What Happened in June?

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

CNN, headquartered in Atlanta, debuts its 24-hour live news broadcasts. In 1991 it went on to gain worldwide attention for its around-the-clock coverage of the Persian Gulf War. More

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) the detection of a rare form of pneumonia in five homosexual men in Los Angeles. This edition of the MMWR marks the first official reporting of what will later become known as the AIDS epidemic (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). A few physicians and public health workers in coastal cities had noticed strange opportunistic infections in otherwise healthy gay men in the years prior, but the report served to put the phenomenon on record. More

Over a million people march and gather at New York City’s Central Park demanding nuclear disarmament and an end to the Cold War arms race: making it the largest disarmament rally in American history. The cold war and the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union had been going on since World War II, and the Cold War felt particularly dangerous in the early 1980s. especially since President Ronald Reagan, a staunch proponent of building up America’s nuclear arsenal and vehemently opposed the idea of disarmament treaties, appeared to prefer nuclear war to nuclear disarmament. More

The Falklands War ends as the Argentine garrison at Port Stanley surrenders to the British military. The Falkland Islands War was fought for the control of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and its dependencies, a territory long disputed by the warring nations. More

Astronaut Sally Ride makes history by becoming the first American woman to fly in space, She was part of the STS-7 Space Shuttle Challenger mission, which deployed communication satellites and conducted experiments. Ride's achievement broke a significant barrier in the US space program and inspired generations. More

Deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution passes without the necessary votes. While there isn't a 28th amendment officially published in the U.S. Constitution, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is widely considered by some as the 28th amendment. It aims to guarantee equal rights for all regardless of sex. However, its ratification is still debated primarily on the basis that some States ratified the amendment after the deadline. The amendment is still not officially published as part of the Constitution. President Joe Biden released a statement on January 17, 2025 regarding the ERA Amendment. More

British Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, is reelected to a second term in office. Her reelection was reinforced by the victory in the Falkland Islands War and by deep divisions within the opposition Labor Party.

TWA Flight 847 is hijacked by Mohammed Ali Hamadei and a second terrorist brandishing grenades and pistols during a routine flight from Athens to Rome. More