A medieval depiction of a fortification being assaulted

The siege of Breteuil was the investment of the Norman town of Breteuil, held by partisans of Charles II, King of Navarre, by French forces between April and about 20 August 1356. It was interrupted on 5 July when a small English army relieved and resupplied the town. The French king, John II, attempted to bring the English to battle, but they evaded him and the siege was renewed. The French attracted praise for the splendour and high status of many of the participants, but made little progress as the town was well-garrisoned and stocked with food for a year. Attempts to mine under the walls were to no avail. In August a large mobile siege tower was pushed up to the walls and an assault launched, but the tower was set on fire and the attack repulsed with many casualties. Taking Breteuil became a matter of prestige for John and he refused to take the army south to face a major English offensive. Eventually the garrison was given free passage and a huge bribe to persuade them to depart. (Full article...)

Douglas at the 2016 Olympic Games

• ... that gymnast Gabby Douglas (pictured) has a Barbie doll modeled after her?
• ... that one of former British prime minister Rishi Sunak's favourite books is the 1988 romance Rivals?
• ... that when Matthew Wild directed Wagner's Tannhäuser, he made its main character gay?
• ... that after a tornado strike at a St. Louis–area Amazon warehouse killed six workers, the rebuilt warehouse still had no proper storm shelter?
• ... that Jamaican-Welsh noblewoman Justina Jeffreys was the inspiration for the character of Anthelia in the 1817 novel Melincourt?
• ... that Grand Theft Auto V is a popular video game in North Korea?
• ... that Frank Page's sons stole his corpse after he died, leaving their stepmother to bury an empty casket?
• ... that following the sinking of HNLMS Kortenaer, an officer responded to ethnic tensions on the lifeboats by beating his subordinates with a paddle?
• ... that after playing just one game, Michael Basinger retired from the NFL and became a country music performer?

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

• Astronomers announce the discovery of 3I/ATLAS (pictured), an interstellar object passing through the Solar System.
• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile releases the first light images from its new 8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.
• In basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals.
• An attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, kills at least 25 people.
• The United States conducts military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.

July 5: Fifth of July in New York

Coat of arms of the Regency of Algiers

• 1830 – Algiers surrendered to French invaders, ending the Regency of Algiers (coat of arms pictured).
• 1937 – The Hormel Foods Corporation introduced Spam, the canned precooked meat product that would eventually enter into pop culture, folklore, and urban legend.
• 1922 – Brazilian Army rebels took over Fort Copacabana and launched a rebellion in Rio de Janeiro against President Epitácio Pessoa and President-elect Artur Bernardes.
• 1950 – Korean War: In the first encounter between North Korean and American forces, an unprepared and undisciplined U.S. Army task force was routed at the Battle of Osan.
• 1990 – An explosion at a petrochemical plant in Channelview, Texas, killed 17 people and injured five others.

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George Washington was a Founding Father and the first president of the United States. Born in Virginia, he opposed the perceived oppression of the American colonists by the British Crown and was commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. After being forced to retreat from New York City, he crossed the Delaware River and won the battles of Trenton and Princeton. Washington led a decisive victory at Yorktown, then served as president of the Constitutional Convention that drafted the US Constitution. As president, he set precedents for the office of president, such as republicanism, a peaceful transition, and the two-term tradition. Washington owned many slaves but opposed the practice near the end of his life. His image is an icon of American culture and he has been extensively memorialized. In both popular and scholarly polls, he is consistently considered one of the greatest presidents in American history. (Full article...)

Douglas at the 2016 Olympic Games

• ... that gymnast Gabby Douglas (pictured) has a Barbie doll modeled after her?
• ... that one of former British prime minister Rishi Sunak's favourite books is the 1988 romance Rivals?
• ... that when Matthew Wild directed Wagner's Tannhäuser, he made its main character gay?
• ... that after a tornado strike at a St. Louis-area Amazon warehouse killed six workers, the rebuilt warehouse still had no proper storm shelter?
• ... that Jamaican-Welsh noblewoman Justina Jeffreys was the inspiration for the character of Anthelia in the 1817 novel Melincourt?
• ... that Grand Theft Auto V is a popular video game in North Korea?
• ... that Frank Page's sons stole his corpse after he died, leaving their stepmother to bury an empty casket?
• ... that following the sinking of HNLMS Kortenaer, an officer responded to ethnic tensions on the lifeboats by beating his subordinates with a paddle?
• ... that after playing just one game, Michael Basinger retired from the NFL and became a country music performer?

Trifid and Lagoon nebulae

• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile releases the first light images (example shown) from its new 8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.
• In basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals.
• An attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, kills at least 25 people.
• The United States conducts military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
• In rugby union, the Crusaders defeat the Chiefs to win the Super Rugby Pacific final.

July 4: Independence Day in the United States (1776); Republic Day in the Philippines (1946); Liberation Day in Rwanda (1994)

The Brazilian cruiser Bahia

• 1837 – The Grand Junction Railway, the world's first long-distance railway with steam traction, opened between Birmingham and Newton Junction.
• 1918 – World War I: Allied forces led by the Australian general John Monash won the Battle of Hamel, demonstrating the effectiveness of combined-arms techniques in trench warfare.
• 1941 – German AB-Aktion in Poland: After capturing Lwów, the Nazis executed professors of the University of Lwów along with their families.
• 1945 – The Brazilian cruiser Bahia (pictured) was accidentally sunk by one of its own crewmen, killing more than 300 people.
• 1998 – The monster movie Pulgasari, the most-widely-seen North Korean film ever made, premiered in Tokyo, Japan.

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Happy Feet was an emperor penguin who, in June 2011, arrived at Peka Peka Beach in New Zealand's North Island after travelling about 3,200 kilometres (2,000 mi) from Antarctica. He was one of the northernmost emperor penguins ever recorded outside of captivity and the second emperor penguin to have been found in New Zealand. After arriving, he ingested sand on the beach, mistaking it for snow, and filled his stomach with it. He soon became unwell and was transported to Wellington Zoo, where he was given a 50 per cent chance of survival. Most of the sand was removed and he was kept at the zoo to recover. Happy Feet was released in the Southern Ocean on 4 September 2011. He was fitted with a satellite transmitter to track his location; this ceased transmission on 9 September, possibly due to the transmitter falling off or the penguin being preyed upon. Happy Feet's arrival and recovery attracted worldwide media coverage. He was named after the 2006 film Happy Feet. (Full article...)

Sylvilagus nuttallii

• ... that the mountain cottontail (pictured) is abundant in the Hanford Site, a decommissioned nuclear production complex?
• ... that the YouTuber behind Stop Killing Games compared video-game publishers shutting down online-only games to silent-era film studios "burning their own films ... to recover the silver content"?
• ... that 17-year-old José Segundo Decoud helped to convince Antonio Estigarribia to surrender during the siege of Uruguaiana?
• ... that nucleariid amoebae are among the closest relatives of fungi?
• ... that a Thompson Seattle rooftop bar distributes drinks from copper containers shaped like flamingos?
• ... that one of the priority programmes announced by Supian Suri as mayor of Depok involved repairing school toilets?
• ... that a New Jersey TV station claimed that potential advertisers were "hostile" to efforts to encourage them to air commercials?
• ... that surgeon Stuart Stanton popularised an operation for stress incontinence?
• ... that Cybersocket, Inc., started by repackaging public domain information into a niche paperback guide to gay pornographic sites?

Trifid and Lagoon nebulae

• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile releases the first light images (example shown) from its new 8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.
• In basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals.
• An attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, kills at least 25 people.
• The United States conducts military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
• In rugby union, the Crusaders defeat the Chiefs to win the Super Rugby Pacific final.

July 3

The 2017 Boundary Fire

• 1810 – Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811: A French frigate squadron under Guy-Victor Duperré defeated a convoy of three British East Indiamen near the Comoro Islands.
• 1970 – The Troubles: The British Army began the Falls Curfew in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which resulted in greater Irish republican resistance.
• 1988 – The US Navy warship Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.
• 2005 – Same-sex marriage became legal in Spain with the coming into effect of a law passed by the Cortes Generales.
• 2017 – In Arizona, the Boundary Fire (pictured) burned out after 32 days, burning 17,788 acres (7,199 ha) of the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests.

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Paul Creston

The Sonata for E♭ Alto Saxophone and Piano, Op. 19, was composed by Paul Creston (pictured) in 1939. The sonata was commissioned by Creston's frequent collaborator, the American saxophonist Cecil Leeson. Creston began composition by June; it was completed by the end of August and slated for publication in 1940, although this was postponed to 1945 due to World War II. The sonata is in three movements and takes around thirteen minutes to perform. Its form follows a traditional, Classical-era structure. The sonata as a whole is of considerable difficulty for both players. Creston and Leeson premiered the sonata at the Carnegie Chamber Hall on February 15, 1940. No critics were present at the premiere, but the sonata's 1955 debut recording by Vincent Abato and Creston received a mixed response. Most found the sonata enjoyable, but there was criticism of a perceived simplistic and salon-like styling. (Full article...)

Harpagofututor

• ... that male fish in the subclass Holocephali (pictured) often have special organs on top of their head that are used to grasp females while mating?
• ... that Simmie Knox was recommended to paint the official White House portraits of Hillary and Bill Clinton by Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
• ... that My Schizophrenic Life concludes by its author realizing her illness is not a "life sentence"?
• ... that although he was only active for three games with them, NFL player Dick Capp made a play that helped his team win the Super Bowl?
• ... that a Christian army was allegedly saved from a fire when Archbishop Robert I of Nazareth raised the True Cross against the flames?
• ... that in 1956 a brand new Swissair plane crashed on delivery?
• ... that the colour of Rockbank railway station's pedestrian bridge represents the earth surrounding the station?
• ... that Windsor-style pizza features shredded pepperoni and canned mushrooms?
• ... that Liquid Glass was criticised for being too transparent?

Trifid and Lagoon nebulae

• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile releases the first light images (example shown) from its new 8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.
• In basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals.
• An attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, kills at least 25 people.
• The United States conducts military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
• In rugby union, the Crusaders defeat the Chiefs to win the Super Rugby Pacific final.

July 2

A demonstration against the Soviet blockade of Lithuania

• 1779 – American Revolutionary War: French troops landed near St. George's, Grenada, and began their capture of the island.
• 1990 – Singing Revolution: The Soviet economic blockade of Lithuania (pictured) was lifted when the Lithuanian parliament agreed to suspend the effects of their act to re-establish Lithuania as a state.
• 1998 – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling, the second novel of the Harry Potter series, was published.
• 2013 – In the Indonesian province of Aceh on the northern end of Sumatra, a M_w 6.1 strike-slip earthquake killed at least 35 people and injured 276 others.
• 2020 – A landslide at a jade mine in Hpakant killed 175–200 miners, the deadliest mining accident in Burmese history.

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Bottled maple syrup

Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple or black maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in the spring. Trees can be tapped by boring holes into their trunks and collecting the sap. This is processed by heating to evaporate some of the water, leaving the concentrated syrup. Maple syrup was first collected and used by the Indigenous people of North America; the practice was adopted by European settlers. Quebec, Canada, is by far the largest producer, making about three-quarters of the world's output. The syrup is graded based on its density and translucency. Maple syrup is often eaten as an accompaniment to food, as an ingredient in baking and as a sweetener and flavouring agent. Maple syrup and the sugar maple tree are symbols of Canada and several US states, in particular Vermont. (Full article...)

Jean-Baptiste Belley

• ... that in 1793, Jean-Baptiste Belley (pictured), a former black slave, was elected as a deputy to the French National Convention?
• ... that "Seigfried" by Frank Ocean credits all four Beatles as songwriters?
• ... that the McKenzie & Willis Store was demolished after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, but its facade was kept and restored?
• ... that Suzy Knickerbocker called James Ross Mellon one of the world's most eligible bachelors?
• ... that a 44-point comeback in a 2024 semi-final was the Australian Football League's largest semifinal comeback ever?
• ... that Alena Veselá, at age 101, was present at the cornerstone ceremony for a new concert hall in Brno, which she had promoted for decades?
• ... that residents of the Acres hired Frank Lloyd Wright to design their houses, but eventually lost patience with him over his approach to the project?
• ... that artist Agnes Gallus fled Hungary for Canada during the 1956 revolution?
• ... that a single horsehair helped solve the murder of Nancy Titterton?

Trifid and Lagoon nebulae

• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile releases the first light images (example shown) from its new 8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.
• In basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals.
• An attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, kills at least 25 people.
• The United States conducts military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
• In rugby union, the Crusaders defeat the Chiefs to win the Super Rugby Pacific final.

July 1: Canada Day (1867)

Sack of Lunenburg

• 1782 – American Revolutionary War: Five American privateer vessels raided the British settlement at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (depicted).
• 1935 – The first Grant Park Music Festival was held in Chicago's Grant Park.
• 1940 – Second World War: The Grand Quartier Général of the French Army was disbanded, following the French surrender.
• 1960 – Ghana became a republic, with Kwame Nkrumah as its first president.
• 1970 – The Belfast Banking Company, which issued banknotes in Northern Ireland, merged with its rival Northern Bank.

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Painting of a princess, most likely Pari Khan Khanum

Pari Khan Khanum (1548–1578) was a Safavid princess, the daughter of the second Safavid shah, Tahmasp I, and of his Circassian consort, Sultan-Agha Khanum. Pari Khan played a central role in the succession crisis after her father's death in 1576. She thwarted the plans of her brother Haydar Mirza and enthroned her favoured brother, Ismail Mirza, as Ismail II. Instead of gratitude, she received restrictions and house arrest, and may have been behind his death in 1577. She endorsed her brother Mohammad Khodabanda, who was almost blind, expecting to rule behind the scenes, but his wife, Khayr al-Nisa Begum, emerged as a rival and procured her killing. Regarded as the most powerful woman in Safavid history, Pari Khan was able to dominate the ineffective Safavid court in a society that imposed harsh restrictions on high-class women. Praised by her contemporaries for her intelligence, in later chronicles she was portrayed as a villain who murdered two brothers and tried to usurp the throne. (Full article...)

Khachkars at Aprank Monastery

• ... that the monumental khachkars (pictured) at Aprank Monastery can be seen from eight kilometres (five miles) away?
• ... that ducks, an owl, a horse and a baby were utilized for the opening scene of a Doctor Who episode?
• ... that despite winning Australia's top literary prize, The Hand That Signed the Paper has since been labelled a hoax?
• ... that an Oregon TV station planned to be off the air for two to four weeks to complete a move—but did not fully return to air for nearly two years?
• ... that the Academy of Music was the name of three different theaters located on the same property on the Atlantic City Boardwalk which were all destroyed by fires?
• ... that Taylor Swift did not contact the family of actress Clara Bow before releasing a song about her?
• ... that Jeremiah Chamberlain was murdered outside of his home by a local landowner?
• ... that a whistled language created for a video game was reused in an episode of The Last of Us?
• ... that the Bishop of Chiclayo Edinson Edgardo Farfán Córdova described his predecessor Pope Leo XIV as smelling like sheep?

Trifid and Lagoon nebulae

• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile releases the first light images (example shown) from its new 8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.
• In basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals.
• An attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, kills at least 25 people.
• The United States conducts military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
• In rugby union, the Crusaders defeat the Chiefs to win the Super Rugby Pacific final.

June 30

• 1598 – Anglo-Spanish War: After a 15-day siege Spanish troops in San Juan, modern-day Puerto-Rico, surrendered to an English force under Sir George Clifford.
• 1905 – Nadir of American race relations: A mob of white Americans killed eight people in Oconee County, Georgia, as part of a mass lynching.
• 1960 – The Belgian Congo gained independence from colonial rule, beginning a period of instability that would lead to the dictatorship of Joseph-Désiré Mobutu.
• 2015 – An Indonesian Air Force military transport aircraft (pictured) crashed near a residential neighborhood in Medan, killing 139 people.
• 1963 – The coronation of Pope Paul VI took place, the last such ceremony before its abandonment by later popes.

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Magic tablet from Pergamon

The Orphic Hymns are a collection of 87 hymns in ancient Greek, addressed to various deities. Attributed in antiquity to the mythical poet Orpheus, they were composed in Asia Minor (in modern-day Turkey), most likely around the 2nd or 3rd centuries AD, and seem to have belonged to a cult community which used them in ritual. The collection is preceded by a proem (or prologue) in which Orpheus addresses the legendary poet Musaeus. The hymns in the collection, all of which are brief, typically call for the attention of the deity they address, describing them and their divinity, and appealing to them with a request. The first codex containing the Orphic Hymns to reach Western Europe arrived in Italy in the first half of the 15th century, and in 1500 the first printed edition of the Hymns was published in Florence. During the Renaissance, some scholars believed that the hymns were a genuine work of Orpheus; later, a more sceptical wave of scholarship argued for a dating in late antiquity. (Full article...)

Forrest modeling in 2018

• ... that Diandra Forrest (pictured) was bullied for her white skin before becoming a professional model?
• ... that the Savannah River Site was where the neutrino was discovered?
• ... that one of the earliest Ukrainian science fiction novels, written in 1918 by Mykola Chaikovsky, features solar power and a radiotelephone?
• ... that the Philadelphia School of Anatomy began as a private dissection room?
• ... that having been elected to Indonesia's House of Representatives five times, Muhidin Mohamad Said is its longest-serving incumbent member?
• ... that Horvat Mazad's walls, which also functioned as storage rooms, were likely a revival of centuries-old military architecture?
• ... that despite never having visited China, cyclist Howard Wing competed for it at the 1936 Summer Olympics?
• ... that a leader of a terrorist group in the Russian Empire was revealed in 1908 to have been a police agent for 15 years?
• ... that Ben Lashes is a talent manager for cat memes?

Trifid and Lagoon nebulae

• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile releases the first light images (example shown) from its new 8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.
• In basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals.
• An attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, kills at least 25 people.
• The United States conducts military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
• In rugby union, the Crusaders defeat the Chiefs to win the Super Rugby Pacific final.

June 29: Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (Western Christianity)

Jayne Mansfield

• 1613 – The original Globe Theatre in London burned to the ground after a cannon employed for special effects misfired during a performance of Henry VIII and ignited the roof.
• 1764 – One of the strongest tornadoes in history struck Woldegk in present-day northeastern Germany, killing one person.
• 1950 – The United States defeated England during the FIFA World Cup in one of the greatest upsets in the competition's history.
• 1967 – Actress Jayne Mansfield (pictured), her boyfriend Sam Brody, and their driver were killed in a car accident outside of New Orleans, while her children Miklós, Zoltán, and Mariska Hargitay escaped with only minor injuries.
• 2020 – Reddit banned r/The_Donald, a pro-Trump subreddit, for rule violations and antagonizing the company.

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HMS Neptune was a dreadnought battleship built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century, the sole ship of her class. Laid down at HM Dockyard, Portsmouth, in January 1909, she was the first British battleship to be built with superfiring guns. Shortly after her completion in 1911, she carried out trials of an experimental fire-control director and then became the flagship of the Home Fleet. Neptune became a private ship in early 1914 and was assigned to the 1st Battle Squadron. The ship became part of the Grand Fleet when it was formed shortly after the beginning of the First World War in August 1914. Aside from participating in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916, and the inconclusive action of 19 August several months later, her service during the war generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea. Neptune was deemed obsolete after the war and was reduced to reserve before being sold for scrap in 1922 and subsequently broken up. (Full article...)

Cui Daozhi

• ... that Cui Daozhi (pictured) has been called the Chinese Sherlock Holmes?
• ... that "whatever the Glossa does not recognize, the court does not recognize"?
• ... that American football players Tommy Akingbesote and Kyonte Hamilton grew up in the same community, play in the same position, and were both selected in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL draft?
• ... that Mighty Doom features a cartoonish aesthetic that contrasts with the dark, gritty tone of the mainline Doom series?
• ... that sprinter Abdul Wahab Zahiri made his international debut in the same year that he competed at the Olympics?
• ... that the 14th-century builder of Gaza's Zofor Domri Mosque was buried in the mosque?
• ... that actor Ben Ahlers learned watchmaking from the Horological Society of New York for his role in The Gilded Age?
• ... that due to difficulty reading the biography Edison, a reviewer read it backwards?
• ... that Horace Niall served as magistrate, defence lawyer, executioner, and coroner – for the same group of men?

Trifid and Lagoon nebulae

• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile releases the first light images (example shown) from its new 8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.
• In basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals.
• An attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, kills at least 25 people.
• The United States conducts military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
• In rugby union, the Crusaders defeat the Chiefs to win the Super Rugby Pacific final.

June 28: Vidovdan in Serbia

Ned Kelly

• 1880 – Police captured Australian bank robber and cultural icon Ned Kelly (pictured) after a gun battle in Glenrowan, Victoria.
• 1895 – The U.S. Court of Private Land Claims ruled that James Reavis's claim to 18,600 sq mi (48,000 km²) of land in present-day Arizona and New Mexico was "wholly fictitious and fraudulent".
• 1904 – In the worst maritime disaster involving a Danish merchant ship, SS Norge ran aground on Hasselwood Rock and sank in the North Atlantic, resulting in more than 635 deaths.
• 1950 – Korean War: South Korean forces began the Bodo League massacre, summarily executing tens of thousands of suspected North Korean sympathizers.
• 1969 – In response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, groups of gay and transgender people began demonstrations, a watershed event for the worldwide gay rights movement.

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Game Boy, platform of Donkey Kong Land

Donkey Kong Land is a platform game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy (pictured). Released on June 26, 1995, it condenses the side-scrolling gameplay of Donkey Kong Country with a different level design and boss fights. The player controls Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong as they recover their stolen banana hoard from King K. Rool. Development began in 1994: Rare's Game Boy programmer, Paul Machacek, developed Land as an original game rather than a port of Country, believing that it would be a better use of resources. Land features pre-rendered graphics converted to sprites through a compression technique. Rare retooled Country's gameplay to account for the lower-quality display, and David Wise and Graeme Norgate converted the soundtrack to the Game Boy's sound chip. Critics praised it as successfully translating Country's gameplay, visuals, and music to the Game Boy. Land was rereleased for the Nintendo 3DS and the Nintendo Switch. (Full article...)

Erena So

• ... that a Hong Kong porn actress (pictured) once invited her cyberbullies to talk?
• ... that the manga Doing Time is based on the author's experiences while incarcerated for three years in a Japanese prison?
• ... that Minnesota Pioneer editor James M. Goodhue called a judge "absentee", after which the judge's brother stabbed him?
• ... that the average transit time of water through the Wharepapa Arthur Marble Aquifer is eight years?
• ... that Leon Hatziioannou played for two different Canadian football teams within 48 hours?
• ... that Heimito von Doderer's novel The Strudlhof Steps was not allowed to be published until the author had undergone denazification?
• ... that Lotus L. Kang "tans" sheets of photographic film before using them in her art?
• ... that a Doctor Who episode was still in post-production in the month before it aired?
• ... that artist Samantha Nye unsuccessfully auditioned for The All-New Mickey Mouse Club by performing a Rick Astley song?

Vera Rubin Observatory

• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory (pictured) in Chile releases the first light images from its new 8.4-meter (28 ft) telescope.
• In basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals.
• An attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, kills at least 25 people.
• The United States conducts military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
• In rugby union, the Crusaders defeat the Chiefs to win the Super Rugby Pacific final.

June 26

Douglas Skymaster plane "Amana"

• 1740 – War of Jenkins' Ear: Spanish troops stormed the British-held strategically crucial position of Fort Mose in Spanish Florida.
• 1945 – At a conference in San Francisco, delegates from 50 nations signed a charter establishing the United Nations.
• 1950 – A Douglas DC-4 Skymaster aircraft (pictured) crashed after departing from Perth, becoming the worst aviation accident in Australia's peacetime history.

• 2010 – A G20 summit, the largest and most expensive security operation in Canadian history, began in downtown Toronto.

• 2015 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the right of same-sex couples to marry is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

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School in Sketty, Swansea, photographed in 1854

The period between 1701 and 1870 saw an expansion in access to formal education in Wales, though schooling was not yet universal. Several philanthropic efforts were made to provide education to the poor during the 18th century. In the early to mid-19th century, charitable schools were established to provide a basic education. Private schools aimed at the working classes also existed. State funding was introduced to schools from 1833. Some use of the Welsh language was made in 18th-century philanthropic education, at a time when most agricultural workers in Wales spoke only Welsh, and public opinion was keen for children to learn English. Many schools punished children for speaking Welsh, despite government studies that found such methods ineffective. The government did little to promote bilingual education. Grammar schools experienced difficulties and, by the end of the period, secondary education was limited. Dissenter academies and theological colleges offered higher education. (Full article...)

Sae Kitamura

• ... that Sae Kitamura (pictured) has had her university students contribute to the Japanese Wikipedia as part of their coursework?
• ... that the lead actress of The Grub-Stake brought her personal menagerie—which included bears and wolves—to the set for use as extras?
• ... that James Patrick Shea thought that an invitation to meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the White House was a hoax?
• ... that Robby Krieger was unable to record his guitar solo for "You're Lost Little Girl" until he got stoned on hashish?
• ... that all three podium finishers at the 2024 Tour de France were members of cycling's Big Four?
• ... that the directors of Final Destination Bloodlines "debated the ethics" of a character being killed by an MRI machine?
• ... that one newspaper described the mansions of Riverside Drive as "glitter[ing] like a wedding cake"?
• ... that Galidor has been described as Lego's biggest failure?
• ... that the first review of Ellen, Countess of Castle Howel complained that its marriage plot focused too much on love?

Vera Rubin Observatory

• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory (pictured) in Chile releases the first light images from its new 8.4-meter (28 ft) telescope.
• In basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals.
• A terrorist attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, kills at least 25 people.
• The United States conducts military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
• In rugby union, the Crusaders defeat the Chiefs to win the Super Rugby Pacific final.

June 25

Original rainbow flag

• 1658 – Anglo-Spanish War: The largest battle ever fought on Jamaica, the three-day Battle of Rio Nuevo, began.
• 1910 – The United States Congress passed the Mann Act, which prohibited the interstate transport of females for "immoral purposes".
• 1944 – World War II: U.S. Navy and Royal Navy ships bombarded Cherbourg, France, to support U.S. Army units engaged in the Battle of Cherbourg.
• 1978 – The rainbow flag (original version pictured) representing gay pride was first flown at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade.
• 2009 – Singer Michael Jackson died as a result of the combination of drugs in his body.

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Sirius A with Sirius B, a white dwarf, indicated by the arrow

A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter, supported against its own gravity only by electron degeneracy pressure. A white dwarf is very dense: in an Earth sized volume, it contains a mass comparable to the Sun. What light it radiates is from its residual heat. White dwarfs are thought to be the final evolutionary state of stars whose mass is insufficient for them to become a neutron star or black hole. This includes more than 97% of the stars in the Milky Way. After the hydrogen-fusing period of such a main-sequence star ends, it will expand to a red giant and shed its outer layers, leaving behind a core which is the white dwarf. This, very hot when it forms, cools as it radiates its energy until its material begins to crystallize into a cold black dwarf. The oldest known white dwarfs still radiate at temperatures of a few thousand kelvins, which establishes an observational limit on the maximum possible age of the universe. (Full article...)

Joanna Schaffhausen

• ... that Joanna Schaffhausen (pictured) earned a doctorate in behavioral neuroscience before writing serial-killer novels?
• ... that the book Animals in War inspired the campaign that led to the Animals in War Memorial?
• ... that Chinese actress Huang Wei portrayed a single historical figure in numerous Chinese films and dramas for more than 20 years?
• ... that bills to postpone the 2025 Philippine barangay elections were filed even after the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the postponement of the 2023 elections?
• ... that Janet Evans was banned from Coldbath Fields Prison, where her husband was imprisoned, for inciting a riot at the gates?
• ... that even before its first broadcast, a Florida TV station was the subject of a U.S. Supreme Court case and a protest by a competitor over its antenna?
• ... that Perceval, the Story of the Grail by Chrétien de Troyes is considered by literary historians to be the earliest example of the narrative technique of entrelacement?
• ... that German athlete Leander Wiegand received a scholarship to play American football at an American college that had never seen him play?
• ... that a judge on DVD Verdict found Death Race 2 guilty of "running on empty"?

Vera Rubin Observatory

• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory (pictured) releases the first light images from its new 8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.
• In basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals.
• The United States conducts military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
• In rugby union, the Crusaders defeat the Chiefs to win the Super Rugby Pacific final.
• In ice hockey, the Florida Panthers defeat the Edmonton Oilers to win the Stanley Cup.

June 24: Jaanipäev in Estonia

Julia Gillard

• 1374 – An outbreak of dancing mania, in which crowds of people danced themselves to exhaustion, began in Aachen (in present-day Germany) before spreading to other parts of Europe.
• 1717 – The first Grand Lodge of Freemasonry, the Premier Grand Lodge of England, was founded in London.
• 1724 – On the Feast of St. John the Baptist, Bach led the first performance of Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam, BWV 7, the third cantata of his chorale cantata cycle.
• 1943 – Amid racial tensions, U.S. Army military police shot and killed a black serviceman after a confrontation at a pub in Bamber Bridge, England.
• 2010 – Julia Gillard (pictured) was sworn in as the first female prime minister of Australia after incumbent Kevin Rudd declined to contest a leadership spill in the Labor Party.

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The Battle of Groix was fought on 23 June 1795 off the Biscay coast of Brittany between elements of the British Channel Fleet, commanded by Admiral Lord Bridport, and the French Atlantic Fleet, under Vice-admiral Villaret de Joyeuse. The British fleet of 14 ships of the line was covering an invasion convoy when it encountered the 12 French ships of the line returning to base at Brest. Villaret ordered his force to take shelter in protected coastal waters, but several ships fell behind. After fierce fights, three French ships were captured; the remainder became scattered and were vulnerable, but Bridport, concerned by the rocky coastline, called off the action. Most historians have considered Bridport's retirement from the battle to be premature, and concluded that an opportunity to destroy the French fleet may have been squandered. The French were trapped in Lorient where food supplies ran out, crippling the fleet. Several French captains were court-martialled following the battle. (Full article...)

Constitution Defense Monument

• ... that the Constitution Defense Monument in Bangkok (pictured c. 1939) disappeared overnight in 2018 without any official explanation?
• ... that Thomas Kerr protested the Iraq War with his SNP-supporting aunt, later campaigned for Labour, joined the Conservatives, and defected to Reform UK?
• ... that James Joyce's "untranslatable" novel Ulysses was translated into at least 43 languages?
• ... that in 2023, Chinese Coast Guardsman Wang Xiaolong was officially declared a Martyr?
• ... that a 2022 issue of Civilization was designed to be horrible, unlikable and partly AI-generated?
• ... that the memoir of Saudi poet Huda al-Daghfaq has been described as an expression of her "existential battle"?
• ... that technical geography, which studies the application of computer cartography and remote sensing, has origins in Greco-Roman and medieval Islamic cartography?
• ... that Jakarta deputy governor Eddie Marzuki Nalapraya used to babysit future member of parliament Rhoma Irama?
• ... that the TV show Ancient Aliens speculated that the CIA caused Hillary Clinton to lose the 2016 U.S. presidential election in order to foil UFO disclosure?

B-2 stealth bomber

• The United States carries out military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran (bomber pictured).
• In ice hockey, the Florida Panthers defeat the Edmonton Oilers to win the Stanley Cup.
• In motorsport, Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, and Phil Hanson of AF Corse win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
• In the US state of Minnesota, state representative Melissa Hortman is assassinated and state senator John Hoffman is injured.

June 23: Grand Duke's Official Birthday in Luxembourg

Pierre de Coubertin

• 1865 – Stand Watie became the last Confederate general of the American Civil War to surrender to Union forces.
• 1894 – Led by French historian Pierre de Coubertin (pictured), an international congress at the Sorbonne in Paris formed the International Olympic Committee to revive the ancient Olympic Games.
• 1985 – A bomb attributed to the Sikh separatist group Babbar Khalsa destroyed Air India Flight 182 above the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 329 on board.
• 2014 – Under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 2118, the last of Syria's declared chemical weapons were shipped out for destruction.

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Scott Carpenter (1925–2013) was one of the Mercury Seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury. In 1962, Carpenter flew the Mercury-Atlas 7 mission to become the second American to orbit Earth and the fourth to fly into space. His spacecraft, which he named Aurora 7, malfunctioned and landed 250 miles (400 km) from its intended splashdown point. In 1964, Carpenter took a leave of absence to join the U.S. Navy's SEALAB project. During aquanaut training, he suffered injuries that grounded him, making him unavailable for further spaceflights. In 1965, he spent 28 days on the ocean floor as part of SEALAB II. He returned to NASA as Executive Assistant to the Director of the Manned Spacecraft Center. He retired from NASA in 1967 and the Navy in 1969, with the rank of commander. Carpenter became a consultant on space flight and oceanography. He appeared in television commercials and wrote a pair of technothrillers and an autobiography. (Full article...)

Katen, one of the Juniten

• ... that the paintings of the Juniten (Katen pictured) were used in esoteric Buddhist rituals?
• ... that Lenny Brown almost left his college basketball team after two games, but stayed to become one of its all-time leading scorers?
• ... that Ananth Subramaniam came up with Bleat! after thinking of a pregnant goat?
• ... that after seizing the island of Bangka in an 1812 military expedition, the British quickly abandoned it due to high mortality rates?
• ... that in his first year as an NBA G League head coach, Scott King was named its coach of the year?
• ... that TJ Monterde recorded his song "Puhon" under a blanket in his bedroom?
• ... that a California TV station lost the rights to air Sacramento Kings basketball for declining to share revenue from pre-game and post-game shows?
• ... that while making Caressing My Hibernating Bear, the creator said a real bear appeared in the neighborhood?
• ... that the neo-Nazi and Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon Dan Burros killed himself when The New York Times revealed that he was Jewish?

Aleksander Barkov

• In ice hockey, the Florida Panthers (captain Aleksander Barkov pictured) defeat the Edmonton Oilers to win the Stanley Cup.
• In motorsport, Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, and Phil Hanson of AF Corse win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
• In the US state of Minnesota, state representative Melissa Hortman is assassinated and state senator John Hoffman is injured.
• Former president of Nicaragua and first elected female president in the Americas Violeta Chamorro dies at the age of 95.

June 22: Windrush Day (United Kingdom)

George V and Mary after their coronation

• 1593 – Habsburg troops defeated a larger Ottoman force at the Battle of Sisak in the Kingdom of Croatia, triggering the Long Turkish War.
• 1911 – King George V and Queen Mary (both pictured) were crowned at Westminster Abbey in London.
• 1941 – World War II: As Axis troops began their invasion of the Soviet Union, the Lithuanian Activist Front started an uprising to liberate Lithuania from Soviet occupation.
• 1979 – Former British Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe was acquitted of conspiracy to murder Norman Scott, who had accused Thorpe of having a relationship with him.
• 2002 – A magnitude-6.5 earthquake struck northwestern Iran, killing at least 230 people and injuring 1,300 others; the official response, perceived to be slow, later caused widespread public anger.

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Johann Reinhold Forster (1729–1798) was a German pastor and naturalist. After studying theology at the University of Halle, Forster was hired in 1765 by Russia to inspect its colonies on the Volga; his report was critical and he left for England unpaid. Forster succeeded Joseph Priestley at Warrington Academy, and published a mineralogy textbook and translations of foreign works. After Joseph Banks withdrew from James Cook's second voyage, Forster became the naturalist on Cook's ship. On the journey, they made the first recorded crossing of the Antarctic Circle and observations and discoveries in New Zealand and Polynesia. Amid disputes with Cook over who should publish accounts of the journey, Forster published his scientific Observations Made During a Voyage Round the World. Having alienated many powerful men in England, Forster returned to Germany, becoming a professor at Halle; he died in 1798. He is commemorated in the names of species, including the genera Forstera and Forsterygion. (Full article...)

Warren Truitt

• ... that Warren Truitt (pictured) served as a legislator in Oregon and a judge in Alaska in the 19th century, and as both a legislator and a judge in Idaho in the 20th?
• ... that the announcement of Crash Team Rumble at The Game Awards 2022 was teased on a receipt attached to a pizza box?
• ... that future world and Olympic champion fencer Nikolay Alyokhin was once slapped by a coach and told "you're not talented"?
• ... that white supremacist Ralph Perry Forbes sued the devil?
• ... that Nazaruddin Dek Gam bought the football club Persiraja after ten of the wealthiest men in Aceh declined the offer?
• ... that former archbishop Philip Hannan became a world-traveling reporter for the New Orleans TV station founded by his archdiocese?
• ... that the book Science Without Numbers argues that numbers are just useful fictions?
• ... that Lisa McCorkell co-authored the first major study of long COVID while battling the condition herself?
• ... that some researchers have studied Tetris as a potential form of psychological treatment?

Aleksander Barkov

• In ice hockey, the Florida Panthers (captain Aleksander Barkov pictured) defeat the Edmonton Oilers to win the Stanley Cup.
• In motorsport, Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, and Phil Hanson of AF Corse win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
• In the US state of Minnesota, state representative Melissa Hortman is assassinated and state senator John Hoffman is injured.
• Former president of Nicaragua and first elected female president in the Americas Violeta Chamorro dies at the age of 95.

June 21: Fête de la Musique; International Day of Yoga; National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada; Xiazhi in China (2025)

Replica of the Manchester Baby

• 217 BC – Second Punic War: The Carthaginians under Hannibal ambushed a Roman army at the Battle of Lake Trasimene, capturing or killing 25,000 men.
• 1848 – In the Wallachian Revolution, Ion Heliade Rădulescu and Christian Tell proclaimed a new republican government in present-day Romania.
• 1898 – In a bloodless event during the Spanish–American War, the United States captured Guam from Spain.
• 1919 – During a general strike in Winnipeg, Canada, members of the Royal North-West Mounted Police attacked a crowd of strikers, armed with clubs and revolvers.
• 1948 – The Manchester Baby (replica pictured), the world's first stored-program computer, ran its first program.

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Paperback cover of Jaws

Jaws is an American thriller film that was released on June 20, 1975, directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on Peter Benchley's 1974 novel Jaws (paperback cover shown; for the film poster, see today's Picture of the Day). It stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, who, with the help of a marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a professional shark hunter (Robert Shaw), hunts a man-eating great white shark that has attacked beachgoers at his summer resort town. The film was distributed by Universal Pictures to more than 450 screens, a wide release for the time. It was extensively marketed and followed by three sequels. Regarded as a watershed in motion picture history, Jaws was the prototypical summer blockbuster and the highest-grossing film of all time until Star Wars two years later; both films were pivotal in establishing the modern Hollywood business model. Jaws was in 2001 selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry. (Full article...)

Welsh presbytery meeting, 1940

• ... that the term "middle judicatory", which many denominations use for their mid-tier organizations, originated in Presbyterian courts (example pictured) for church discipline?
• ... that texting someone a poop emoji in Japan is a way to wish them good luck?
• ... that American football player Dominic Vairo went from being forced off the freshman team at Notre Dame to becoming captain of the varsity team?
• ... that an anime programming block that originally aired on the American television channel TechTV was the inspiration for the co-founder of a Japanese animation studio?
• ... that ratline organizer Ivo Omrčanin once beat a suspected informant with an umbrella?
• ... that a leak from a natural-gas storage field led to the destruction of or damage to almost 30 buildings in Hutchinson, Kansas?
• ... that Lorenzo Pace performed a candlelit flute concerto at the outset of his dissertation defense?
• ... that Queen Afua inspired New York City mayor Eric Adams to become vegan?
• ... that the Fuck Tree has been described as a "physical embodiment of desire"?

Aleksander Barkov

• In ice hockey, the Florida Panthers (captain Aleksander Barkov pictured) defeat the Edmonton Oilers to win the Stanley Cup.
• In motorsport, Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, and Phil Hanson of AF Corse win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
• In the US state of Minnesota, state representative Melissa Hortman is assassinated and state senator John Hoffman is injured.
• Former president of Nicaragua and first elected female president in the Americas Violeta Chamorro dies at the age of 95.

June 20: World Refugee Day; Eid al-Mubahalah (Shia Islam, 2025)

Queen Victoria

• 1837 – Queen Victoria (pictured) acceded to the British throne, beginning a 63-year reign.
• 1921 – British Army officer Thomas Stanton Lambert was assassinated by the Irish Republican Army near Moydrum, Ireland.
• 1959 – The extratropical remnants of an Atlantic hurricane reached the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada, causing 22 fishing boats to capsize and killing 35 people.
• 1979 – Bill Stewart, an American journalist, was executed by Nicaraguan Guardia forces.
• 1982 – The International Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide, the first major conference in genocide studies, opened despite Turkish attempts to cancel it due to the inclusion of presentations on the Armenian genocide.

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1820 historical world map

History is the systematic study of the past with its main focus on the human past. Historians analyse and interpret primary and secondary sources to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. They engage in source criticism to assess the authenticity, content, and reliability of these sources. It is controversial whether the resulting historical narratives can be truly objective and whether history is a social science rather than a discipline of the humanities. Influential schools of thought include positivism, the Annales school, Marxism, and postmodernism. Some branches of history focus on specific time periods, such as ancient history, particular geographic regions, such as the history of Africa, or distinct themes, such as political, social, and economic history. History emerged as a field of inquiry in antiquity to replace myth-infused narratives, with influential early traditions originating in Greece, China, and later in the Islamic world. (Full article...)

Rosa Parks

• ... that Rosa Parks (pictured) refused to surrender her seat not because she was physically tired, but because she was "tired of giving in"?
• ... that most of the population of Niamey has consisted of first- and second-generation immigrants since the city was established?
• ... that Harry Wunsch, despite appearing "short and fat", was a "savage tackler"?
• ... that Black dandyism flourished during and after the Harlem Renaissance as a means of self-expression in the African-American community?
• ... that 17th-century mathematician Carlo Rinaldini studied gall-inducing insects, air convection, and the design of thermometers?
• ... that the title of Elegies comes from a suite of poems that its director read during the film's pre-production?
• ... that Saba's airport, known for its short runway, was named after Juancho Yrausquin in honor of his efforts to secure funding?
• ... that Sculpture Space lets artists create large-scale works in a former metalworking shop?
• ... that Olympic historians were unconvinced by speculation that an unknown boy coxswain grew up to be a a renowned Georgian mathematician?

Melissa Hortman

• In the US state of Minnesota, state representative Melissa Hortman (pictured) is assassinated and state senator John Hoffman is injured.
• Former president of Nicaragua and first elected female president in the Americas Violeta Chamorro dies at the age of 95.
• Israel launches multiple airstrikes across cities in Iran, killing various nuclear scientists and military officials, including IRGC commander-in-chief Hossein Salami.
• Air India Flight 171 crashes in Ahmedabad, India, killing 279 people.

June 19: Feast of Corpus Christi (2025), Juneteenth in the United States (1865)

Lou Gehrig baseball card

• 1785 – The proprietors of King's Chapel, Boston, voted to adopt James Freeman's Book of Common Prayer, thus establishing the first Unitarian church in the Americas.
• 1838 – The Maryland province of the Jesuits contracted to sell 272 slaves to buyers in Louisiana in one of the largest slave sales in American history.
• 1939 – American baseball player Lou Gehrig (pictured) was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, now commonly known in the United States as "Lou Gehrig's disease".
• 1987 – The Basque separatist group ETA detonated a car bomb at a Hipercor shopping centre in Barcelona, killing 21 people and injuring 45 others.
• 2009 – War in Afghanistan: British forces began Operation Panther's Claw, in which more than 350 troops made an aerial assault on Taliban positions in southern Afghanistan.

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Ian Carmichael (18 June 1920 – 5 February 2010) was an English actor who had a career that spanned seventy years. Born in Kingston upon Hull, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, but his studies—and the early stages of his career—were curtailed by the Second World War. After initial success in revue and sketch productions, he was cast by the film producers John and Roy Boulting to star in a series of satires, starting with Private's Progress in 1956 through to I'm All Right Jack in 1959. In the mid-1960s he played Bertie Wooster for BBC Television for which he received positive reviews, including from P. G. Wodehouse, the writer who created the character of Wooster. In the early 1970s he played another upper-class literary character, Lord Peter Wimsey, the amateur but talented investigator created by Dorothy L. Sayers. Carmichael was often typecast as an affable but bumbling upper-class innocent, but he retained a disciplined approach to training and rehearsing. (Full article...)

Boulder–Deer Creek Pass

• ... that Boulder–Deer Creek Pass (pictured) is home to "Togo" wolves and is a potential habitat for grizzly bears?
• ... that Wang Yungui lifted her family out of poverty, then helped hundreds of other people in her home village to do likewise?
• ... that Inua Ellams created the antagonist for "The Story & the Engine" after learning that "ghost writer" translates to 'Black person' in French?
• ... that Regina George was once voted the "meanest high school film character of all time"?
• ... that The Guardian recommended Buried Alive! as a book to help children make friends?
• ... that John Lynch was at one point the only honors linguistics student at the University of Sydney?
• ... that Pope John Paul I broke with tradition by declining to be crowned with a tiara at his inauguration?
• ... that Robin Adair Harvey reached 17 state championships in 24 years as a high school field hockey coach?
• ... that British troops during the sack of Yogyakarta looted all the court archives and manuscripts except for a single Quran?

Melissa Hortman

• In the US state of Minnesota, state representative Melissa Hortman (pictured) is assassinated and state senator John Hoffman is injured.
• Former president of Nicaragua and first elected female president in the Americas Violeta Chamorro dies at the age of 95.
• Israel launches multiple airstrikes across cities in Iran, killing various nuclear scientists and military officials, including IRGC Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami.
• Air India Flight 171 crashes in Ahmedabad, India, killing 279 people.

June 18: Autistic Pride Day

Cadaver Tomb of René of Chalon

• 1898 – The Cadaver Tomb of René of Chalon (pictured) in Bar-le-Duc, France, was designated a monument historique.
• 1958 – English composer Benjamin Britten's one-act opera Noye's Fludde was premiered at the Aldeburgh Festival.
• 1981 – The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational aircraft to be designed around stealth technology, made its maiden flight.
• 1994 – The Troubles: Ulster Volunteer Force members attacked a crowded bar in Loughinisland, Northern Ireland, with assault rifles, killing six people.
• 2022 – A disputed party massacred over 500 Amhara civilians in Gimbi, Ethiopia.

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The russet sparrow is a passerine bird in the sparrow family Passeridae, distributed in eastern Asia. A chunky little seed-eating bird with a thick bill, it has a body length of 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in). Its plumage is mainly warm rufous above and grey below. It exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the plumage of both sexes patterned similarly to that of the corresponding sex of the house sparrow. Its vocalisations are sweet and musical chirps, which when strung together form a song. The russet sparrow is known well enough in the Himalayas to have a distinct name in some languages, and is depicted in Japanese art. It feeds mainly on the seeds of herbs and grains, but it also eats berries and insects, particularly during the breeding season. This diet makes it a minor pest in agricultural areas, but also a predator of insect pests. It is a social bird within its own species, but disperses to breed. The typical clutch has five or six whitish eggs. Both sexes incubate and feed the young. (Full article...)

HNLMS De Ruyter

• ... that the shipwreck of HNLMS De Ruyter (pictured) went missing, leaving only an imprint on the ocean floor?
• ... that NFL player Dustin McDonald was later a labor leader who led strikes and was jailed for fighting the police?
• ... that the death of a pregnant woman in a video game was written to be even darker on television?
• ... that Joe Eddins helped conservative Oklahoma enact universal preschool?
• ... that Olive Garden and Chili's got in a ship war over Destiel?
• ... that William F. J. Ryan designed more than 1,000 coats of arms for bishops, dioceses, and institutions?
• ... that the cover art for Jane Remover's debut album is a screenshot taken from Google Maps?
• ... that the "Tiger-Rider" is said to have miraculously flooded his village with alcohol?
• ... that "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)" contains 261 "Na"s in total?

Melissa Hortman

• In the US state of Minnesota, state representative Melissa Hortman (pictured) is assassinated and state senator John Hoffman is injured.
• Israel launches multiple airstrikes across cities in Iran, killing various nuclear scientists and military officials, including IRGC Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami.
• Air India Flight 171 crashes in Ahmedabad, India, killing 279 people.
• The Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson dies at the age of 82.

June 17

Mumtaz Mahal

• 1579 – Explorer Francis Drake landed in a region of present-day California, naming it New Albion and claiming it for England.
• 1631 – Mumtaz Mahal (pictured), wife of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, died in childbirth; Jahan spent the next seventeen years constructing her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.
• 1919 – Hundreds of Canadian soldiers rioted in Epsom, England, leading to the death of a British police officer.
• 1952 – Guatemalan Revolution: The Guatemalan Congress passed Decree 900, redistributing unused land greater than 224 acres (0.91 km²) in area to local peasants.

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Emmy Noether (1882 – 1935) was a German mathematician who made important contributions to abstract algebra. Described by Einstein as the most important woman in the history of mathematics, she proved Noether's first and second theorems, fundamental in mathematical physics. Noether's first theorem explains the connection between symmetry and conservation laws. She also developed theories of rings, fields, and algebras. Born to a Jewish family in Erlangen; her work in Germany, principally at Göttingen University came at a time when women were largely excluded from academia there. In 1933, Germany's Nazi government dismissed Jews from university positions, and Noether moved to the U.S., teaching at Bryn Mawr College and at the Institute for Advanced Study. Noether was generous with her ideas and is credited with several lines of research published by others, even in fields far removed from her main work, such as algebraic topology. (Full article...)

• ... that the COVID-19 pandemic was credited with saving lives by keeping people indoors during a tornado (video featured)?
• ... that the construction of the Colosseum was funded by spoils from the First Jewish–Roman War?
• ... that "The Interstellar Song Contest" featured the return of a Doctor Who character last seen more than 40 years earlier?
• ... that a diner who was denied a table caused Máximo Bistrot to temporarily close by raising concerns about the reservation system?
• ... that baseball player Ed Stone may have been born on January 2, 1909, or August 21, 22, or 23, 1909, or August 21 or August 22, 1910?
• ... that almost no fuel was found at the crash site of a fuel transport aircraft?
• ... that former ambassador Diennaryati Tjokrosuprihatono used to work as a kindergarten teacher?
• ... that the musical duo Food House was named after their frequent use of Uber Eats?
• ... that Tom Farris thought that he was a jinx for every team for which he played, so he once asked to be traded to an opposing team to make them lose?

Melissa Hortman

• In the United States, Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman (pictured) is assassinated and state senator John Hoffman is injured by the same suspect.
• Israel launches multiple airstrikes against Iran's nuclear program and senior military leadership.
• Air India Flight 171 crashes in Ahmedabad, India, killing 279 people.
• The Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson dies at the age of 82.
• A shooting at a secondary school in Graz, Austria, leaves eleven people dead.

June 16: Foundation Day of the Akal Takht (Sikhism)

James Joyce

• 632 – The final king of the Sasanian Empire of Iran, Yazdegerd III, ascended the throne at the age of eight.
• 1819 – A strong earthquake in the Kutch district of Gujarat, India, caused a local zone of uplift that dammed the Nara River, which was later named the Allah Bund ('Dam of God').
• 1904 – Irish author James Joyce (pictured) began a relationship with Nora Barnacle, and subsequently used the date to set the actions for his 1922 novel Ulysses, commemorated as Bloomsday.
• 1936 – A Junkers Ju 52 aircraft of Norwegian Air Lines crashed into a mountainside near Hyllestad, Norway, killing all seven people on board.
• 1997 – The English rock band Radiohead released their landmark third album OK Computer in the United Kingdom.

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The painting

The Combat: Woman Pleading for the Vanquished is an oil painting on canvas by English artist William Etty which is inspired by the Elgin Marbles and intended by the artist to provide a moral lesson on "the beauty of mercy". It shows a near-nude warrior whose sword has broken, forced to his knees in front of another near-nude soldier who prepares to inflict a killing blow. A woman, also near-nude, clutches the victorious warrior to beg him for mercy. Unusually for a history painting of the period, it does not depict a scene from history, literature or religion and is not based on an existing artwork. When it was shown at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition of 1825, it attracted praise from critics for its technical excellence, its fusion of the styles of different schools of painting, and its subject matter. It was later bought by fellow artist John Martin and in 1831 he sold it on to the Royal Scottish Academy. It was transferred in 1910 to the National Gallery of Scotland. (Full article...)

Mugshot of Edgar Matobato

• ... that ex-hitman Edgar Matobato (pictured) fled the Philippines with a fake passport while posing as a gardener?
• ... that Yamada's Symphony in F major had to be reconstructed after a maritime accident and after the bombing of Tokyo during WWII?
• ... that Chris Anderson was one of three members of his family to win a Delaware state golf championship?
• ... that a horse in an episode of The Last of Us previously appeared in The 100 and Jurassic World Dominion?
• ... that Everyone Hates Elon invited members of the public to destroy a Tesla Model S to raise money for food banks?
• ... that the 2004–2005 trial of the Chohan family murders was the longest in the history of the London Metropolitan Police?
• ... that the meningitis storyline in the romance novel Harriet was inspired by the illness of the author's son?
• ... that the 2023 EFL League Two play-off final saw a father–son duo on opposing coaching sides?
• ... that a bird with huge feet once walked by a river near Denali?

Explosions in Tehran

• Israel launches multiple airstrikes (aftermath pictured) against Iran's nuclear program and senior military leadership.
• Air India Flight 171 crashes in Ahmedabad, India, killing 274 people.
• The Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson dies at the age of 82.
• A shooting at a secondary school in Graz, Austria, leaves eleven people dead.
• At the Tony Awards, Purpose wins the Best Play and Maybe Happy Ending wins the Best Musical.

June 15: Trinity Sunday (2025); King's Official Birthday in the United Kingdom (2024)

Sallie Gardner at a Gallop

• 1215 – King John of England and a group of rebel barons agreed on the text of Magna Carta, an influential charter of rights.
• 1800 – War of the Second Coalition: The signing of the Convention of Alessandria brought temporary peace between France and Austria.
• 1878 – Eadweard Muybridge took a series of photographs to prove that all four feet of a horse leave the ground when it gallops (animation pictured), which became the basis of motion pictures.
• 1944 – World War II: The United States Army Air Forces began its first air raid on the Japanese archipelago, although little damage was caused.
• 1996 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a truck bomb in the commercial centre of Manchester, England, injuring more than 200 people and causing widespread damage to buildings.

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Fossil of P. pustulosus at the Jura Museum

Pseudastacus is an extinct genus of decapod crustaceans that lived during the Jurassic period in Europe, and possibly the Cretaceous period in Lebanon. Reaching up to 6 cm (2.4 in) in total length, Pseudastacus had a crayfish-like build, with long antennae, a triangular rostrum and a frontmost pair of appendages enlarged into pincers, with those of females being more elongated. There is evidence of possible gregarious behavior in P. lemovices in the form of multiple individuals preserved alongside each other, possibly killed in a mass mortality event. With the oldest known record dating to the Sinemurian age of the Early Jurassic, and possible species surviving into the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, Pseudastacus has a long temporal range and was a widespread taxon. Fossils of this animal were first found in the Solnhofen Limestone of Germany, but have also been recorded from France, England and Lebanon. All species in this genus lived in marine habitats. (Full article...)

Burgle Bros 2

• ... that the box of Burgle Bros 2 transforms into a two-layer game board (pictured)?
• ... that Sydney Agudong and her sister were the final two candidates for a role in Lilo & Stitch?
• ... that Alexander McQueen pioneered the use of digitally engineered prints in fashion with Natural Dis-tinction Un-natural Selection?
• ... that Charles Moses competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics, despite previously fabricating claims of his Olympic participation?
• ... that the 1956 album Lonnie Donegan Showcase entered both the UK albums chart and the UK singles chart?
• ... that every team on which Bob Kercher played for seven years went undefeated?
• ... that to comply with broadcasting regulations, some American TV stations claimed that tabloid shows and a Christmas special were educational?
• ... that film director James Ashcroft enjoys "playing in the dark"?
• ... that a 1994 paper tried to claim ancient Babylonian astronomy as a new discovery in diabetes care?

Air India Boeing 787-8 in 2014

• Israel launches multiple airstrikes against Iran's nuclear program and senior military leadership.
• Air India Flight 171 (aircraft pictured) crashes in Ahmedabad, India, killing more than 260 people.
• The Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson dies at the age of 82.
• A shooting at a secondary school in Graz, Austria, leaves eleven people dead.
• At the Tony Awards, Purpose wins the Best Play and Maybe Happy Ending wins the Best Musical.

June 14

Killing of Sudbury and Hales

• 1381 – During the Peasants' Revolt in England, rebels stormed the Tower of London, killing Simon Sudbury, Lord Chancellor, and Robert Hales, Lord High Treasurer (both pictured).
• 1644 – First English Civil War: Prince Maurice abandoned his siege of Lyme Regis in Dorset after learning of the approach of a Parliamentarian relief force.
• 1934 – The landmark Australian Eastern Mission concluded after a three-month diplomatic tour of East and South-East Asia.
• 2014 – War in Donbas: An Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force was shot down by forces of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, killing all 49 people on board.

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1860 bronze farthing, depicting Britannia

Beginning in 1860, Britain replaced its copper coinage with bronze pieces. The existing copper coins (principally the penny, the halfpenny and the farthing) were seen as too large and heavy. Thomas Graham, the master of the Mint, persuaded William Gladstone, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to replace them. Gladstone secured authorising legislation and a vote of funds in Parliament. Leonard Charles Wyon of the Royal Mint was tasked with rendering designs for the new coinage. He produced an obverse for the new coins depicting Queen Victoria, who modelled for him. The reverse featured Britannia (pictured). With the aid of two outside firms, the Royal Mint struck enough of the new bronze coins that it began calling in the copper pieces in 1861, a process complete after 1877, although less than half in terms of value of the extant coppers were paid in. The new coins remained current until the run-up to decimalisation in 1971, except for the farthing, which was demonetised from 1 January 1961. (Full article...)

Emperor Yingzong of Ming

• ... that Emperor Yingzong of Ming (pictured) abolished the practice of concubines committing suicide following an emperor's death?
• ... that FlexiRide bus services have no fixed route, operating only when passengers book a trip?
• ... that Sri Jumahaliah Hanifa was the first woman to be the dean of the University of Indonesia's law school?
• ... that two-thirds of the six-week budget allocated to the filming of a Doctor Who episode was used up in only three days?
• ... that despite being rivals since the 1920s, the 2010 NFC Championship Game was only the second time the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers had ever met in the playoffs?
• ... that the then–prime minister of New Zealand said that the greatest impact of the December 2011 Christchurch earthquakes was on mental health?
• ... that sprinter Ng Ka Yee set four Hong Kong records in 1988 ahead of competing in that year's Olympics?
• ... the 2025 student elections at 15 constituent campuses of Tribhuvan University could not be held due to political conflicts between student organizations?
• ... that Fromage was described as "the cheesiest board game of all time"?

Air India Boeing 787-8 in 2014

• Air India Flight 171 (aircraft pictured) crashes in Ahmedabad, India, killing more than 200 people.
• The Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson dies at the age of 82.
• A shooting at a secondary school in Graz, Austria, leaves eleven people dead.
• At the Tony Awards, Purpose wins the Best Play and Maybe Happy Ending wins the Best Musical.
• Prime Minister of Mongolia Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene resigns after weeks of protests.

June 13

USS Jeannette

• 1525 – Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora, beginning the practice of clerical marriage in Protestantism.
• 1881 – The Jeannette expedition to reach the North Pole from the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait came to an end when the USS Jeannette (pictured) was finally crushed and sank after having been trapped in ice for almost two years.
• 1952 – Soviet aircraft shot down a Swedish military plane carrying out signals-intelligence gathering operations, followed three days later by the shootdown of a second plane searching for the first one.
• 1969 – Preston Smith, Governor of Texas, signed a law converting a research arm of Texas Instruments into the University of Texas at Dallas.
• 2013 – Some of the closest advisors and collaborators of Czech prime minister Petr Nečas were arrested for corruption.

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Carey in 2019

Mariah Carey (born 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She rose to fame with her self-titled debut album, released on June 12, 1990, and has released fifteen studio albums, most recently Caution (2018). Known for her five-octave vocal range and signature use of the whistle register, she has been dubbed the "Songbird Supreme" by the Guinness World Records. Carey is one of the best-selling music artists, with more than 220 million units sold worldwide, and holds the record for the most number-one singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 by a solo artist. In addition, Carey's singles have spent a record 97 weeks on the chart, and she is the only artist to have their first five singles reach number one on the chart. Carey has received various accolades, and has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress. Rolling Stone ranked her as the fifth-greatest singer of all time in 2023. (Full article...)

Statue of Gigeiten at Akishinodera

• ... that the sculpture of the Japanese goddess Gigeiten (pictured) at the temple Akishinodera has an 8th-century head and a 13th-century body?
• ... that David Mavrogonato was exempted from a tax on Jews due to his services to Venice in the 1450s?
• ... that The Old Elm was used by the Ottoman Turks to hang captured hajduci?
• ... that Mohamed Asswai Khalifa was the first Libyan to compete at the Olympics?
• ... that the author of Octavia based one character on a former lover?
• ... that Rae Lil Black, who was at one point one of the 20 most popular models on Pornhub, left the adult industry and converted to Islam after visiting Malaysia?
• ... that the Roman lawyer Cicero defended Gnaeus Plancius in 54 BCE, but neither the verdict nor exactly what Plancius was accused of have survived?
• ... that Larry Steinbach did not start high school until the age of 22?
• ... that the Scottish invasion of England in 1648 was defeated by an army less than half their size?

Brian Wilson in 1990

• The Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson (pictured) dies at the age of 82.
• A shooting at a secondary school in Graz, Austria, leaves eleven people dead.
• At the Tony Awards, Purpose wins the Best Play and Maybe Happy Ending wins the Best Musical.
• Prime Minister of Mongolia Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene resigns after weeks of protests.
• In the Netherlands, an early election is called after the Schoof cabinet collapses as the PVV abandons the governing coalition.

June 12: Dia dos Namorados in Brazil; Loving Day in the United States (1967)

Boeing 777

• 1798 – Following the successful French invasion of Malta, the Knights Hospitaller surrendered Malta to Napoleon, initiating two years of occupation.
• 1864 – Union general Ulysses S. Grant pulled his troops out of the Battle of Cold Harbor in Hanover County, Virginia, ending one of the bloodiest, most lopsided battles in the American Civil War.
• 1914 – As part of the Ottoman Empire's policies of ethnic cleansing, Turkish irregulars began a six-day massacre in the predominantly Greek town of Phocaea.
• 1954 – Dominic Savio, who was 14 years old at his death in 1857, was canonized by Pope Pius XII, making him one of the youngest non-martyred saints in the Catholic Church.
• 1994 – The Boeing 777 (pictured), the world's largest twinjet, made its maiden flight.