South African politician, 23rd President of South Africa
American journalist, critic, screenwriter
French tennis player
German sociologist, philosopher
English singer-songwriter, musician, producer
Russian general
Portuguese author, Nobel Prize laureate
Norwegian explorer
American baseball player
American journalist, author
In June 1812, the United States declared war against Britain due to tensions over trade restrictions, impressment of American sailors, and British support of Native American tribes in the west. The war lasted for over two years, with several notable battles including the burning of Washington D.C. and the Battle of New Orleans. The Treaty of Ghent, signed on December 24, 1814, ended the war and restored pre-war borders.
The Battle of Waterloo, fought on June 18, 1815, was Napoleon Bonaparte's last battle. His French forces were defeated by British forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington and Prussian troops under Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. This defeat marked the end of Napoleon's reign and led to his exile to Saint Helena, where he died six years later.
On June 17-18, 1928, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. She flew from Newfoundland, Canada to Burry Port, Wales in a red Fokker F.VIIb/3m named "Friendship." This achievement brought Earhart international fame and she continued to break aviation records throughout her career.
On June 18, 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave his famous speech to the House of Commons, known as "Their Finest Hour." The speech urged the British people to persevere in the face of the Dunkirk evacuation and the fall of France to Nazi Germany. The speech is considered one of Churchill's most powerful and inspiring speeches.
In June 1948, Columbia Records introduced the 33⅓ rpm microgroove vinyl Long Playing (LP) record, which became the standard medium for the music industry. The LP allowed for a total playing time of 20 minutes per side, revolutionizing the way music was recorded and sold.
On June 18, 1972, a Hawker Siddeley Trident aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from London Heathrow Airport, killing all 118 people on board. The cause of the crash was determined to be a deep stall, which occurs when an aircraft's angle of attack is too high and the wings lose lift.
In June 1979, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and US President Jimmy Carter signed the second Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II) agreement. The treaty aimed to limit the number of nuclear weapons each country could possess and marked a significant step towards arms reduction and détente during the Cold War.
In 618, the Chinese governor Li Yuan was crowned as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, marking the start of three centuries of Tang Dynasty rule over China. Gaozu's reign was characterized by political and social reforms, including the establishment of a centralized bureaucracy and the adoption of Buddhism as a state religion.
In 1812, the United States declared war against Britain, citing issues such as trade restrictions and British support for Native American resistance against American expansion. The war was fought primarily in North America and ended in a stalemate, with both sides agreeing to revert to pre-war boundaries. However, the war had significant impacts on American nationalism and foreign relations.