Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States
MajorThe real estate mogul and reality TV star descended the golden escalator at Trump Tower to announce his campaign. His speech included controversial st...
June 16 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
2015
2007
A man in the UK was fined for washing his car with a bucket instead of a hose during a hosepipe ban
During severe drought restrictions, environmental officers caught a homeowner using nine buckets of stored water to wash his car. He was fined despite...
1963
The Soviet Union sent the first woman into space the same day they announced plans to put a woman on the moon by 1975
Soviet premier Khrushchev made the bold announcement about a lunar mission coinciding with Tereshkova's launch. The Soviet Union never achieved this g...
1963
Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space aboard Vostok 6
MajorSoviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova launched into orbit, completing 48 orbits around Earth over nearly three days. She remains the only woman to hav...
1963
Vostok 6 carried a woman into space for the first time, and she remained the only woman in space for 19 years
After Tereshkova's historic flight, the Soviet Union didn't send another woman to space until 1982 with Svetlana Savitskaya. The United States wouldn'...
1961
Rudolf Nureyev, the famous Soviet ballet dancer, defected to the West at a Paris airport
The 23-year-old star of the Kirov Ballet literally leaped over a barrier to seek asylum from French police, escaping his KGB handlers. His dramatic de...
1932
The Bonus Army of World War I veterans arrived in Washington, D.C. demanding early payment of their service bonuses
About 43,000 protesters, including 17,000 veterans and their families, set up camps in the capital during the Great Depression. General Douglas MacArt...
1903
Ford Motor Company was incorporated in Detroit, Michigan
MajorHenry Ford and 11 other investors signed the company's articles of incorporation with $28,000 in cash. The company would revolutionize manufacturing w...
1897
The U.S. government signed a treaty of annexation with the Republic of Hawaii
After American businessmen had overthrown the Hawaiian monarchy four years earlier, the islands were formally annexed. Queen Liliuokalani protested th...
1884
The first roller coaster in America opened at Coney Island in New York
The Switchback Railway traveled at a whopping six miles per hour and cost just a nickel to ride. Passengers had to climb stairs to return the car to t...
1815
Napoleon Bonaparte fought his final battle at Waterloo
MajorThe Battle of Waterloo began on June 16 with preliminary engagements at Quatre Bras and Ligny. Napoleon's defeat two days later would end his rule and...
1487
The Battle of Stoke Field ended the Wars of the Roses in England
Though the main conflict had ended at Bosworth Field, this final battle crushed the last Yorkist rebellion against Henry VII. The pretender Lambert Si...