What Happened on June 14th in History
30 historical events on this date
John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown depart from St. John's, Newfoundland on the first nonstop transatlantic flight.
John Alcock and Arthur Brown were British aviators who, in 1919, made the first non-stop transatlantic flight. They flew a modified First World War Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland,...
Brazil leaves the League of Nations.
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is also the world's fifth-largest country by area and the seventh-largest by population, with over...
A deadly tornado strikes Birmingham, England, damaging 2,221 homes and businesses.
On the evening of June 14, 1931, a deadly F3 tornado moved through the southern and eastern suburbs of Birmingham, England, killing 1 person and injuring at least 10 others. The tornado caused...
The landmark Australian Eastern Mission returns from its three-month tour of East and South-East Asia.
The Australian Eastern Mission (AEM) was a 1934 diplomatic tour of East and South-East Asia led by Australian deputy prime minister John Latham. The mission was the first such official tour sent by...
Pennsylvania becomes the first (and only) state of the United States to celebrate Flag Day officially as a state holiday.
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its...
U.S. House of Representatives passes the Marihuana Tax Act.
The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, Pub. L. 75–238, 50 Stat. 551, enacted August 2, 1937, was a United States Act that placed a tax on the sale of cannabis. It was the first national regulation on...
World War II: The German occupation of Paris begins.
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major...
The Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Lithuania, resulting in Lithuanian loss of independence.
The Soviet Union issued an ultimatum to Lithuania before midnight of 14 June 1940. The Soviets, using a formal pretext, demanded that an unspecified number of Soviet soldiers be allowed to enter the...
Seven hundred and twenty-eight Polish political prisoners from Tarnów become the first inmates of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Tarnów is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail...
June deportation: The first major wave of Soviet mass deportations of Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians from the occupied Baltic states begins.
The June deportation of 1941 was a mass deportation of tens of thousands of people during World War II from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, present-day western Belarus and western Ukraine, and...
World War II: After several failed attempts, the British Army abandons Operation Perch, its plan to capture the German-occupied town of Caen.
Operation Perch was a British offensive of the Second World War which took place from 7 to 14 June 1944, during the early stages of the Battle of Normandy. The operation was intended to encircle and...
World War II: Filipino troops of the Philippine Commonwealth Army liberate the captured in Ilocos Sur and start the Battle of Bessang Pass in Northern Luzon.
The Philippine Army is the main, oldest and largest branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), responsible for ground warfare. As of 2025, it had an estimated strength of 110,000...
Albert II, a rhesus monkey, rides a V-2 rocket to an altitude of 134 km (83 mi), thereby becoming the first mammal and first monkey in space.
Albert II was a male rhesus macaque monkey who was the first primate and first mammal to travel to outer space. He flew from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, United States, to an altitude of...
An Air France Douglas DC-4 crashes near Bahrain International Airport, killing 40 people. This came two days after another Air France DC-4 crashed in the same location.
Two Air France Douglas DC-4 aircraft crashed two days apart in June 1950 within a few miles of each other and under similar circumstances. These two accidents, on 12 and 14 June, occurred while the...
UNIVAC I is dedicated by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The UNIVAC I was the first general-purpose electronic digital computer for business applications produced in the United States. It was designed principally by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, the...
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law that places the words "under God" into the United States Pledge of Allegiance.
Dwight David Eisenhower, also known as Ike, was the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. He led the Allied Expeditionary Force during the Second World War, launching decisive...
Chile becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, extending along a narrow strip of land...
Disneyland Monorail System, the first daily operating monorail system in the Western Hemisphere, opens to the public in Anaheim, California.
The Disneyland Monorail is an attraction and transportation line at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, United States. It was the first daily operating monorail in the country.
The European Space Research Organisation is established in Paris – later becoming the European Space Agency.
The European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) was an international organisation founded by 10 European nations with the intention of jointly pursuing scientific research in space. It was founded...
The Vatican announces the abolition of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum ("index of prohibited books"), which was originally instituted in 1557.
The Roman Curia comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Vatican Curia.
Mariner program: Mariner 5 is launched towards Venus.
The Mariner program was conducted by the American space agency NASA to explore other planets. Between 1962 and late 1973, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) designed and built 10 robotic...
Japan Air Lines Flight 471 crashes on approach to Palam International Airport (now Indira Gandhi International Airport) in New Delhi, India, killing 82 of the 87 people on board and four more people on the ground.
Japan Air Lines Flight 471 was a Japan Air Lines international flight from Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, to Palam International Airport in New Delhi, India. On 14 June 1972...
Falklands War: Argentine forces in the capital Stanley conditionally surrender to British forces.
The Falklands War was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial...
Five member nations of the European Economic Community sign the Schengen Agreement establishing a free travel zone with no border controls.
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957, aiming to foster economic integration among its member states. It was subsequently renamed...
The Mindbender derails, killing three riders and severely injuring one at the Fantasyland (known today as Galaxyland) indoor amusement park at West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta.
The Mindbender was an Anton Schwarzkopf looping roller coaster at Galaxyland, a theme park in West Edmonton Mall, in Alberta, Canada. The ride officially opened to the public on December 20, 1985 at...
The 1994 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot occurs after the New York Rangers defeat the Vancouver Canucks to win the Stanley Cup, causing an estimated C$1.1 million, leading to 200 arrests and injuries.
The 1994 Vancouver Stanley Cup Riot occurred in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on the evening of June 14, 1994, and continued into the following morning. The riot followed Game 7 of...
Near-Earth asteroid 2002 MN misses the Earth by 75,000 miles (121,000 km), about one-third of the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
A near-Earth object (NEO) is by definition any small Solar System body orbiting the Sun whose closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 times the Earth–Sun distance. This definition...
A Ukraine military Ilyushin Il-76 airlifter is shot down, killing all 49 people on board.
On 14 June 2014, an Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft of the 25th Transport Aviation Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Force was shot down by forces of the Russia-backed separatists from Luhansk People's...
The Grenfell Tower fire, a catastrophic fire in a high-rise apartment building in North Kensington, London, UK, leaves 72 people dead and another 74 injured.
On 14 June 2017, a high-rise fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in North Kensington, West London, England, at 00:54 BST and burned for 60 hours. A total of 70 people died...
Republican U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, and three others, are shot and wounded while practicing for the annual Congressional Baseball Game.
Stephen Joseph Scalise is an American politician who has been the House majority leader since 2023 and the U.S. representative for Louisiana's 1st congressional district since 2008. A member of the...