On our 1-year anniversary, I thought I would list some notable events occuring on June 21, courtesy of Wikipedia.com...
- 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vezerone.
And the world was better for it...I think.
- 1665 - First soldiers of Le Régiment de Carignan-Salières arrive at Quebec to invade Iroquois territories.
- 1734 - In Montreal in New France (today primarily Quebec), a black slave known by the French name of Marie-Joseph Angélique, having been convicted of the arson that destroyed much of the city, was tortured and hanged by the French authorities in a public ceremony that involved her disgrace and the amputation of a hand.
I thought the Canadians were the friendlier of the North Americans.
- 1788 - New Hampshire ratifies the Constitution and is thus admitted as the 9th state in the United States.
An it's a good thing, otherwise we would have to import Maple Syrup, or is that Vermont? I can never keep those two straight.
- 1798 - Irish Rebellion of 1798: The British Army defeats Irish rebels at Battle of Vinegar Hill
- 1813 - Peninsular War: Battle of Vitoria
- 1813 - Laura Secord sets out to warn British forces of an impending U.S. attack on Queenston, Ontario during the War of 1812.
What was it with the Brits in the 18th and 19th centuries? Did they pick a fight with anyone they could find?
- 1859 - Italian Independence wars: Battle of Solférino is fought. Witnessed by Henri Dunant, the results were the Geneva Conventions and the Red Cross.
It's a good thing we've never had to use either of those.
Jubilee is one of those words that makes me happy. Kind of like...well, I can't really think of another one.
- 1939 - The New York Yankees U.S. baseball team announce Lou Gehrig's retirement.
...and thus leading to the greatest moment in baseball history...Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive games played streak. Oh, and there's that whole "Today I consider myself the luckiest man..." stuff.
- 1940 - World War II: France surrenders to Germany.
I...must..control...the...urge...to...comment. Whew, that was tough.
- 1944 (I think)-Margaret Richter born in Baltimore, Maryland. Later giving birth to a prominent environmental economist. Happy Birthday, Mom.
OK, that one wasn't in Wikipedia.
- 1965 - Folk rock band The Byrds release their highly influential debut album Mr. Tambourine Man.
In the jingle jangle mornin'...
- 1982 - John Hinckley is found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
Insane? Really? Jody Foster isn't really a government subterfuge using her charms to convince unsuspecting men to overthrow the government?
- 1982 - Fête de la Musique street music festival inaugurated in France by Jack Lang.
- 1997 - French musician Jean Michel Jarre's "Oxygene Tour" concert in Spodek (Katowice, Poland) for deaf and poorly hearing children of Europe.
Oh, great, now I'm going to be singing that Jarre song all day. Damnit!
- 2004 - SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight.
- 2005, the best environmental economics blog written by two former East Carolina University employees launches. The world is changed forever.
