On This Day — 1 June

2015

A ship carrying 458 people capsizes in the Yangtze river in China's Hubei province, killing 442 people.

Sinking of Dongfang zhi Xing

2011

A rare tornado outbreak occurs in New England; a strong EF3 tornado strikes Springfield, Massachusetts, during the event, killing four people.

2011 Springfield tornado

2011

Space Shuttle Endeavour makes its final landing after 25 flights.

Space Shuttle Endeavour

2009

Air France Flight 447 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 passengers and crew are killed.

Air France Flight 447

2009

General Motors files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is the fourth largest United States bankruptcy in history.

General Motors

2008

A fire on the back lot of Universal Studios breaks out, destroying the attraction King Kong Encounter and a large archive of master tapes for music and film, the full extent of which was not revealed until 2019.

2008 Universal Studios fire

2004

Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols is sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

Oklahoma City bombing

2001

Nepalese royal massacre: Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal shoots and kills several members of his family including his father and mother.

Nepalese royal massacre

2001

Dolphinarium discotheque massacre: A Hamas suicide bomber kills 21 at a disco in Tel Aviv.

Dolphinarium discotheque bombing

1999

American Airlines Flight 1420 slides and crashes while landing at Little Rock National Airport, killing 11 people on a flight from Dallas to Little Rock.

American Airlines Flight 1420

1994

Republic of South Africa becomes a republic in the Commonwealth of Nations.

South Africa

1993

Dobrinja mortar attack: Thirteen are killed and 133 wounded when Serb mortar shells are fired at a soccer game in Dobrinja, west of Sarajevo.

Dobrinja mortar attack

1990

Cold War: George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production.

Cold War

1988

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty comes into effect.

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

1980

Cable News Network (CNN) begins broadcasting.

CNN

1979

The first black-led government of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 90 years takes power.

Rhodesia

1978

The first international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty are filed.

Patent Cooperation Treaty

1976

Aeroflot Flight 418 crashes in Bioko, Equatorial Guinea, killing 46.

Aeroflot Flight 418

1975

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded by Jalal Talabani, Nawshirwan Mustafa, Fuad Masum and others.

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan

1974

The Heimlich maneuver for rescuing choking victims is published in the journal Emergency Medicine.

Heimlich maneuver

1962

Adolf Eichmann, former SS officer in Nazi Germany, is hanged in Israel for having committed crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other offenses.

Adolf Eichmann

1961

The Canadian Bank of Commerce and Imperial Bank of Canada merge to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the largest bank merger in Canadian history.

Canadian Bank of Commerce

1958

Charles de Gaulle comes out of retirement to lead France by decree for six months.

Charles de Gaulle

1951

Washington State Ferries, the largest ferry system in the United States, begins operation under state ownership after a buyout of the Puget Sound Navigation Company.

Washington State Ferries

1950

The Declaration of Conscience speech, by U.S. Senator from Maine, Margaret Chase Smith, is delivered in response to Joseph R. McCarthy's speech at Wheeling, West Virginia.

Declaration of Conscience

1950

The Chinchaga fire ignites. By September, it would become the largest single fire on record in North America.

Chinchaga fire

1946

Ion Antonescu, "Conducator" ("Leader") of Romania during World War II, is executed.

Ion Antonescu

1943

BOAC Flight 777 is shot down over the Bay of Biscay by German Junkers Ju 88s, killing British actor Leslie Howard and leading to speculation that it was actually an attempt to kill British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

BOAC Flight 777

1941

World War II: The Battle of Crete ends as Crete capitulates to Germany.

World War II

1941

The Farhud, a massive pogrom in Iraq, starts and as a result, many Iraqi Jews are forced to leave their homes.

Farhud

1939

First flight of the German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft.

Focke-Wulf Fw 190

1929

The 1st Conference of the Communist Parties of Latin America is held in Buenos Aires.

1st Conference of the Communist Parties of Latin America

1922

The Royal Ulster Constabulary is founded.

Royal Ulster Constabulary

1919

Prohibition comes into force in Finland.

Prohibition

1918

World War I: Western Front: Battle of Belleau Wood: Allied Forces under John J. Pershing and James Harbord engage Imperial German Forces under Wilhelm, German Crown Prince.

World War I

1916

The United States Senate confirms the appointment of Louis Brandeis to the United States Supreme Court, making him the first Jew to be an Associate Justice.

United States Senate

1913

The Greek–Serbian Treaty of Alliance is signed, paving the way for the Second Balkan War.

Greek–Serbian Alliance of 1913

1890

The United States Census Bureau begins using Herman Hollerith's tabulating machine to count census returns.

United States Census Bureau

1879

Napoléon Eugène, the last dynastic Bonaparte, is killed in the Anglo-Zulu War.

Louis-Napoléon, Prince Imperial

1868

The Treaty of Bosque Redondo is signed, allowing the Navajo to return to their lands in Arizona and New Mexico.

Treaty of Bosque Redondo

1862

American Civil War: Peninsula Campaign: The Battle of Seven Pines (or the Battle of Fair Oaks) ends inconclusively, with both sides claiming victory.

Peninsula campaign

1861

American Civil War: The Battle of Fairfax Court House is fought.

American Civil War

1857

Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du mal is published.

Charles Baudelaire

1857

The Revolution of the Ganhadores begins in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

Revolution of the Ganhadores

1855

The American adventurer William Walker conquers Nicaragua.

Adventure

1854

Åland War: The British navy destroys merchant ships and about 16,000 tar barrels of the wholesale stocks area in Oulu, Grand Duchy of Finland.

Åland War

1849

Territorial Governor Alexander Ramsey declared the Territory of Minnesota officially established.

Alexander Ramsey

1831

James Clark Ross becomes the first European at the North Magnetic Pole.

James Clark Ross

1815

Napoleon promulgates a revised Constitution after it passes a plebiscite.

Napoleon

1813

Capture of USS Chesapeake.

Capture of USS Chesapeake

1796

Tennessee is admitted as the 16th state of the United States.

Tennessee

1794

The battle of the Glorious First of June is fought, the first naval engagement between Britain and France during the French Revolutionary Wars.

Glorious First of June

1792

Kentucky is admitted as the 15th state of the United States.

Kentucky

1779

The court-martial for malfeasance of Benedict Arnold, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, begins.

Court-martial

1773

Wolraad Woltemade rescues 14 sailors at the Cape of Good Hope from the sinking ship De Jonge Thomas by riding his horse into the sea seven times. Both he and his horse, Vonk, are drowned on his eighth attempt.

Wolraad Woltemade

1679

The Scottish Covenanters defeat John Graham of Claverhouse at the Battle of Drumclog.

Covenanters

1676

Battle of Öland: allied Danish-Dutch forces defeat the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea, during the Scanian War (1675–79).

Battle of Öland

1670

In Dover, England, Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France sign the Secret Treaty of Dover, which will force England into the Third Anglo-Dutch War.

Dover

1649

Start of the Sumuroy Revolt: Filipinos in Northern Samar led by Agustin Sumuroy revolt against Spanish colonial authorities.

Philippine revolts against Spain

1648

The Roundheads defeat the Cavaliers at the Battle of Maidstone in the Second English Civil War.

Roundhead

1535

Combined forces loyal to Charles V attack and expel the Ottomans from Tunis during the Conquest of Tunis.

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

1533

Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen of England.

Anne Boleyn

1495

A monk, John Cor, records the first known batch of Scotch whisky.

Monk

1412

The Treaty of Lubowla between the kingdoms of Hungary and Poland is confirmed with one of the largest and magnificent royal meetings and feasts ever held in Buda. King Sigismund of Hungary host king Wladyslaw II Jagiello while several thousand nobles attend.

Treaty of Lubowla

1298

Residents of Riga and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeat the Livonian Order in the Battle of Turaida.

Riga

1252

Alfonso X is proclaimed king of Castile and León.

Alfonso X of Castile

193

The Roman Senate passes a motion proclaiming Septimius Severus emperor, awards divine honours to Pertinax, and sentences current emperor Didius Julianus to death.

Roman Senate