The collapse of a landslide dam on the Dadu River kills 100,000 in Sichuan province, China. The landslide dam was created by a magnitude 7.75 earthquake ten days earlier on June 1, in and around Kangding, in what is now China's Sichuan province.
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What Happened in June?
Deaths, raids, and battles. Examine landmark historical events that took place in June. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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The U.S. Constitution is ratified as New Hampshire becomes the 9th State and the last necessary State of the original 13 colonies to ratify the U.S. Constitution. More
The Constitution became the official framework of the government of the United States of America when New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to ratify it, thus replacing the post-Revolutionary War Articles of Confederation. More
The French National Convention adopts the Law of 22 Prairial, on June 10, 1794, accelerating the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.
Lightning hits a fortress in Luxembourg being used as an armory during the occupation by Napoleon’s French forces, igniting the gunpowder stored inside resulting in a massive explosion that destroyed two city blocks with an estimated 300 or more fatalities and widespread fires and devastation.
The Luxembourg disaster may have been the most deadly lightning strike in history. According to the NWS Storm Data, over the last 30 years (1989-2018) the U.S. has averaged 43 reported lightning fatalities per year. Only about 10% of people who are struck by lightning are killed, leaving 90% with various degrees of disability.
French forces under Marshal Moncey attack the Spanish city of Valencia during the Peninsular War on June 26, 1808 but are repulsed by Spanish defenders and retreat to Madrid. Their failure highlighted the fierce Spanish resistance during the Peninsular War.
Later, in January 1812, the French under Marshal Suchet successfully captured the city of Valencia a significant victory, making Valencia the French capital in Spain for a time before ultimately falling to Spanish resistance.
President James Madison signs into law a resolution passed by Congress declaring war with Great Britain, marking the beginning of the War of 1812.The War of 1812 ended December 24, 1814 when the two nations met in Belgium and signed the Treaty of Ghent. ending the war and restoring the previously recognized boundaries between the United States and British territory in North America. The Senate unanimously ratified the Treaty of Ghent on February 16, 1815. More
Napoleon Bonaparte's Grand Army invades Russia with an estimated 500,000 to 600,000 troops. The invasion was a major turning point in Napoleon's career. The devastating losses suffered by his army in the face of Russian resistance and the harsh Russian winter led to Napoleon's downfall.
The Congress of Vienna ends after 18 moths of work having made decisions designed to reshape the political map of Europe and the establishment of a new political and legal order after more than two decades of turmoil and war following the French Revolution.
Among the changes were France's return to its 1789 borders, the creation of the Kingdom of Poland under Russian rule, expansion of the Austrian Empire, creation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Prussia gaining new territories as well as the establishment of a framework for future international diplomacy. More
Map of Europe, after the Congress of Vienna, 1815
Napoleon Bonaparte is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo near Waterloo, Belgium bringing about Napoleon second abdication and the end of the Napoleonic Wars. His French army was defeated by the armies of the Seventh Coalition which included the United Kingdom, Prussia, Russia, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands, and several German states. More
Lionel Royer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Napoleon abdicates as French emperor for the second time after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, bringing an end to France’s domination of Europe. He was exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena, in the southern Atlantic Ocean, where he lived out the rest of his life. He died on May 5, 1821 at the age of 52.
The French colonization of Algeria begins as 34,000 French soldiers land at Sidi Ferruch, some 27 kilometers west of Algiers. This landing, part of a larger military expedition, aimed to overthrow the Regency of Algiers which was captured after a three-week campaign, and the dey (local ruler) fled into exile. Although Algeria was not fully conquered and pacified until 1903. It is estimated that by 1875, approximately 825,000 indigenous Algerians were killed. Various scholars describe the French conquest as genocide. French rule lasted until the end of the Algerian War, an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria winning its independence from France on July 5, 1962. More
Queen Victoria ascends to the British throne at the age of 18, following the death of her uncle, King William IV. This event marked the beginning of her long and impactful reign, which lasted until her death in 1901. While she became queen in June 1837, according to English Tradition and Heritage, her formal coronation took place later, on June 28, 1838, . More
The US Patent Office grants Samuel F. B. Morse U.S. Patent No. 1,647A for his electric telegraph. This invention, which utilized a single wire was a significant development which later led to the creation of the Morse Code and became known as the Morse telegraph.
Although the first known patent for a multiwire electric telegraph was granted to William F. Cooke and Charles Wheatstone in England in 1837, that system was a multiwire system and despite the earlier filing and other contemporaneous inventions, the US Supreme Court upheld Morse's patent claims in 1854 declaring him the "first and original inventor" of the electromagnetic telegraphs described in his patents.
Sir George Williams founded the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in London. He, along with a group of eleven other young men, established the first YMCA in the living quarters of Hitchcock & Rogers, a drapers shop in St Paul’s Churchyard.
In August 1855, 99 young delegates from nine countries held the first World meeting in Paris affirming the YMCA's mission and purpose, and created the Central International Committee. More
Image of Sir George Williams by John Collier. Unknown date, but author died in 1934
Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and his brother Hyrum were killed in Carthage, Illinois by a mob of 150-200 men who stormed the Carthage Jail where the Smith brothers were awaiting trial on charges of treason.
The charges were related to the destruction of a newspaper that had criticized Smith. The event has become a defining moment in Mormon history, with Smith and Hyrum being regarded as martyrs by many Latter-day Saints. More