What Happened in June?

The Six-Day War takes place between Israel and Arab neighbors Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The Six-Day War began as Israel launched a series of preemptive surprise airstrikes against Egyptian airfields and other facilities, launching its war effort. Egyptian forces were caught by surprise, and nearly all of Egypt's military aerial assets were destroyed, giving Israel air supremacy. Simultaneously, the Israeli military launched a ground offensive into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula as well as the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip. The war ended with Israel in control of the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and Jerusalem. More

1967, June 8 - The USS Liberty is attacked by an Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and Israeli Navy motor torpedo boats during the Six-Day War. The USS Liberty was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula. The intelligence ship, was well-marked as an American vessel and only lightly armed. The Israeli attack killed 34 US sailors, and wounded 171 in the two-hour attack. More:  USS Liberty Veterans Association and CIA Statement

Thurgood Marshall, then-Solicitor General, becomes the first Black American to be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson, saying it was “the right thing to do, the right time to do it, the right man and the right place.” Marshall's pursuit for a legal career began with disappointment as the University of Maryland Law School, refused to open its doors to Black students. He wound up graduating first in his class at Howard University Law School. One of his first victories came against the University of Maryland, which had rejected a Black applicant on the basis of race alone. More

Presidential candidate Robert Francis Kennedy was fatally shot on June 5, 1968 at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California shortly after claiming victory in that state's crucial Democratic primary. He was 42 years old. More

The severely polluted Cuyahoga River in Cleveland catches fire when an oil slick floating on the surface ignites; although it was not the first fire or the largest on the river, the incident garnered national attention and led to antipollution measures that substantially improved the river's condition. More

The Kingdom of Tonga declares its independence within the British Commonwealth. Tonga, is a Polynesian kingdom, part of the Oceania continent with 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Tonga is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the United Nations, the Pacific Islands Forum, and the Alliance of Small Island States.

The New York Times began publication of the Pentagon Papers, a collection of top secret documents exposing U.S. strategy in the Vietnam War, which were leaked to to the New York Times and the Washington Post and 17 other newspapers by Daniel Ellsberg, a former Defense Department analyst. Expand +

The three cosmonauts aboard the Soyuz 11, Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev, perished in space when the capsule depressurized during preparations for re-entry. They are the only humans known to have died in space. More

Five men are arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., leading to the Watergate scandal and the resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon. More

British European Airways Flight BE548, a Hawker Siddeley Trident 1C passenger flight from London Heathrow to Brussels crashes near Staines, England, shortly after take-off killing all 118 people on board. As of 2024, it remains the deadliest air accident (as opposed to terrorist incidents) in the United Kingdom. The aircraft suffered a deep stall in the third minute of its flight and crashed to the ground, narrowly missing a busy main road. More

Title IX of the education amendments of 1972 is enacted into law in the United States. Title IX prohibits federally funded educational institutions from discriminating against students or employees based on sex. More

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment was a violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibiting "cruel and unusual punishment." The decision spared the lives of 600 individuals then sitting on death row. Four years later, in another ruling, the Court reversed itself and determined the death penalty was not cruel and unusual punishment. On October 4, 1976, the ban was lifted on the death penalty in cases involving murder.

Former Argentine President Juan Perón returns to Argentina after 18 years of exile, reclaiming the presidency when he was reelected President of Argentina for a third time later that year. He died the following year on July 1, 1974.  

Cincinnati surgeon Henry J. Heimlich publishes, his stop-choking technique in the medical journal Emergency Medicine. The technique, now called, the Heimlich maneuver, involved thrusting inward and upward on the abdomen of choking victims and It quickly became a go-to method for saving those lives. The technique was renamed the "abdominal thrust" after the American Red Cross introduced back blows to its official guidelines on treating choking in 2006 and Dr Heimlich disagreed that back blows should be used and asked that his name be removed from the guidelines. More

Mozambique Independence Day from Portugal

Seychelles Independence Day from the United Kingdom. Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles is an archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean, known for its stunning beaches, coral reefs, and diverse wildlife. It is located northeast of Madagascar and east of the African continent. The country consists of 115 islands, with Mahé being the largest and home to the capital city, Victoria.

Apple Inc. ships its first Apple II computer, a fully assembled computer, priced at $1,298, featuring color graphics, sound, and BASIC programming capabilities. It marked a pivotal moment in the personal computer revolution becoming a success in schools and businesses.

Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, gains independence from France. Djibouti is located in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Eritrea to the north, Somalia to the southeast and Ethiopia to the southwest. Djibouti's independence is observed annually on 27 June which is a national holiday.

Charon, the largest of Pluto's five moons and about half the size of Pluto, is discovered by James Christy and Robert Harrington at the U.S. Naval Observatory. Christy noticed that Pluto appeared elongated in some images, leading to the discovery of its moon. The discovery was announced on later on July 7, 1978. More

Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT-II nuclear treaty. The US Senate chose not to ratify the treaty in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which took place later that year. The Supreme Soviet did not ratify it either. More