2023: The Wagner Group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin launches an insurrection against the Russian government.
2022: In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Constitution does not assign the authority to regulate abortions to the federal government, thereby returning such authority to the individual states. This overturns the prior decisions in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).
2021: The Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida suffers a sudden partial collapse, killing 98 people inside.
2013: Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is found guilty of abusing his power and engaging in sex with an underage prostitute, and is sentenced to seven years in prison.
2012: Death of Lonesome George, the last known individual of Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii, a subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise.
2010: At Wimbledon, John Isner of the United States defeats Nicolas Mahut of France, in the longest match in professional tennis history.
2010: Julia Gillard assumes office as the first female Prime Minister of Australia.
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: South Africa defeats New Zealand and Nelson Mandela presents Francois Pienaar with the Webb Ellis Cup in an iconic post-apartheid moment.
1994: A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress crashes at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Washington, killing four.
1989: Jiang Zemin succeeds Zhao Ziyang to become the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.
1982: “The Jakarta Incident”: British Airways Flight 009 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 remained the world’s longest bridge span for 17 years.
1975: Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 encounters severe wind shear and crashes on final approach to New York’s JFK Airport killing 113 of the 124 passengers on board, making it the deadliest U.S. plane crash at the time. This accident led to decades of research into downburst and microburst phenomena and their effects on aircraft.
Famous Births 👶
2005: Fran González, Spanish footballer
2004: Erika Andreeva, Russian tennis player
2004: Luke Chambers, English footballer
1999: Darwin Núñez, Uruguayan footballer
1996: Duki, Argentinian rapper
1996: Marcus Coco, Guadeloupean footballer
1992: David Alaba, Austrian footballer
1991: Yasmin Paige, English actress
1991: Aidan Sezer, Australian rugby league player
1990: Michael Del Zotto, Canadian ice hockey player
1990: Richard Sukuta-Pasu, German footballer
1989: Teklemariam Medhin, Eritrean runner
1988: Micah Richards, English footballer
1988: Nichkhun, Thai-American singer and actor
1987: Simona Dobrá, Czech tennis player
Notable Deaths 🕊️
2025: Bobby Sherman, American singer-songwriter and actor (born 1943)
2024: Shifty Shellshock, American vocalist (born 1974)
2021: Benigno Aquino III, 15th President of the Philippines (born 1960)
2021: Trần Thiện Khiêm, 7th Prime Minister of South Vietnam and army officer (born 1925)
2015: Cristiano Araújo, Brazilian singer-songwriter (born 1986)
2015: Mario Biaggi, American police officer, politician and criminal (born 1917)
2015: Marva Collins, American author and educator (born 1936)
2015: Susan Ahn Cuddy, American lieutenant (born 1915)
2014: John Clement, Canadian lawyer and politician (born 1928)
2014: Marilyn Fisher Lundy, American businesswoman (born 1925)
2014: Olga Kotelko, Canadian runner and softball player (born 1919)
2014: Ramón José Velásquez, Venezuelan journalist, lawyer, and politician, President of Venezuela (born 1916)
2014: Eli Wallach, American actor (born 1915)
2013: Mick Aston, English archaeologist and academic (born 1946)
2013: Emilio Colombo, Italian politician, 40th Prime Minister of Italy (born 1920)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
Army Day or Battle of Carabobo Day (Venezuela)
Bannockburn Day (Scotland)
Christian feast day:
María Guadalupe García Zavala
Christian feast day:
Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Christian feast day:
June 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Day of the Caboclo (Amazonas, Brazil)
Inti Raymi, a winter solstice festival and a New Year in the Andes of the Southern Hemisphere (Sacsayhuamán)
St John’s Day and the second day of the Midsummer celebrations (although this is not the astronomical summer solstice, see June 20) (Roman Catholic Church, Europe), and its related observances:
Enyovden (Bulgaria)
St John’s Day and the second day of the Midsummer celebrations (although this is not the astronomical summer solstice, see June 20) (Roman Catholic Church, Europe), and its related observances:
Catalan Countries National Day (Andorra, Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Northern Catalonia, Valencia)
St John’s Day and the second day of the Midsummer celebrations (although this is not the astronomical summer solstice, see June 20) (Roman Catholic Church, Europe), and its related observances:
Jaanipäev (Estonia)
St John’s Day and the second day of the Midsummer celebrations (although this is not the astronomical summer solstice, see June 20) (Roman Catholic Church, Europe), and its related observances:
Jāņi (Latvia)
St John’s Day and the second day of the Midsummer celebrations (although this is not the astronomical summer solstice, see June 20) (Roman Catholic Church, Europe), and its related observances:
Jónsmessa (Iceland)
St John’s Day and the second day of the Midsummer celebrations (although this is not the astronomical summer solstice, see June 20) (Roman Catholic Church, Europe), and its related observances:
Midsummer Day (England)
St John’s Day and the second day of the Midsummer celebrations (although this is not the astronomical summer solstice, see June 20) (Roman Catholic Church, Europe), and its related observances:
Saint Jonas’ Festival or Joninės (Lithuania)
St John’s Day and the second day of the Midsummer celebrations (although this is not the astronomical summer solstice, see June 20) (Roman Catholic Church, Europe), and its related observances:
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (Quebec)
