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On this day June 24

2013


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

2012


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

2010


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

2010


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

2004


In New York, capital punishment is declared unconstitutional.

2002


The Igandu train disaster in Tanzania kills 281, the worst train accident in African history.

1995


"Rugby World Cup final": South Africa defeats New Zealand, Nelson Mandela presents Francois Pienaar with the Webb-Ellis trophy in an iconic post-apartheid moment.

1989


Jiang Zemin succeeds Zhao Ziyang to become the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

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.

1981


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

1973


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

1963


The United Kingdom grants Zanzibar internal self-government.

1957


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

1954


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

1950


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

1949


The first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, is aired on NBC starring William Boyd.

1948


Start of the Berlin Blockade: The Soviet Union makes overland travel between West Germany and West Berlin impossible.

1947


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

1943


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

1940


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

1939


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

1938


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

1932


A bloodless revolution instigated by the People's Party ends the absolute power of King Prajadhipok of Siam (now Thailand).

1922


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

1918


First airmail service in Canada from Montreal to Toronto.

1916


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

1913


Greece and Serbia annul their alliance with Bulgaria.

1902


King Edward VII of the United Kingdom develops appendicitis, delaying his coronation.

1894


Marie François Sadi Carnot is assassinated by Sante Geronimo Caserio.

1880


First performance of O Canada, the song that would become the national anthem of Canada, at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français.

1866


Battle of Custoza: An Austrian army defeats the Italian army during the Austro-Prussian War.

1859


Battle of Solferino (Battle of the Three Sovereigns): Sardinia and France defeat Austria in Solferino, northern Italy.

1821


The Battle of Carabobo takes place. It is the decisive battle in the war of independence of Venezuela from Spain.

1813


Battle of Beaver Dams: A British and Indian combined force defeats the United States Army.

1812


Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon's Grande Armée crosses the Neman river beginning the invasion of Russia.

1793


The first Republican constitution in France is adopted.

1779


American Revolutionary War: The Great Siege of Gibraltar begins.

1762


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

1717


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

1622


Battle of Macau: The Dutch attempt but fail to capture Macau.

1604


Samuel de Champlain discovers the mouth of the Saint John River, site of Reversing Falls and the present day city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.

1597


The first Dutch voyage to the East Indies reaches Banten, Java.[citation needed]

1571


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

1535


The Anabaptist state of Münster is conquered and disbanded.

1509


Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon are crowned King and Queen of England.

1497


John Cabot lands in North America at Newfoundland leading the first European exploration of the region since the Vikings.

1374


A sudden outbreak of St. John's Dance causes people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse from exhaustion.

1340


Hundred Years' War: Battle of Sluys: The French fleet is almost completely destroyed by the English fleet commanded in person by King Edward III.

1314


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

1230


The Siege of Jaén started in the context of the Spanish Reconquista.

1128


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

972


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

637


The Battle of Moira is fought between the High King of Ireland and the Kings of Ulster and Dál Riata. It is claimed to be the largest battle in the history of Ireland.

474


Julius Nepos forces Roman usurper Glycerius to abdicate the throne and proclaims himself Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

109


Roman emperor Trajan inaugurates the Aqua Traiana, an aqueduct that channels water from Lake Bracciano, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north-west of Rome.

217 BC


The Romans, led by Gaius Flaminius, are ambushed and defeated by Hannibal at the Battle of Lake Trasimene.

1312 BC


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

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