Yesterday was !
On this day in...
See what historic events that happened for yesterdays date. Click on a year to learn more.
2023
2023 – The Wagner Group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin launches an insurrection against the Russian government.
2022
2022 – In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Constitution does not assign the authority to regulate abortions to the federal government, thereby returning such authority to the individual states. This overturns the prior decisions in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).
2021
2021 – The Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida suffers a sudden partial collapse, killing 98 people inside.
2013
2013 – Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is found guilty of abusing his power and engaging in sex with an underage prostitute, and is sentenced to seven years in prison.
2012
2012 – Death of Lonesome George, the last known individual of Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii, a subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise.
2010
2010 – Julia Gillard assumes office as the first female Prime Minister of Australia.
2010
2010 – At Wimbledon, John Isner of the United States defeats Nicolas Mahut of France, in the longest match in professional tennis history.
2004
2004 – In New York, capital punishment is declared unconstitutional.
2002
2002 – The Igandu train disaster in Tanzania kills 281, the worst train accident in African history.
1995
1995 – 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.
1994
1994 – A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress crashes at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Washington, killing four.
1989
1989 – Jiang Zemin succeeds Zhao Ziyang to become the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.
1982
1982 – "The Jakarta Incident": British Airways Flight 009 flies into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four engines.
1981
1981 – The Humber Bridge opens to traffic, connecting Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It remained the world's longest bridge span for 17 years.
1975
1975 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 encounters severe wind shear and crashes on final approach to New York's JFK Airport killing 113 of the 124 passengers on board, making it the deadliest U.S. plane crash at the time. This accident led to decades of research into downburst and microburst phenomena and their effects on aircraft.
1973
1973 – 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, US. Thirty-two people die as a result of fire or smoke inhalation.
1963
1963 – The United Kingdom grants Zanzibar internal self-government.
1960
1960 – Venezuelan President Rómulo Betancourt is injured in an assassination attempt.
1957
1957 – In Roth v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.
1954
1954 – 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.
1950
1950 – Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed, formally segregating races.
1949
1949 – The first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, starring William Boyd, is aired on NBC.
1948
1948 – Cold War: Start of the Berlin Blockade: The Soviet Union makes overland travel between West Germany and West Berlin impossible.
1947
1947 – Kenneth Arnold makes the first widely reported UFO sighting near Mount Rainier, Washington.
1945
1945 – The first Victory Day Parade takes place on Red Square in Moscow, Soviet Union, symbolizing the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany.
1943
1943 – 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.
1940
1940 – World War II: Operation Collar, the first British Commando raid on occupied France, by No 11 Independent Company.
1939
1939 – Siam is renamed Thailand by Plaek Phibunsongkhram, the country's third prime minister.
1938
1938 – Pieces of a meteorite land near Chicora, Pennsylvania. The meteorite is estimated to have weighed 450 metric tons when it hit the Earth's atmosphere and exploded.
1932
1932 – A bloodless revolution instigated by the People's Party ends the absolute power of King Prajadhipok of Siam (now Thailand).
1922
1922 – The American Professional Football Association is renamed the National Football League.
1918
1918 – First airmail service in Canada from Montreal to Toronto.
1916
1916 – Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to sign a million-dollar contract.
1913
1913 – Greece and Serbia annul their alliance with Bulgaria.
1894
1894 – Assassination of the French President, Sadi Carnot by Sante Caserio during the Ère des attentats (1892-1894).
1880
1880 – First performance of O Canada at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français. The song would later become the national anthem of Canada.
1866
1866 – Battle of Custoza: An Austrian army defeats the Italian army during the Austro-Prussian War.
1859
1859 – Battle of Solferino (Battle of the Three Sovereigns): Sardinia and France defeat Austria in Solferino, northern Italy.
1821
1821 – Battle of Carabobo: Decisive battle in the war of independence of Venezuela from Spain.
1813
1813 – Battle of Beaver Dams: A British and Indian combined force defeats the United States Army.
1812
1812 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon's Grande Armée crosses the Neman river beginning the invasion of Russia.
1793
1793 – The first Republican constitution in France is adopted.
1779
1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Great Siege of Gibraltar begins.
1762
1762 – Battle of Wilhelmsthal: The British-Hanoverian army of Ferdinand of Brunswick defeats French forces in Westphalia.
1724
1724 – On the Feast of St. John the Baptist, Bach leads the first performance of his Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam, BWV 7, the third cantata of his chorale cantata cycle.
1717
1717 – The Premier Grand Lodge of England is founded in London, the first Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (now the United Grand Lodge of England).
1663
1663 – The Spanish garrison of Évora capitulates, following the Portuguese victory at the Battle of Ameixial.
1622
1622 – Battle of Macau: The Dutch make a failed attempt to capture Macau.
1604
1604 – Samuel de Champlain encounters the mouth of the Saint John River, site of Reversing Falls and the present-day city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
1593
1593 – The Dutch city of Geertruidenberg held by the Spanish, capitulates to a besieging Dutch and English army led by Maurice of Nassau.
1571
1571 – Miguel López de Legazpi conquers Manila for Spain, modern day capital of the Philippines.
1540
1540 – English King Henry VIII commands his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, to leave the court.
1535
1535 – The Anabaptist state of Münster is conquered and disbanded.
1509
1509 – Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon are crowned King and Queen of England.
1497
1497 – John Cabot lands in North America at Newfoundland leading the first European exploration of the region since the Vikings.
1374
1374 – 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.
1340
1340 – Hundred Years' War: Battle of Sluys: The French fleet is almost completely destroyed by the English fleet commanded in person by King Edward III.
1314
1314 – First War of Scottish Independence: The Battle of Bannockburn concludes with a decisive victory by Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce.
1230
1230 – The Siege of Jaén begins, in the context of the Spanish Reconquista.
1128
1128 – 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.
972
972 – Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces, takes place.
843
843 – The Vikings sack the French city of Nantes.
637
637 – 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.
474
474 – Julius Nepos forces Roman usurper Glycerius to abdicate the throne and proclaims himself Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
109
109 – Roman emperor Trajan inaugurates the Aqua Traiana, an aqueduct that channels water from Lake Bracciano, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of Rome.
1312
1312 BC – Mursili II launches a campaign against the Kingdom of Azzi-Hayasa.