17th-century theatre in London

This article is about the Globe Theatre of Shakespeare. For the more modern reconstruction in London, see Shakespeare's Globe. For other uses, see Globe Theatre (disambiguation).

The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend and grandson Sir Matthew Brend, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613.^[4] A second Globe Theatre was built on the same site by June 1614 and closed by an Ordinance issued on 6 September 1642.^[5]

A modern reconstruction of the Globe, named "Shakespeare's Globe", opened in 1997 approximately 750 feet (230 m) from the site of the original theatre.^[6] From 1909, the current Gielgud Theatre was called "Globe Theatre", until it was renamed (in honour of John Gielgud) in 1994.

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cooper2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ Wilson, Ian (1993). Shakespeare the Evidence. London: Headline. xiii. ISBN 0-7472-0582-5.
3. ^ Bowsher and Miller (2009: 87)
4. ^ Nagler 1958, p. 8.
5. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica 1998 edition.
6. ^ Measured using Google earth

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13 June 2007 – The Al Askari Mosque is bombed for a second time.

2007 al-Askari mosque bombing

This article is about the 2007 bombing. For the 2006 bombing, see 2006 al-Askari Mosque bombing.

The 2007 al-Askari mosque bombing (Arabic: تفجير مسجد العسكري‎) occurred on 13 June 2007 at around 9 am local time at one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, the al-Askari Mosque, and has been attributed by Iran to the Iraqi Baath Party.^[1] While there were no injuries or deaths reported, the mosque's two ten-story minarets were destroyed in the attacks. This was the second bombing of the mosque, with the first bombing occurring on 22 February 2006 and destroying the mosque's golden dome.

By April 2009, both minarets had been repaired.^[2]

1. ^ "Baathist hands behind Samarra attack". Press TV. 13 June 2007. Retrieved 15 June 2007.
2. ^ "Bombed Iraq shrine reopens to visitors". Archived from the original on 28 May 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2009.

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14 June 1940 – World War II: The German occupation of Paris begins.

Paris in World War II

German soldiers parade on the Champs Élysées on 14 June 1940 (Bundesarchiv)

Paris started mobilizing for war in September 1939, when Nazi Germany attacked Poland, but the war seemed far away until May 10, 1940, when the Germans attacked France and quickly defeated the French army. The French government departed Paris on June 10, and the Germans occupied the city on June 14. During the Occupation, the French Government moved to Vichy, and Paris was governed by the German military and by French officials approved by the Germans. For Parisians, the Occupation was a series of frustrations, shortages and humiliations. A curfew was in effect from nine in the evening until five in the morning; at night, the city went dark. Rationing of food, tobacco, coal and clothing was imposed from September 1940. Every year the supplies grew more scarce and the prices higher. A million Parisians left the city for the provinces, where there was more food and fewer Germans. The French press and radio contained only German propaganda.

Jews in Paris were forced to wear the yellow Star of David badge, and were barred from certain professions and public places. On 16–17 July 1942, 13,152 Jews, including 4,115 children and 5,919 women, were rounded up by the French police, on orders of the Germans, and were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. The first demonstration against the Occupation, by Paris students, took place on 11 November 1940. As the war continued, anti-German clandestine groups and networks were created, some loyal to the French Communist Party, others to General Charles de Gaulle in London. They wrote slogans on walls, organized an underground press, and sometimes attacked German officers. Reprisals by the Germans were swift and harsh.

Following the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, the French Resistance in Paris launched an uprising on August 19, seizing the police headquarters and other government buildings. The city was liberated by French and American troops on August 25; the next day, General de Gaulle led a triumphant parade down the Champs-Élysées on August 26, and organized a new government. In the following months, ten thousand Parisians who had collaborated with the Germans were arrested and tried, eight thousand convicted, and 116 executed. On 29 April and 13 May 1945, the first post-war municipal elections were held, in which French women voted for the first time.

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14 June 1940 – World War II: The German occupation of Paris begins.

Paris in World War II

German soldiers parade on the Champs Élysées on 14 June 1940 (Bundesarchiv)

Paris started mobilizing for war in September 1939, when Nazi Germany attacked Poland, but the war seemed far away until May 10, 1940, when the Germans attacked France and quickly defeated the French army. The French government departed Paris on June 10, and the Germans occupied the city on June 14. During the Occupation, the French Government moved to Vichy, and Paris was governed by the German military and by French officials approved by the Germans. For Parisians, the Occupation was a series of frustrations, shortages and humiliations. A curfew was in effect from nine in the evening until five in the morning; at night, the city went dark. Rationing of food, tobacco, coal and clothing was imposed from September 1940. Every year the supplies grew more scarce and the prices higher. A million Parisians left the city for the provinces, where there was more food and fewer Germans. The French press and radio contained only German propaganda.

Jews in Paris were forced to wear the yellow Star of David badge, and were barred from certain professions and public places. On 16–17 July 1942, 13,152 Jews, including 4,115 children and 5,919 women, were rounded up by the French police, on orders of the Germans, and were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. The first demonstration against the Occupation, by Paris students, took place on 11 November 1940. As the war continued, anti-German clandestine groups and networks were created, some loyal to the French Communist Party, others to General Charles de Gaulle in London. They wrote slogans on walls, organized an underground press, and sometimes attacked German officers. Reprisals by the Germans were swift and harsh.

Following the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, the French Resistance in Paris launched an uprising on August 19, seizing the police headquarters and other government buildings. The city was liberated by French and American troops on August 25; the next day, General de Gaulle led a triumphant parade down the Champs-Élysées on August 26, and organized a new government. In the following months, ten thousand Parisians who had collaborated with the Germans were arrested and tried, eight thousand convicted, and 116 executed. On 29 April and 13 May 1945, the first post-war municipal elections were held, in which French women voted for the first time.

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15 June 1896 – The deadliest tsunami in Japan's history kills more than 22,000 people.

1896 Sanriku earthquake

The 1896 Sanriku earthquake was one of the most destructive seismic events in Japanese history.^[2] The 8.5 magnitude earthquake occurred at 19:32 (local time) on June 15, 1896, approximately 166 kilometres (103 mi) off the coast of Iwate Prefecture, Honshu. It resulted in two tsunamis which destroyed about 9,000 homes and caused at least 22,000 deaths.^[3] The waves reached a then-record height of 38.2 metres (125 ft); this would remain the highest on record until waves from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake exceeded that height by more than 2 metres (6 ft 7 in).^[4]

Seismologists have discovered the tsunami's magnitude (M_t = 8.2)^[5] was much greater than expected for the estimated seismic magnitude. This earthquake is now regarded as being part of a distinct class of seismic events, the tsunami earthquake.^[6]

1. ^ Nishimura, T.; Miura S.; Tachibana K.; Hashimoto K.; Sato T.; Hori S.; Murakami E.; Kono T.; Nid K.; Mishina M.; Hirasawa T. & Miyazaki S. (2000). "Distribution of seismic coupling on the subducting plate boundary in northeastern Japan inferred from GPS observations". Tectonophysics. 323 (3–4): 217–238. Bibcode:2000Tectp.323..217N. doi:10.1016/S0040-1951(00)00108-6.
2. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference Nakao was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ Cite error: The named reference USGS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. ^ "March 11th tsunami a record 40.5 metres high NHK". .nhk.or.jp. 13 August 2011. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
5. ^ Abe, K. (1981). "Physical size of tsunamigenic earthquakes of the northwestern Pacific". Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 27 (3): 194–205. Bibcode:1981PEPI...27..194A. doi:10.1016/0031-9201(81)90016-9.
6. ^ Kanamori, H. (1972). "Mechanism of tsunami earthquakes" (PDF). Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 6 (5): 346–359. Bibcode:1972PEPI....6..346K. doi:10.1016/0031-9201(72)90058-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-14.

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16 June 2010 – Bhutan becomes the first country to institute a total ban on tobacco.

Tobacco Control Act of Bhutan 2010

"Tobacco Control Act" redirects here. For the 2009 American law, see Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

The Tobacco Control Act of Bhutan (Dzongkha: འབྲུག་གི་ཏམ་ཁུ་དམ་འཛིན་བཅའ་ཁྲིམས་ཅན་མ་, romanized: 'Drug-gi tam-khu dam-'dzin bca'-khrims can-ma) was enacted by the Parliament of Bhutan on 6 June 2010 and came into force on 16 June.^{[1][nb 1]} It regulates tobacco and tobacco products, banning the cultivation, harvesting, production, and sale of tobacco and tobacco products in Bhutan. The act also mandates that the government of Bhutan provide counselling and treatment to facilitate tobacco cessation. Premised on the physical health and well being of the Bhutanese people – important elements of Gross National Happiness – the Tobacco Control Act recognizes the harmful effects of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke on both spiritual and social health.^{[nb 2]}

Long before the enactment of the Tobacco Control Act, Bhutan's government had struggled against tobacco use. In 1916, the first King of Bhutan Ugyen Wangchuck promulgated a ban on the "most filthy and noxious herb, called tobacco."^[2] The modern Tobacco Control Act, however, led to controversy because of its harsh penalties. In January 2012, Parliament passed urgent amendments with the effect of greatly increasing permissible amounts of tobacco and reducing penalties, although sale and distribution remain prohibited.

1. ^ "Tobacco Control Act of Bhutan, 2010" (PDF). Government of Bhutan. 2010-06-16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
2. ^ White, J. Claude (1909). "Appendix I – The Laws of Bhutan". Sikhim & Bhutan: Twenty-One Years on the North-East Frontier, 1887–1908. New York: Longmans, Green & Co. p. 301–10. Retrieved 2010-12-25.

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

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17 June 1944 – Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic.

Icelandic National Day

Icelandic National Day (Icelandic: Þjóðhátíðardagurinn, the day of the nation's celebration) is an annual holiday in Iceland which commemorates the foundation of The Republic of Iceland on 17 June 1944. This date also marks the end of Iceland's centuries old ties with Denmark.^[1] The date was chosen to coincide with the birthday of Jón Sigurðsson, a major figure of Icelandic culture and the leader of the 19th century Icelandic independence movement.^[2]

1. ^ http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2011/06/icelandic-national-day-profile-pictures/
2. ^ Today is the Icelandic National Day Archived 2013-06-21 at the Wayback Machine Icelandic Review 6/17/2013

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18 June 1940 – The "Finest Hour" speech is delivered by Winston Churchill.

This was their finest hour

1940 speech by Winston Churchill

"This was their finest hour" was a speech delivered by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom on 18 June 1940, just over a month after he took over as Prime Minister at the head of an all-party coalition government.

It was the third of three speeches which he gave during the period of the Battle of France, after the "Blood, toil, tears and sweat" speech of 13 May and the "We shall fight on the beaches" speech of 4 June.^[1][2] "This was their finest hour" was made after France had sought an armistice on the evening of 16 June.^[a]

1. ^ Hansard debate, 13 May 1940 "His Majesty's Government"
2. ^ The Churchill Centre: We Shall Fight on the Beaches
3. ^ BBC Written Archives quoted in Gilbert, Martin (27 June 1983). Finest Hour: Winston S. Churchill 1939–1941. Heinemann. p. 566. ISBN 978-0434291878.

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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19 June 1964 – The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is approved after surviving an 83-day filibuster in the United States Senate.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark U.S. civil rights and labor law that outlaws discrimination based on certain characteristics

For broader coverage of this topic, see Civil Rights Act.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub.L. 88–352, 78 Stat. 241, enacted July 2, 1964) is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex,^[a] or national origin.^[4] It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements, and racial segregation in schools, employment, and public accommodations.

Initially, powers given to enforce the act were weak, but these were supplemented during later years. Congress asserted its authority to legislate under several different parts of the United States Constitution, principally its power to regulate interstate commerce under Article One (section 8), its duty to guarantee all citizens equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment, and its duty to protect voting rights under the Fifteenth Amendment.

The legislation had been proposed by President John F. Kennedy in June 1963, but it was opposed by filibuster in the Senate. After Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson pushed the bill forward. The United States House of Representatives passed the bill on February 10, 1964, and after a 54-day filibuster, passed the United States Senate on June 19, 1964. The final vote was 290–130 in the House of Representatives and 73–27 in the Senate.^[5] After the House agreed to a subsequent Senate amendment, the Civil Rights Act was signed into law by President Johnson at the White House on July 2, 1964.

In June 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County and two other cases^[b] that employment protections against discrimination on the basis of sex also apply to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.^[6]

1. ^ "H.R. 7152. PASSAGE". GovTrack.us.
2. ^ "HR. 7152. PASSAGE". GovTrack.us.
3. ^ "H.R. 7152. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964. ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION (H. RES. 789) PROVIDING FOR HOUSE APPROVAL OF THE BILL AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE". GovTrack.us.
4. ^ "Transcript of Civil Rights Act (1964)". Retrieved July 28, 2012.
5. ^ "HR. 7152. PASSAGE. -- Senate Vote #409 -- Jun 19, 1964". GovTrack.us.
6. ^ Liptak, Adam (June 15, 2020). "Civil Rights Law Protects Gay and Transgender Workers, Supreme Court Rules". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 15, 2020.

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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19 June 1964 – The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is approved after surviving an 83-day filibuster in the United States Senate.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark U.S. civil rights and labor law that outlaws discrimination based on certain characteristics

For broader coverage of this topic, see Civil Rights Act.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub.L. 88–352, 78 Stat. 241, enacted July 2, 1964) is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex,^[a] or national origin.^[4] It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements, and racial segregation in schools, employment, and public accommodations.

Initially, powers given to enforce the act were weak, but these were supplemented during later years. Congress asserted its authority to legislate under several different parts of the United States Constitution, principally its power to regulate interstate commerce under Article One (section 8), its duty to guarantee all citizens equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment, and its duty to protect voting rights under the Fifteenth Amendment.

The legislation had been proposed by President John F. Kennedy in June 1963, but it was opposed by filibuster in the Senate. After Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson pushed the bill forward. The United States House of Representatives passed the bill on February 10, 1964, and after a 54-day filibuster, passed the United States Senate on June 19, 1964. The final vote was 290–130 in the House of Representatives and 73–27 in the Senate.^[5] After the House agreed to a subsequent Senate amendment, the Civil Rights Act was signed into law by President Johnson at the White House on July 2, 1964.

In June 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County and two other cases^[b] that employment protections against discrimination on the basis of sex also apply to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.^[6]

1. ^ "H.R. 7152. PASSAGE". GovTrack.us.
2. ^ "HR. 7152. PASSAGE". GovTrack.us.
3. ^ "H.R. 7152. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964. ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION (H. RES. 789) PROVIDING FOR HOUSE APPROVAL OF THE BILL AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE". GovTrack.us.
4. ^ "Transcript of Civil Rights Act (1964)". Retrieved July 28, 2012.
5. ^ "HR. 7152. PASSAGE. -- Senate Vote #409 -- Jun 19, 1964". GovTrack.us.
6. ^ Liptak, Adam (June 15, 2020). "Civil Rights Law Protects Gay and Transgender Workers, Supreme Court Rules". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 15, 2020.

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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20 June 1975 – The film Jaws is released in the United States, becoming the highest-grossing film of that time and starting the trend of films known as "summer blockbusters".

Jaws (film)

For other uses, see Jaws.

1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg

Jaws is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's 1974 novel of the same name. In the film, a man-eating great white shark attacks beachgoers at a summer resort town, prompting police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) to hunt it with the help of a marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a professional shark hunter (Robert Shaw). Murray Hamilton plays the mayor, and Lorraine Gary portrays Brody's wife. The screenplay is credited to Benchley, who wrote the first drafts, and actor-writer Carl Gottlieb, who rewrote the script during principal photography.

Shot mostly on location on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, Jaws was the first major motion picture to be shot on the ocean, and resultingly had a troubled production, going over budget and past schedule. As the art department's mechanical sharks often malfunctioned, Spielberg decided to mostly suggest the shark's presence, employing an ominous and minimalist theme created by composer John Williams to indicate its impending appearances. Spielberg and others have compared this suggestive approach to that of director Alfred Hitchcock. Universal Pictures gave the film what was then an exceptionally wide release for a major studio picture, on over 450 screens, accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign with a heavy emphasis on television spots and tie-in merchandise.

Frequently considered one of the greatest films ever made, Jaws was the prototypical summer blockbuster, regarded as a watershed moment in motion picture history, and it won several awards for its music and editing. It was the highest-grossing film until the release of Star Wars in 1977. Both films were pivotal in establishing the modern Hollywood business model, which pursues high box-office returns from action and adventure films with simple high-concept premises, released during the summer in thousands of theaters and heavily advertised. Jaws was followed by three sequels, all without Spielberg nor Benchley, and many imitative thrillers. In 2001, it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

1. ^ ^{a b} "Jaws (1975)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
2. ^ "JAWS (A)". British Board of Film Classification. June 12, 1975. Retrieved June 7, 2015.

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21 June 1963 – Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini is elected as Pope Paul VI.

Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI (Latin: Paulus VI; Italian: Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, Italian pronunciation: [dʒoˈvanːi baˈtːista enˈriːko anˈtɔːnjo maˈriːa monˈtiːni]; 26 September 1897 – 6 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in 1978. Succeeding John XXIII, he continued the Second Vatican Council which he closed in 1965, implementing its numerous reforms, and fostered improved ecumenical relations with Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches, which resulted in many historic meetings and agreements.^[8]

Montini served in the Holy See's Secretariat of State from 1922 to 1954. While in the Secretariat of State, Montini and Domenico Tardini were considered as the closest and most influential advisors of Pius XII, who in 1954 named him Archbishop of Milan, the largest Italian diocese. Montini later became the Secretary of the Italian Bishops' Conference. John XXIII elevated him to the College of Cardinals in 1958, and after the death of John XXIII, Montini was considered one of his most likely successors.^[9] Upon his election to the papacy, Montini took the name Paul VI.

He re-convened the Second Vatican Council, which had automatically closed with the death of John XXIII. After the council had concluded its work, Paul VI took charge of the interpretation and implementation of its mandates, often walking a thin line between the conflicting expectations of various groups within Catholicism. The magnitude and depth of the reforms affecting all fields of Church life during his pontificate exceeded similar reform programmes of his predecessors and successors. Paul VI spoke repeatedly to Marian conventions and mariological meetings, visited Marian shrines and issued three Marian encyclicals. Following Ambrose of Milan, he named Mary as the Mother of the Church during the Second Vatican Council.^[10] Paul VI described himself as a humble servant for a suffering humanity and demanded significant changes from the rich in North America and Europe in favour of the poor in the Third World.^[11] His positions on birth control, promulgated famously in the 1968 encyclical Humanae vitae, were often contested, especially in Western Europe and North America. The same opposition emerged in reaction to the political aspects of some of his teaching.

Following the standard procedures that lead to sainthood, Pope Benedict XVI declared that the late pontiff had lived a life of heroic virtue and conferred the title of Venerable upon him on 20 December 2012. Pope Francis beatified him on 19 October 2014 after the recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession. His liturgical feast was celebrated on the date of his birth on 26 September until 2019 when it was changed to the date of his sacerdotal ordination on 29 May. Pope Francis canonised Paul VI on 14 October 2018.

1. ^ "Memory of Blessd Paul VI". Archdiocese of Milan. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
2. ^ "Decreto della Congregazione del Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti sull'iscrizione della celebrazione di San Paolo VI, Papa, nel calendario Romano Generale". Holy See. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
3. ^ "In the Diocese of Milan. A pastoral community dedicated to Paul VI (in Italian)". 1 October 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
4. ^ "About Paul VI, Patron of the Institute". Archdiocese of St. Louis. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
5. ^ "Paul VI Blessed! (in Italian)". Diocese of Brescia. 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
6. ^ "Letter to the diocese for calling a "Montinian Year" (in Italian)" (PDF). Diocese of Brescia. 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
7. ^ "CAPOVILLA, Loris Francesco (1915-)". Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
8. ^ Catholic Church and ecumenism#Since the Second Vatican Council
9. ^ Hebblethwaite 1993, pp. 322–23.
10. ^ Commissio Theologica Internationalis, Catholic Church (21 August 2009). Sharkey, Michael; Weinandy, Thomas (eds.). International Theological Commission, Vol II: 1986-2007. p. 208. ISBN 978-1586172268.
11. ^ 'It's not Easy Being a Christian', says Pope, Rome, IT: Vatican Radio, 11 August 2009, retrieved 19 May 2014

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21 June 1963 – Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini is elected as Pope Paul VI.

Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI (Latin: Paulus VI; Italian: Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, Italian pronunciation: [dʒoˈvanːi baˈtːista enˈriːko anˈtɔːnjo maˈriːa monˈtiːni]; 26 September 1897 – 6 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in 1978. Succeeding John XXIII, he continued the Second Vatican Council which he closed in 1965, implementing its numerous reforms, and fostered improved ecumenical relations with Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches, which resulted in many historic meetings and agreements.^[8]

Montini served in the Holy See's Secretariat of State from 1922 to 1954. While in the Secretariat of State, Montini and Domenico Tardini were considered as the closest and most influential advisors of Pius XII, who in 1954 named him Archbishop of Milan, the largest Italian diocese. Montini later became the Secretary of the Italian Bishops' Conference. John XXIII elevated him to the College of Cardinals in 1958, and after the death of John XXIII, Montini was considered one of his most likely successors.^[9] Upon his election to the papacy, Montini took the name Paul VI.

He re-convened the Second Vatican Council, which had automatically closed with the death of John XXIII. After the council had concluded its work, Paul VI took charge of the interpretation and implementation of its mandates, often walking a thin line between the conflicting expectations of various groups within Catholicism. The magnitude and depth of the reforms affecting all fields of Church life during his pontificate exceeded similar reform programmes of his predecessors and successors. Paul VI spoke repeatedly to Marian conventions and mariological meetings, visited Marian shrines and issued three Marian encyclicals. Following Ambrose of Milan, he named Mary as the Mother of the Church during the Second Vatican Council.^[10] Paul VI described himself as a humble servant for a suffering humanity and demanded significant changes from the rich in North America and Europe in favour of the poor in the Third World.^[11] His positions on birth control, promulgated famously in the 1968 encyclical Humanae vitae, were often contested, especially in Western Europe and North America. The same opposition emerged in reaction to the political aspects of some of his teaching.

Following the standard procedures that lead to sainthood, Pope Benedict XVI declared that the late pontiff had lived a life of heroic virtue and conferred the title of Venerable upon him on 20 December 2012. Pope Francis beatified him on 19 October 2014 after the recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession. His liturgical feast was celebrated on the date of his birth on 26 September until 2019 when it was changed to the date of his sacerdotal ordination on 29 May. Pope Francis canonised Paul VI on 14 October 2018.

1. ^ "Memory of Blessd Paul VI". Archdiocese of Milan. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
2. ^ "Decreto della Congregazione del Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti sull'iscrizione della celebrazione di San Paolo VI, Papa, nel calendario Romano Generale". Holy See. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
3. ^ "In the Diocese of Milan. A pastoral community dedicated to Paul VI (in Italian)". 1 October 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
4. ^ "About Paul VI, Patron of the Institute". Archdiocese of St. Louis. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
5. ^ "Paul VI Blessed! (in Italian)". Diocese of Brescia. 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
6. ^ "Letter to the diocese for calling a "Montinian Year" (in Italian)" (PDF). Diocese of Brescia. 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
7. ^ "CAPOVILLA, Loris Francesco (1915-)". Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
8. ^ Catholic Church and ecumenism#Since the Second Vatican Council
9. ^ Hebblethwaite 1993, pp. 322–23.
10. ^ Commissio Theologica Internationalis, Catholic Church (21 August 2009). Sharkey, Michael; Weinandy, Thomas (eds.). International Theological Commission, Vol II: 1986-2007. p. 208. ISBN 978-1586172268.
11. ^ 'It's not Easy Being a Christian', says Pope, Rome, IT: Vatican Radio, 11 August 2009, retrieved 19 May 2014

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22 June 1990 – Cold War: Checkpoint Charlie is dismantled in Berlin.

Checkpoint Charlie

A view of Checkpoint Charlie in 1963, from the American sector

Map of Berlin Wall with location of Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie (or "Checkpoint C") was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War (1947–1991).

East German leader Walter Ulbricht agitated and maneuvered to get the Soviet Union's permission to construct the Berlin Wall in 1961 to stop emigration and defection westward through the Border system, preventing escape across the city sector border from East Berlin into West Berlin. Checkpoint Charlie became a symbol of the Cold War, representing the separation of East and West. Soviet and American tanks briefly faced each other at the location during the Berlin Crisis of 1961.

After the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc and the reunification of Germany, the building at Checkpoint Charlie became a tourist attraction. It is now located in the Allied Museum in the Dahlem neighborhood of Berlin.

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23 June 2016 – The United Kingdom votes in a referendum to leave the European Union, by 52% to 48%.

[URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_Kingdom_European_Union_membership_referendum[/URL]

 

24 June 1982 – "The Jakarta Incident": British Airways Flight 9 flies into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four engines.

British Airways Flight 9

Aviation accident

British Airways Flight 9, sometimes referred to by its callsign Speedbird 9 or as the Jakarta incident,^[1] was a scheduled British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Auckland, with stops in Bombay, Kuala Lumpur, Perth, and Melbourne.

On 24 June 1982, the route was flown by the City of Edinburgh, a Boeing 747-200. The aircraft flew into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung (approximately 110 miles (180 km) south-east of Jakarta, Indonesia), resulting in the failure of all four engines. The reason for the failure was not immediately apparent to the crew or air traffic control. The aircraft was diverted to Jakarta in the hope that enough engines could be restarted to allow it to land there. The aircraft glided out of the ash cloud, and all engines were restarted (although one failed again soon after), allowing the aircraft to land safely at the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta.

The crew members of the accident segment had boarded the aircraft in Kuala Lumpur, while many of the passengers had been aboard since the flight began in London.^[2]

1. ^ Faith, Nicholas (1998). Black Box. p. 156.
2. ^ Episode "Falling from the Sky" from the TV series Mayday (Air Emergency, Air Crash Investigation) [documentary TV series].

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25 June 1948 – Cold War: The Berlin airlift begins

Berlin Blockade

Blockade on Berlin imposed by the USSR, 1948-1949

"Operation Vittles" redirects here. For the 1948 American short documentary film, see Operation Vittles (film).

The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutsche Mark from West Berlin.

The Western Allies organised the Berlin Airlift (26 June 1948 – 30 September 1949) to carry supplies to the people of West Berlin, a difficult feat given the size of the city's population.^[1][2]

The Americans and British then began a joint operation in support of the entire city. Aircrews from the American, British, French,^[3] Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and South African^[4]:338 air forces flew over 200,000 sorties in one year, providing to the West Berliners necessities such as fuel and food, with the original plan being to lift 3,475 tons of supplies daily. By the spring of 1949, that number was often met twofold, with the peak daily delivery totalling 12,941 tons.^[5] By this time the airlift was clearly succeeding, delivering more cargo than had previously been transported into the city by rail. The Soviets did not disrupt the airlift for fear this might lead to open conflict, even though they far outnumbered the allies in Germany and especially Berlin.^[6][7]

On 12 May 1949, the USSR lifted the blockade of West Berlin, although for a time the Americans and British continued to supply the city by air anyway because they were worried that the Soviets were simply going to resume the blockade and were only trying to disrupt western supply lines. The Berlin Airlift officially ended on 30 September 1949 after fifteen months. The US Air Force had delivered 1,783,573 tons (76.40% of total) and the RAF 541,937 tons (23.30% of total),^{[nb 1]} totalling 2,334,374 tons, nearly two-thirds of which was coal, on 278,228 flights to Berlin.

The C-47s and C-54s together flew over 92 million miles in the process, almost the distance from Earth to the Sun.^[8] At the height of the Airlift, one plane reached West Berlin every thirty seconds.^[9]

Seventeen American and eight British aircraft crashed during the operation. ^[10] A total of 101 fatalities were recorded as a result of the operation, including 40 Britons and 31 Americans,^[9] mostly due to non-flying accidents.

The Berlin Blockade served to highlight the competing ideological and economic visions for postwar Europe and played a major role in drawing West Germany into the NATO orbit several years later in 1955.

1. ^ Journey Across Berlin (1961). Universal Newsreel. 1957. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
2. ^ Air Force Story, The Cold War, 1948–1950 (1953). Universal Newsreel. 1953. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
3. ^ Jacques Bariéty (1994). "La France et la crise internationale du blocus de Berlin". Histoire, économie et société; Volume 13; numéro 1. pp. 29–44. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
4. ^ "5 – National Security". South Africa: a country study. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. 1997. ISBN 0-8444-0796-8.
5. ^ The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008. P 828.
6. ^ Michael Laird, "Wars averted: Chanak 1922, Burma 1945–47, Berlin 1948." The Journal of Strategic Studies (1996) 19#3 pp. 343–64.
7. ^ Tusa, Ann, and John Tusa. The Berlin Airlift. Spellmount Publishers Ltd, 2008.
8. ^ Berlin Airlift: Logistics, Humanitarian Aid, and Strategic Success Archived 16 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Major Gregory C. Tine, Army Logistician
9. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference turner27 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
10. ^ Tunner 1964, p. 218

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

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25 June 1948 – Cold War: The Berlin airlift begins

Berlin Blockade

Blockade on Berlin imposed by the USSR, 1948-1949

"Operation Vittles" redirects here. For the 1948 American short documentary film, see Operation Vittles (film).

The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutsche Mark from West Berlin.

The Western Allies organised the Berlin Airlift (26 June 1948 – 30 September 1949) to carry supplies to the people of West Berlin, a difficult feat given the size of the city's population.^[1][2]

The Americans and British then began a joint operation in support of the entire city. Aircrews from the American, British, French,^[3] Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and South African^[4]:338 air forces flew over 200,000 sorties in one year, providing to the West Berliners necessities such as fuel and food, with the original plan being to lift 3,475 tons of supplies daily. By the spring of 1949, that number was often met twofold, with the peak daily delivery totalling 12,941 tons.^[5] By this time the airlift was clearly succeeding, delivering more cargo than had previously been transported into the city by rail. The Soviets did not disrupt the airlift for fear this might lead to open conflict, even though they far outnumbered the allies in Germany and especially Berlin.^[6][7]

On 12 May 1949, the USSR lifted the blockade of West Berlin, although for a time the Americans and British continued to supply the city by air anyway because they were worried that the Soviets were simply going to resume the blockade and were only trying to disrupt western supply lines. The Berlin Airlift officially ended on 30 September 1949 after fifteen months. The US Air Force had delivered 1,783,573 tons (76.40% of total) and the RAF 541,937 tons (23.30% of total),^{[nb 1]} totalling 2,334,374 tons, nearly two-thirds of which was coal, on 278,228 flights to Berlin.

The C-47s and C-54s together flew over 92 million miles in the process, almost the distance from Earth to the Sun.^[8] At the height of the Airlift, one plane reached West Berlin every thirty seconds.^[9]

Seventeen American and eight British aircraft crashed during the operation. ^[10] A total of 101 fatalities were recorded as a result of the operation, including 40 Britons and 31 Americans,^[9] mostly due to non-flying accidents.

The Berlin Blockade served to highlight the competing ideological and economic visions for postwar Europe and played a major role in drawing West Germany into the NATO orbit several years later in 1955.

1. ^ Journey Across Berlin (1961). Universal Newsreel. 1957. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
2. ^ Air Force Story, The Cold War, 1948–1950 (1953). Universal Newsreel. 1953. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
3. ^ Jacques Bariéty (1994). "La France et la crise internationale du blocus de Berlin". Histoire, économie et société; Volume 13; numéro 1. pp. 29–44. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
4. ^ "5 – National Security". South Africa: a country study. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. 1997. ISBN 0-8444-0796-8.
5. ^ The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008. P 828.
6. ^ Michael Laird, "Wars averted: Chanak 1922, Burma 1945–47, Berlin 1948." The Journal of Strategic Studies (1996) 19#3 pp. 343–64.
7. ^ Tusa, Ann, and John Tusa. The Berlin Airlift. Spellmount Publishers Ltd, 2008.
8. ^ Berlin Airlift: Logistics, Humanitarian Aid, and Strategic Success Archived 16 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Major Gregory C. Tine, Army Logistician
9. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference turner27 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
10. ^ Tunner 1964, p. 218

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

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