This Week in History

Here is a list of events that occurred on the following dates.

• June 21, 1791:  During the French Revolution, Louis XVI and his family attempted to escape from France (their attempt being known as the Flight to Varennes).  However, they were unsuccessful in doing so.
• June 21, 1964:  Civil Rights activists Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner were murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan in Neshoba County, Mississippi.  Edgar Ray Killen, who had been unsuccessfully prosecuted for the murders, was convicted of manslaughter on the same date in 2005.  
• June 22, 1812:  France invaded Russia, an invasion that would prove to be disastrous.
• June 22, 1870:  Congress established the Department of Justice.
• June 22, 1940:  The French are forced to sign the Second Compiegne armistice with Germany, which took place in the same railroad car where the Armistice of 1918 was signed.
• June 22, 1941:  Operation Barbarossa- Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
• June 22, 1942:  Congress adopted the Pledge of Allegiance.
• June 22, 1969:  The Cuyahoga River caught fire due to pollution.  This catastrophe resulted in the passage of the Clean Water Act and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
• June 22, 2025:  The United States launched airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
• June 23-24, 1314:  The Battle of Bannockburn took place between England and Scotland.
• June 23, 1757:  The Battle of Plassey took place in Plassey, India, where 3,000 British soldiers defeated an Indian army of 50,000.
• June 23, 1860:  Congress established the Government Printing Office.
• June 23, 1926:  The first SAT Exam is administered.
• June 23, 1961:  The Antarctic Treaty System, which declares Antarctica to be a scientific preserve and limits military activity on the continent, went into effect.
• June 23, 1969:  Warren Burger was sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
• June 23, 2016:  Brexit took place, in which the United Kingdom left the European Union. 
• June 24, 1497:  John Cabot landed on the shores of Newfoundland.
• June 24, 1948:  The Soviet Union implemented the Berlin Blockade.
• June 24, 2013:  Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was convicted of abusing his authority and having sex with a teenage prostitute.  
• June 24, 2022:  In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the United States Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
• June 25, 1876:  The Battle of Little Bighorn took place, in which the 7th Cavalry Regiment led by George Armstrong Custer was defeated by a larger force of Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.
• June 25, 1910:  Congress passed the Mann Act, outlawing the interstate transport of women and girls for the purpose of prostitution.
• June 25, 1947:  The Diary of a Young Girl (a.k.a. The Diary of Anne Frank) was published.
• June 25, 1950:  North Korea invaded South Korea, thus setting off the Korean War.
• June 25, 1991:  Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence from Yugoslavia, thus leading to the dissolution of that nation.
• June 25, 1996:  The Khobar Towers are bombed by Islamic extremists, resulting in the deaths of 19 American servicemen.
• June 26, 1945:  The United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco.
• June 26, 1948:  Shirley Jackson’s short story The Lottery was published.
• June 26, 1963:  John F. Kennedy gave his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech.
• June 26, 1997:  J.K. Rowling’s book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (the first of her books in the series) was published.  
• June 26, 2015:  The United States Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to get married.
• June 27, 1844:  Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church, and his brother Hyrum Smith were killed by angry mob in Carthage, Illinois.
• June 27, 2024:  A debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump took place, and Biden’s poor performance resulted in him withdrawing from the 2024 Presidential Election.