History Events on June 24

Miguel López de Legazpi founds Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

#Miguel_López_de_Legazpi

Battle of Wilhelmsthal: The British-Hanoverian army of Ferdinand of Brunswick defeats French forces in Westphalia.

#Battle_of_Wilhelmsthal

World War II: Operation Collar, the first British Commando raid on occupied France, by No 11 Independent Company.

#World_War_II

Julius Nepos forces Roman usurper Glycerius to abdicate the throne and proclaims himself Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

#Julius_Nepos

John Isner of the United States defeats Nicolas Mahut of France at Wimbledon, in the longest match in professional tennis history.

#John_Isner

The Romans, led by Gaius Flaminius, are ambushed and defeated by Hannibal at the Battle of Lake Trasimene.

#Gaius_Flaminius

The Premier Grand Lodge of England, the first Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (now the United Grand Lodge of England), is founded in London.

#Premier_Grand_Lodge_of_England

Roman emperor Trajan inaugurates the Aqua Traiana, an aqueduct that channels water from Lake Bracciano, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north-west of Rome.

#Trajan

Battle of São Mamede, near Guimarães: Forces led by Afonso I defeat forces led by his mother Teresa of León and her lover Fernando Pérez de Traba.

#Battle_of_São_Mamede

First War of Scottish Independence: The Battle of Bannockburn concludes with a decisive victory by Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce.

#First_War_of_Scottish_Independence

Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to sign a million-dollar contract.

#Mary_Pickford

The United Kingdom grants Zanzibar internal self-government.

#Zanzibar

Battle of Custoza: An Austrian army defeats the Italian army during the Austro-Prussian War.

#Battle_of_Custoza_(1866)

Greece and Serbia annul their alliance with Bulgaria.

#Serbia

Lonesome George, the last known individual of Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii, a subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise, dies.

#Lonesome_George

First airmail service in Canada from Montreal to Toronto.

#Airmail

The Spanish Spanish garrison of Évora capitulates, following the Portuguese victory at the Battle of Ameixial.

#Évora

Marie François Sadi Carnot is assassinated by Sante Geronimo Caserio.

#Marie_François_Sadi_Carnot

John Cabot lands in North America at Newfoundland leading the first European exploration of the region since the Vikings.

#John_Cabot

The first Republican constitution in France is adopted.

#French_Constitution_of_1793

King Edward VII of the United Kingdom develops appendicitis, delaying his coronation.

#Edward_VII

Samuel de Champlain discovers the mouth of the Saint John River, site of Reversing Falls and the present day city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.

#Samuel_de_Champlain

First Indochina War: Battle of Mang Yang Pass: Viet Minh troops belonging to the 803rd Regiment ambush G.M. 100 of France in An Khê.

#First_Indochina_War

Julia Gillard assumes office as the first female Prime Minister of Australia.

#Julia_Gillard

American Revolutionary War: The Great Siege of Gibraltar begins.

#American_Revolutionary_War

Hundred Years' War: Battle of Sluys: The French fleet is almost completely destroyed by the English fleet commanded in person by King Edward III.

#Hundred_Years'_War

Battle of Beaver Dams: A British and Indian combined force defeats the United States Army.

#Battle_of_Beaver_Dams

The Battle of Carabobo takes place. It is the decisive battle in the war of independence of Venezuela from Spain.

#Battle_of_Carabobo

US military police attempt to arrest a black soldier in Bamber Bridge, England, sparking the Battle of Bamber Bridge mutiny that leaves one dead and seven wounded.

#Bamber_Bridge

Cold War: Start of the Berlin Blockade: The Soviet Union makes overland travel between West Germany and West Berlin impossible.

#Cold_War

The UpStairs Lounge arson attack takes place at a gay bar located on the second floor of the three-story building at 141 Chartres Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Thirty-two people die as a result of fire or smoke inhalation.

#UpStairs_Lounge_arson_attack

A sudden outbreak of St. John's Dance causes people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse from exhaustion.

#Dancing_mania

The Humber Bridge opens to traffic, connecting Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It would be the world's longest bridge span for 17 years.

#Humber_Bridge

The Siege of Jaén begins, in the context of the Spanish Reconquista.

#Siege_of_Jaén_(1230)

Jiang Zemin succeeds Zhao Ziyang to become the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

#Jiang_Zemin

Siam is renamed Thailand by Plaek Phibunsongkhram, the country's third prime minister.

#Thailand

The first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, is aired on NBC starring William Boyd.

#Westerns_on_television

A bloodless revolution instigated by the People's Party ends the absolute power of King Prajadhipok of Siam (now Thailand).

#Siamese_revolution_of_1932

Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act formally segregating races is passed.

#Apartheid

Pieces of a meteorite, estimated to have weighed 450 metric tons when it hit the Earth's atmosphere and exploded, land near Chicora, Pennsylvania.

#Meteorite

"The Jakarta Incident": British Airways Flight 9 flies into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four engines.

#British_Airways_Flight_9

Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon's Grande Armée crosses the Neman river beginning the invasion of Russia.

#Napoleonic_Wars

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is found guilty of abusing his power and having sex with an underage prostitute, and is sentenced to seven years in prison.

#Prime_Minister_of_Italy

Battle of Solferino (Battle of the Three Sovereigns): Sardinia and France defeat Austria in Solferino, northern Italy.

#Battle_of_Solferino

Battle of Macau: The Dutch attempt but fail to capture Macau.

#Battle_of_Macau

In New York, capital punishment is declared unconstitutional.

The Igandu train disaster in Tanzania kills 281, the worst train accident in African history.

Rugby World Cup: South Africa defeats New Zealand and Nelson Mandela presents Francois Pienaar with the Webb Ellis Cup in an iconic post-apartheid moment.

In Roth v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.

Kenneth Arnold makes the first widely reported UFO sighting near Mount Rainier, Washington.

The American Professional Football Association is renamed the National Football League.

First performance of O Canada, the song that would become the national anthem of Canada, at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français.

The Anabaptist state of Münster is conquered and disbanded.

Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon are crowned King and Queen of England.

Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces, takes place.

The Battle of Moira is fought between the High King of Ireland and the Kings of Ulster and Dál Riata. It is claimed to be the largest battle in the history of Ireland.

Mursili II launches a campaign against the Kingdom of Azzi-Hayasa.