What Happened in June?

Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company, takes his first car experimental car, the "Quadricycle" for a spin, on June 4, 1896 on the city of Detroit. More

The Meiji Great Sanriku Tsunami hits the pacific coast of the north-eastern Japan, called as the Sanriku Region. The highest tsunami run-up height was 125 feet (38 m) at Ryori Shirahama in Iwate Prefecture. The death toll was 22,000. The economic damage amounted to about 10% of the then national budget. After this tsunami, several villages were relocated to higher ground. More

The Chinese government leases Hong Kong's New Territories to the United Kingdom for 99 years. The lease was signed as part of the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, granting Britain control over the mainland area north of Kowloon and numerous islands, which now make up the majority of Hong Kong, including the Island of Hong Kong which had been under British control since 1841.  Expand +

1898 US Marines land in Cuba during the Spanish–American War

 The Philippines declares its independence from Spain after being a Spanish colony since 1565. Later that year, the Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish-American War and Spain ceded the Philippines to the US, the islands were occupied by U.S. forces. and the Philippines became an American colony until after World War II. The Philippines officially attained complete Independence from the U.S on July 4, 1946, Which is celebrated in the Philippines as Republic Day. 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

Barney Oldfield, American automobile-racing driver accomplished the first mile-a-minute performance in a car, at Indianapolis, Indiana. Oldfield became known as the “Speed King of the World.” and his name was synonymous with racing and with speed. He raced farm tractors and pitted cars against locomotives and airplanes. He drove the most famous cars of his day: Fiat, Mercer, Maxwell, Stutz, the Ford 999, a French Delage, and a Christie. More

Einstein publishes his Special Theory of Relativity, which describes his revolutionary ideas about light, time and energy. He revisited the theory in a 1912 manuscript when he was asked to write several book chapters. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 delayed publication, and when the project resumed, Einstein considered this manuscript outdated and it was never published. More

Norway’s national assembly (Storting) declares an end to the Norway Union and Independence from Sweden on June 7, 1905. The decision severed the personal union that had linked the two countries under a common monarch since 1814, finally restoring Norway's full independence..

The British Terra Nova Expedition led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, sails from Cardiff, Wales for Antarctica. Scott wanted to continue the scientific work that he had begun when leading the Discovery Expedition from 1901 to 1904, and wanted to be the first to reach the geographic South Pole. He and four companions attained the pole on 17 January 1912, where they found that a Norwegian team led by Roald Amundsen had preceded them by 34 days. Scott's party of five died on the return journey from the pole. More

The first successful and verified ascent of Denali - Mount McKinley takes place on June 7, 1913. Four Alaskan men became the first climbers to reach the 20,310-foot South summit of the highest peak in North America. The four climbers; Walter Harper, Harry Karstens, Hudson Stuck and Robert Tatum made history. More

Archduke Francis Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Austria and his wife were assassinated at Sarajevo, touching off a conflict between the Austro-Hungarian government and Serbia that escalated into World War I. More

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs the National Defense Act , on June 3, 1916, which authorized an expanded Army of 175,000, and an enlarged National Guard of 450,000 and brought the states’ militias more under federal control and gave the president authority, in case of war or national emergency, to mobilize the National Guard for the duration of the emergency.

The United States Congress passes the Espionage Act, building on the 1911, Defense Secrets Act, with important new elements added. More

The first American troops, the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), arrive in Europe during WWI. They were under the command of General John Joseph Pershing. However they did not fully participate at the front until October, when the First Division, one of the best-trained divisions of the AEF, entered the trenches at Nancy, France. More

Greece brakes diplomatic relations with the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey). Greece was deeply divided during World War I, with King Constantine I advocating for neutrality and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos favoring the Entente (Britain, France, Russia).  Expand +

Greece, under pressure from the Allies, ends three years of neutrality and enters World War I alongside Britain, France, Russia and Italy.

The 19th amendment granting women the right to vote is passed by Congress on June 4, 1919. It was first proposed in Congress, forty two years earlier in 1878. The amendment then needed to be ratified by three-fourths of the states. It became law on August 18, 1920, when Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify it. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified its adoption on August 26, 1920. More

The signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919 formally ends World War I. According to the terms, Germany was assessed sole blame for the war, it had to pay reparations of $15 Billion. It was also forced to give up Alsace-Lorraine and all overseas colonies. The treaty also prohibited German rearmament. More

The first successful aerial refueling takes place when a DH-4B carrying Lts. Virgil Hine and Frank W. Seifert passed gasoline through a hose to another DH-4B flying beneath it carrying Lt's Lowell H. Smith and John P. Richter. More
It is interesting to also note that in 1921, the first successful transfer of fuel albeit, unconventional. between two biplane planes took place a wing walker climbed from one to the other plane with a five-gallon can of gasoline strapped to his back and successfully transferred the fuel. Learn more about this event