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Explore the historical events that shaped our world on June 16th. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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Birth of the Roman historian and politician, Gaius Sallustius Crispus (Sallust) was born c. 86 BCE in Amiternum, located in the Sabine territory of central Italy. He was a Roman historian and politician from a plebeian family who rose to prominence during the late Roman Republic.
The Battle of Fimreite takes place in Norway, where King Sverre Sigurdsson defeats the forces of Magnus Erlingsson, securing his rule. More
Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint the Mona Lisa by Francesco del Giocondo a wealthy Florentine merchant who wanted a portrait of his wife Lisa Gherardini,, for the couple's home. Leonardo began work on the portrait in the same year and continued to refine it until his death in 1519.
Abraham Lincoln delivers his "House Divided Speech" while accepting the Illinois Republican Party's nomination for US Senate. In this speech, he paraphrase a passage from the New Testament: “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” to describe the United States' deep division over the issue of slavery. Lincoln believed that the nation could not long endure with the fundamental contradiction of being half slave and half free.
He argued that the country would eventually have to become "all one thing, or all the other," either fully embracing or fully rejecting slavery. His use of this powerful biblical quotation, articulated the moral and political crisis facing the nation and contributed to his rising national prominence, although he lost the Senate race to Stephen Douglas. More
The House passes the Joint Resolution proposing the 14th Amendment to the Constitution and submits it to the states. On July 28, 1868, the 14th amendment was declared in a certificate of the Secretary of State, ratified by the necessary 28 of the 37 States, and became part of the supreme law of the land. More
The Ford Motor Company was officially incorporated. Founder Henry Ford and 12 investors launched his venture in a converted factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit. It was his third attempt at establishing an automotive business. At the time, the company could only produce a few cars a day. More
Ford Motor Company - Mac Ave Detroit - Library of Congress - Public Domain
Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space. Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to travel to space when, as part of the Vostok 6 mission. During her Vostok 6 solo mission, she orbited Earth 48 times and spent almost three days in space (two days, 23 hours, and 12 minutes). Tereshkova remains the only female astronaut or cosmonaut to make a solo space journey, the youngest woman to fly to space and the first civilian to journey to space. More
Source: Alexander Mokletsov/RIA Novosti Archive (image no. 612748) Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 (Generic)
Liu Yang. a Chinese military transport pilot becomes the first Chinese woman in space when she and two other crew members were launched aboard the spacecraft Shenzhou 9.
