June 1

Historic Events

2015

A ship carrying 458 people capsizes in the Yangtze river in China's Hubei province, killing 442 people. ›

2011

A rare tornado outbreak occurs in New England; a strong EF3 tornado strikes Springfield, Massachusetts, during the event, killing four people. ›

2011

Space Shuttle Endeavour makes its final landing after 25 flights. ›

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. ›

2009

General Motors files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is the fourth largest United States bankruptcy in history. ›

2008

A fire on the back lot of Universal Studios breaks out, destroying the attraction King Kong Encounter and a large archive of master tapes for music and film, the full extent of which was not revealed until 2019. ›

2007

Cyclone Gonu develops from an area of convection in the Arabian Sea, becoming the worst recorded natural disaster in Oman. ›

2004

Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols is sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole. ›

2001

Nepalese royal massacre: Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal shoots and kills several members of his family including his father and mother. ›

2001

Dolphinarium discotheque massacre: A Hamas suicide bomber kills 21 at a disco in Tel Aviv. ›

1999

American Airlines Flight 1420 slides and crashes while landing at Little Rock National Airport, killing 11 people on a flight from Dallas to Little Rock. ›

1994

Republic of South Africa becomes a republic in the Commonwealth of Nations. ›

1993

Dobrinja mortar attack: Thirteen are killed and 133 wounded when Serb mortar shells are fired at a soccer game in Dobrinja, west of Sarajevo. ›

1990

Cold War: George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production. ›

1988

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty comes into effect. ›

1980

Cable News Network (CNN) begins broadcasting. ›

1979

The first black-led government of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 90 years takes power. ›

1978

The first international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty are filed. ›

1976

Aeroflot Flight 418 crashes in Bioko, Equatorial Guinea, killing 46. ›

1975

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded by Jalal Talabani, Nawshirwan Mustafa, Fuad Masum and others. ›

1974

The Heimlich maneuver for rescuing choking victims is published in the journal Emergency Medicine. ›

1962

Adolf Eichmann, former SS officer in Nazi Germany, is hanged in Israel for having committed crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other offenses. ›

1961

The Canadian Bank of Commerce and Imperial Bank of Canada merge to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the largest bank merger in Canadian history. ›

1958

Charles de Gaulle comes out of retirement to lead France by decree for six months. ›

1951

Washington State Ferries, the largest ferry system in the United States, begins operation under state ownership after a buyout of the Puget Sound Navigation Company. ›

1950

The Declaration of Conscience speech, by U.S. Senator from Maine, Margaret Chase Smith, is delivered in response to Joseph R. McCarthy's speech at Wheeling, West Virginia. ›

1950

The Chinchaga fire ignites. By September, it would become the largest single fire on record in North America. ›

1946

Ion Antonescu, "Conducator" ("Leader") of Romania during World War II, is executed. ›

1943

BOAC Flight 777 is shot down over the Bay of Biscay by German Junkers Ju 88s, killing British actor Leslie Howard and leading to speculation that it was actually an attempt to kill British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. ›

1941

World War II: The Battle of Crete ends as Crete capitulates to Germany. ›

1941

The Farhud, a massive pogrom in Iraq, starts and as a result, many Iraqi Jews are forced to leave their homes. ›

1939

First flight of the German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft. ›

1929

The 1st Conference of the Communist Parties of Latin America is held in Buenos Aires. ›

1922

The Royal Ulster Constabulary is founded. ›

1919

Prohibition comes into force in Finland. ›

1918

World War I: Western Front: Battle of Belleau Wood: Allied Forces under John J. Pershing and James Harbord engage Imperial German Forces under Wilhelm, German Crown Prince. ›

1916

The United States Senate confirms the appointment of Louis Brandeis to the United States Supreme Court, making him the first Jew to be an Associate Justice. ›

1913

The Greek–Serbian Treaty of Alliance is signed, paving the way for the Second Balkan War. ›

1890

The United States Census Bureau begins using Herman Hollerith's tabulating machine to count census returns. ›

1879

Napoléon Eugène, the last dynastic Bonaparte, is killed in the Anglo-Zulu War. ›

1868

The Treaty of Bosque Redondo is signed, allowing the Navajo to return to their lands in Arizona and New Mexico. ›

1862

American Civil War: Peninsula Campaign: The Battle of Seven Pines (or the Battle of Fair Oaks) ends inconclusively, with both sides claiming victory. ›

1861

American Civil War: The Battle of Fairfax Court House is fought. ›

1857

Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du mal is published. ›

1857

The Revolution of the Ganhadores begins in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. ›

1855

The American adventurer William Walker conquers Nicaragua. ›

1854

Åland War: The British navy destroys merchant ships and about 16,000 tar barrels of the wholesale stocks area in Oulu, Grand Duchy of Finland. ›

1849

Territorial Governor Alexander Ramsey declared the Territory of Minnesota officially established. ›

1831

James Clark Ross becomes the first European at the North Magnetic Pole. ›

1815

Napoleon promulgates a revised Constitution after it passes a plebiscite. ›

1813

Capture of USS Chesapeake. ›

1812

War of 1812: U.S. President James Madison asks the Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom. ›

1796

Tennessee is admitted as the 16th state of the United States. ›

1794

The battle of the Glorious First of June is fought, the first naval engagement between Britain and France during the French Revolutionary Wars. ›

1792

Kentucky is admitted as the 15th state of the United States. ›

1779

The court-martial for malfeasance of Benedict Arnold, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, begins. ›

1773

Wolraad Woltemade rescues 14 sailors at the Cape of Good Hope from the sinking ship De Jonge Thomas by riding his horse into the sea seven times. Both he and his horse, Vonk, are drowned on his eighth attempt. ›

1679

The Scottish Covenanters defeat John Graham of Claverhouse at the Battle of Drumclog. ›

1676

Battle of Öland: allied Danish-Dutch forces defeat the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea, during the Scanian War (1675–79). ›

1670

In Dover, England, Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France sign the Secret Treaty of Dover, which will force England into the Third Anglo-Dutch War. ›

1649

Start of the Sumuroy Revolt: Filipinos in Northern Samar led by Agustin Sumuroy revolt against Spanish colonial authorities. ›

1648

The Roundheads defeat the Cavaliers at the Battle of Maidstone in the Second English Civil War. ›

1535

Combined forces loyal to Charles V attack and expel the Ottomans from Tunis during the Conquest of Tunis. ›

1533

Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen of England. ›

1494

A monk, John Cor, records the first known batch of Scotch whisky. ›

1412

The Treaty of Lubowla between the kingdoms of Hungary and Poland is confirmed with one of the largest and magnificent royal meetings and feasts ever held in Buda. King Sigismund of Hungary host king Władysław II Jagiełło while several thousand nobles attend. ›

1298

Residents of Riga and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeat the Livonian Order in the Battle of Turaida. ›

1252

Alfonso X is proclaimed king of Castile and León. ›

193

The Roman Senate passes a motion proclaiming Septimius Severus emperor, awards divine honours to Pertinax, and sentences current emperor Didius Julianus to death. ›