Monthly Archives: June 2022

238 people killed when heavy rains trigger record flooding in Black Hills of South Dakota 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 9 1972)


Video: 'Rapid City Flood'

(Friday, June 9, 1972, Canyon Lake Dam gave way at 10:45 p.m. MDT; during the 1972 Black Hills flood) — Heavy rains triggered record one of the deadliest floods in U.S. history tonight in the Black Hills of South Dakota, resulting in 238 deaths and 3,057 injuries. Continue reading 238 people killed when heavy rains trigger record flooding in Black Hills of South Dakota 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 9 1972)

Iconic image of naked and severely burned Vietnamese girl fleeing napalm bombing captured 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 8 1972)


Video: 'The Harrowing Story of Napalm Girl'

(Thursday, June 8, 1972, shortly after 11:30 a.m. Saigon Standard Time; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — Associated Press photographer Nick Ut took a picture today of a screaming 9-year-old girl, Phan Thi Kim Phuc, as she ran naked and severely burned on her back after a South Vietnamese Air Force jet dropped a napalm bomb onto the village of Trang Bàng, which had been attacked and occupied by North Vietnamese forces. Continue reading Iconic image of naked and severely burned Vietnamese girl fleeing napalm bombing captured 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 8 1972)

Battle of Midway ends in decisive American victory over Japan, marking turning point in Pacific War 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 7 1942)


Video: 'Battle 360: Battle of Midway Leads to WWII Victory (S1, E2) | Full Episode | History'

(Sunday, June 7, 1942, 7:10 a.m. local time/12:40 p.m. Eastern War Time) — The Battle of Midway,  a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that began on June 4, 1942, ended today in a decisive U.S. victory despite the sinking of the USS Yorktown, which had been torpedoed the previous day. Continue reading Battle of Midway ends in decisive American victory over Japan, marking turning point in Pacific War 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 7 1942)

Homer Plessy arrested for refusing to leave whites-only train car in challenge to Louisiana racial segregation laws 130 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 7 1892)


Video: 'Separate But Equal: Homer Plessy and the Case That Upheld the Color Line'

(Tuesday, June 7, 1892; during the Civil rights movement (1865–1896))Homer Plessy, a racially mixed shoemaker from New Orleans, was arrested today for refusing to leave a whites-only car of the East Louisiana Railroad, committing an act of civil disobedience to challenge one of Louisiana’s racial segregation laws and bring a test case to force the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of segregation laws.

Plessy, born a free person of color in a family of French-speaking Louisiana Creole people, had bought a first-class ticket on the East Louisiana Railroad running between the Press Street Depot in New Orleans and Covington, Louisiana, an approximately thirty-mile journey that would have taken two hours. He sat in the “whites only” passenger car.

When conductor J. J. Dowling came to collect Plessy’s ticket, he told Plessy to leave the “whites only” car. Plessy refused. The conductor stopped the train, walked back to the depot, and returned with private detective Chris C. Cain. Cain and other passengers forcibly removed Plessy from the train.


Video: 'Louisiana board pardons Homer Plessy ahead of the 125th anniversary of Plessy v. Ferguson'

Cain then arrested Plessy and took him to the Orleans Parish jail. The Comité des Citoyens arrived at the jail, arranged for him to be released, and paid his $500 bond the following day by offering up a committee member’s house as collateral.

Judge John Howard Ferguson ruled against Plessy in a state criminal district court, upholding the law on the grounds that Louisiana had the right to regulate railroads within its borders.

Plessy appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard the case four years later in 1896 and ruled 7–1 in favor of Louisiana, establishing the “separate but equal” doctrine as a legal basis for the Jim Crow laws that would remain in effect into the 1950s and 1960s.

The Beatles audition for record producer George Martin at Abbey Road Studios in London 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 6 1962)


Video: 'Besame Mucho (Anthology 1 Version)'

(Wednesday, June 6, 1962, 7:00-10:00 p.m. British Summer Time)The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Pete Best) visited EMI Studios at 3 Abbey Road, St John’s Wood, London, for the first time ever tonight to record, with George Martin producing, for Parlophone Records. Continue reading The Beatles audition for record producer George Martin at Abbey Road Studios in London 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 6 1962)

Paul McCartney & Wings tape four promo videos for ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ in London 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 6 1972)


Video: 'Paul McCartney & Wings - Mary Had A Little Lamb (Countryside Video)'

(Tuesday, June 6, 1972) — Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and his new group, Wings, recorded four promotional videos for their new single “Mary Had a Little Lambtoday at BBC Television Theater in Shepherds Bush, London. Continue reading Paul McCartney & Wings tape four promo videos for ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ in London 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 6 1972)

Israeli forces invade Lebanon to drive Palestine Liberation Organization fighters out of the country 40 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 6 1982)


Video: 'Israel Vs.The PLO -The Invasion of Lebanon 1982 Part.1' (June 6, 1982, at 7:27)

(Sunday, June 6, 1982, 11:00 a.m. Israel Standard Time; during the 1982 Lebanon War, part of the Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon (Israeli–Palestinian conflict) and Lebanese Civil War) — The Israeli army invaded southern Lebanon by land, sea, and air today in an attack aimed at destroying the main military bases of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Continue reading Israeli forces invade Lebanon to drive Palestine Liberation Organization fighters out of the country 40 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 6 1982)

African-American activist Angela Davis acquitted on murder, kidnapping charges 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 4 1972)


Video: '13th | Dr. Angela Davis Puts the System on Trial | Netflix'

(Sunday, June 4, 1972, 12:35 p.m. PDT) — After just 13 hours of deliberations, an all-white jury in San Jose, California, found African-American activist Angela Davis not guilty today of murder, kidnapping and criminal conspiracy charges stemming from a 1970 California courthouse shootout in which a judge and three other people were killed. Continue reading African-American activist Angela Davis acquitted on murder, kidnapping charges 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 4 1972)

World War II Battle of Midway begins near Midway Atoll in North Pacific Ocean 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 4 1942)


Video: 'Battle 360: Battle of Midway Leads to WWII Victory (S1, E2) | Full Episode | History' (June 4, 1942, at 9:00)

(Thursday, June 4, 1942, 6:30 a.m. local time/1:30 p.m. Eastern War Time) — The Battle of Midway, a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place six months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea, began today when Japanese planes struck Midway Atoll, facing meager opposition. Continue reading World War II Battle of Midway begins near Midway Atoll in North Pacific Ocean 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 4 1942)

Top Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich, a principal architect of The Holocaust, dies eight days after attack in Prague 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 4 1942)


Video: 'The Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich | Nazi Hunters'

(Thursday, June 4, 1942, around 4:30 a.m. Central European Summer Time; during Operation Anthropoid, part of World War II)Reinhard Heydrich, a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of The Holocaust, died of sepsis this morning in Prague, one week after he was ambushed by a team of Czech and Slovak soldiers in Operation Anthropoid. Continue reading Top Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich, a principal architect of The Holocaust, dies eight days after attack in Prague 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 4 1942)